Protest, Srebrenica, 10th-11th July 2014
After Pocuca's threats to the Women in Black I was feeling rather upset, and nuisances concerning that event followed: petition signing by tenants for eviction of WIB, to direct physical attack on WIB activists and cyclists in Valjevo, only because the Women showed solidarity with mothers and sisters of civilian victims of war in BH.
Never before I felt more unsafe on protests in Belgrade. I was additionally anxious because this year on July 10th we were surrounded by a large number of policemen, at some stage I looked around myself and I saw, besides the police and the gendarmerie, also the large number of riot police units, armed to their teeth with equipment for dispersing protesters. At that moment, millions of questions came to my mind: what have we done, whom have we endangered, to be in such police spotlight?
We only went out to show solidarity and compassion with mothers and sisters of innocent war victims in BH. After that, we had police escort to the WIB offices, as well as on our way to the hostel. We had to take taxies to the hostel, as ordered by the police for "security" reasons. When I got inside the taxi, I noticed that the driver was confused, he had no clue what was going on, since the police instructed him not to drive unless they give him green light and escort. As we were waiting in the taxi for the police to allow us to drive, the taxi driver asked us, a little scared: "What is going on here? What happened?" We replied in a calm voice that we are Women in Black. The man was obviously upset, but he just kept waiting for the signal to drive, escorted by the police. We arrived to the hostel were again the large number of policemen waited for us, and people passing by looked at us funny. The police stayed on duty in the hostel all night, and in the morning they escorted us to the bus for Srebrenica. Even our bus was escorted by the police all the way to the border, and they didn't allow us to stop for a coffee break, we had to follow their protocol.
When we crossed the border to BH, nobody was securing us and there was no need for something like that, we were safe. But on our return trip, when we crossed the border, the same thing happened, the police was waiting for our bus and they escorted us to the bus station in Belgrade, and again from the station to our hostel, and they were on duty in hostel throughout our whole stay there. All felicitations to the policemen, they were very polite, but all that escort was getting me more and more upset, and I was feeling far more secure without police in Bosnia. I checked out of the hostel on 12th in the morning around 9:00 am, to get to the bus stop as soon as possible and see when there is the first bus line for Leskovac. As I was checking out, the woman at the reception desk told me that the police called and that they were going to be there any minute, which was additional harassment. Because I was so disturbed by all that, I told the woman: "Well, I'm leaving, and if they have nothing better to do, let them come".
As I was heading to the station, I had a feeling I was being followed, because of all that police experience.
I got to the station, I checked when the first bus was leaving and I called my friends who were still in the hostel to come and catch the same bus with me, which is what they did, but escorted by the police, of course.
While I was sitting in the park by the bus station, waiting for the bus departure, I had a feeling I was being followed by one young man in civilian clothes. I felt bad about it, I got up from the bench and returned to the station. Soon the bus arrived and when I got on it, I was relieved.
So I say, I never felt that unsafe, until now.
Milka Rosic, Leskovac
