All for peace, health and knowledge, nothing for arms

Leskovac, May 24th 2016
Report

On the occasion of May 24th - the International Day of Women's Actions for Peace and Disarmament, Women for Peace Leskovac and Women in Black Belgrade, with the support of Women in Black Network from Vlasotince, Nis, Pirot, Krusevac, organized feminist anti-militarist march called All for Peace, health and knowledge, nothing for arms.

During the march we chanted the following slogans:

All for Peace, Health and Knowledge - Nothing for Armament
Women for peace, justice, solidarity!
Always disobedient!
Will want social justice!
Give us back labor rights!
I don’t want to live on loans, I want to live on the wages!
Stop terror in the Yura factory!
Food not Bombs!
Stop Cluster Munitions!
Stop nationalism, Stop militarism!
Stop fascism!
Freedom to women!
Women Solidarity is our strength!

During this peace action 3 performances were carried out:

1. Stop the war, not the people - solidarity with refugees from the Middle East – the action of solidarity with refugees from the Middle East, when we chanted the following slogans:
Stop the war, not the people!
Stop the war in Syria!
Stop the war in Afghanistan!
Stop the war in Iraq!
Refugees are welcome!
Asylums, not tents!
No borders, no nations!
No wires, no boundaries!
We're not a fortress Europe - we want open borders!
Stop the expulsion of refugees Syrian!
Support for Syrian deserters and conscientious objectors!
Stop the abuse and robberies of refugees!

2. Food Not Bombs – Freedom, not masks – action against the illegal demolition at Savamala neighborhood in Belgrade, when we chanted the following slogans:
"Freedom, not masks" and "Food not weapons".
3. "Let's go slowly so that we arrived safely" or "Peace caterpillars" – performance with two “peace caterpillars” when we chanted
"All for peace, health and knowledge, nothing for arms".

Peace action was attended by 50 people.
Action has media coverage, action was followed by fascist supporters who constantly insulted and threat and at the end of the action there was an attack on our activists. Group of fascist threw eggs on peace activists, the police did not react.

The fascists were shouting sexist, racist, nationalist, homophobic -
Stop gays
Fags go away
We will fuck your mothers
Our children and new mothers are dying and you want to treat refugees?!
Where is our social justice
How many were killed in Kosovo because of you
Who pays you, Soros!
Where is little Milica, why didn’t you protest for her
Your Soros threw cluster munitions, and bombed the trains
Go to Kosovo to protest not in Leskovac
Why are you caring queer flag?
Our children are dying in the hospital and you are welcome refugees
Refugees are not welcome
Say something about Kosovo and Vukovar
Where are 1,300 Serbs from Kosovo?
Go to Syria
How many children have been killed in Kosovo?
You are the worst disaster
Go to Kosovska Mitrovica to stop the war
Scum!
We don’t give a fuck for Syria.

After the action, we went to Women for Peace office and exchanged our impressions on this action. We agreed that the situation has deteriorated dramatically since 2009, when we had the similar peace action in Leskovac. Then, seven years ago, when Democratic Party was in power, we didn’t have any problems. Today, when the Serbian Progressive Party is in power, a fascist organizations have open space to commit violence without any consequences, against all those who are different and have a different opinion, especially those who are critical of the regime in Serbia.


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