As we previously have done, we are issuing a short report of our most important activities in the recent period.
If you are interested in more detailed information, let us know. We will gladly send you further information.
Street Actions
In this period, our street actions were connected to marking important dates—the dates of crimes committed in our name and remembering and marking the fifteenth anniversary of important events and dates in the history of the antiwar movement in Serbia
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February 27: Commemorating the 15th anniversary of the crimes committed in Štrpci (The kidnapping of persons of Bosnian nationality). The commemoration took place in Prijepolje and Štrpci.
March 15, International Women's Day – In order to mark the 8th of March, we held the street action “Enough Violence, Fear and Restrictions,” together with other NGOs from Serbia, at Republic Square in Belgrade. It was held one week late due to the fact that we were banned by the government from holding it on the exact day.
March 21, International Day for the Elimination of Racism— Distributed fliers.
Confronting the Past and Transitional Justice – A Feminist Approach
As a continuation of this educational project, we focused on issues related to a feminist approach to transitional justice.
Criminal Punishment - the Path to a Just Peace: monitoring the trials at the Special Court for War Crimes in Belgrade. Activists from the Women in Black Network - Serbia observed the trials.
Trials for the crimes committed in Suva Reka: Serbian Interior Ministry employees killed 48 Kosovar Albanian civilians on March 26, 1999 in Suva Reka, Kosovo. The trial began on October 1, 2006. Women in Black activists have attended all sessions of the trial during this period. Trial sessions were held on the following dates:
- January 14-18, 2008
- February 5-8, 2008
- March 3-7, 2008
While following trials, Women in Black activists offer support to the families of the victims, meet with them after the trial sessions, and write reports of the trial proceedings, among other activities.
Educational activities: Work meetings and consultations about continuing the educational program “Transitional Justice – a feminist approach.”
February 26, 2008: ‘To See, To Know, To Change’: video projections of documentary material about war crimes, but also the resistance to war and war crimes, in the former Yugoslavia and other regions.
March 10, 2008: Round table “Future relations between the Serbian and Albanian people”—Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia, held in The Media Center - Belgrade.
March 27, 2008: Platform: “The Forgotten World – the Kosovo Enclave” - Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia, held in The Center for Cultural Decontamination.
Remembering Resistance – Civil Responsibility:
- February 17, 2008: Remembering Neda Bozinovic – The promotion of a booklet about her peace and feminist engagement.
Also remembered were other Serbian activists who were known for their anti-war, anti-nationalistic, and anti-fascist contributions.
Neda Bozinovic was one of the co-founders of Women in Black (died 2001).
Visiting the Places of Crimes Committed In Our Name
February 27, 2008: Attended commemoration in Štrpci (Bosnia-Herzegovina) on the fifteenth anniversary of the kidnapping of 19 passengers of Bosnian nationality from the Belgrade-Bar train, February 1999. On this occasion, Women in Black paid respect to the victims by laying down a wreath with the sign, “We will not forget the crimes in Štrpci.” The commemoration was organized by Women in Black, The Humanitarian Law Center, The Helsinki Law Committee, and the Youth Initiative for Human Rights. Twenty-six activists attended from Belgrade, Leskovac, Velika Plana, Nis, Pljevlja, and Prijepolje. Twenty family members of the victims also attended the commemoration.
Transitional Justice from a Feminist Standpoint: In the reporting period, the following panel discussions, lectures, and workshops were held:
- February 13, 2008, Belgrade: Conversation about Florance Artman’s book, “Peace and Justice”— held in the Women in Black office. The discussion was attended by ten activists.
- February 18, 2008, Kikinda: Promotion of book titled, 'Transitional Justice—A Feminist Approach' by Staša Zajović, held in the Women’s Alternative Workshop.
- February 24, 2008, Vlasotince: A book promotion was held for the book 'Transitional Justice—A Feminist Approach’. The book promotion was led by the author, Staša Zajović, and was held in collaboration with SOS Phone for Women and Children.
- February 25, 2008, Leskovac: The book 'Transitional Justice—A Feminist Approach' was promoted by the author, Staša Zajović. The book promotion was organized by the nongovernmental organization Women for Peace.
- February 26, 2008, Belgrade: A promotion of the book “A Woman’s Side of War,” was held in the International Press Center. “Theater Breath,” by Dijana Milosevic was performed during the promotion. The event was attended by approximately 70 people.
- March 8-9, 2008: An educational seminar and training of trainers on 'Transitional Justice - A Feminist Approach' was held in Belgrade. It was requested by Women in Black Network - Serbia activists in order to provide them with further education and training for work in the field.
- March 11, 2008, Niš: A round table discussion “Why we need to confront our past” was held in the Alternative Cultural Center. The speakers were Biljana Kovačević-Vučo (Yucom, Belgrade), Lino Veljak (Philosophy University, Zagreb), Gordana Stoiljkovic (Women For Peace, Leskovac) and Staša Zajović (Belgrade). Fifty people attended the round table discussion.
Seminars, Conferences, and Consultations about Confronting the Past: organized by a combination of non-governmental organizations and Women in Black activists.
February 11-12, 2008: Third Regional Forum of the Regional Consultation on Mechanisms of Truth-telling, held by the Humanitarian Law Center from Belgrade, Documents from Zagreb, and the Research documentation Center from Sarajevo
- March 19, 2008, Krusevac: A book promotion was held in the town library. It was organized by the women’s group, “Pescanik.” The speakers were Nadja Duhacek, Jelisaveta Blagojevic, Lidija Vasiljevic, and Marija Mladenovic.
- March, 27, 2008, Velika Plana: In the town library a book promotion was held with the following speakers: Hana Ćopić, Dragana Obrenić, Mirjana Mirosavljevic, and Adriana Zaharijević. The promotion was organized by the Velika Plana group “Women in Action.” Twenty people attended the book promotion.
In total, four hundred people attended the above-mentioned promotions.
Women, Peace, and Security- Resolution 1325: In this reporting period the following activities occurred:
- March 9, 2008: In order to raise public awareness about Resolution 1325, human security, women’s rights and the current threats to women human rights defenders in Serbia, we have planned several street actions. We have planned several street performances to take place throughout various cities in Serbia.
- March 30, 2008: Women in Black activists participated in a round table discussion, “Right to Freedom and Security – European Court for Human Rights,” held by The Belgrade Center for Human Rights.
Warning Signs of Fundamentalism and Feminist Responses.
Reproductive Rights, and Transitional Justice
- Research was conducted in order to gain insight into the attitudes of socially and politically engaged women in Serbia. The research analyzed these women's attidudes towards women’s human security and sought to establish to what extent this population is informed about basic terms and facts relevant to women’s human security, reproductive rights, and transitional justice. The research concluded a surprising result in the number of socially and politically engaged women who consider abortion to be the murder of an unborn child. These results have been further confirmed by the experience of our activists in the field.
International Women’s Networks and Coalitions: Conferences, working meetings, consultations, and actions in this period:
January 31, 2008: Women in Black Network Meeting: Twenty-four women attended the meeting from the following cities: Belgrade, Leskovac, Krusevac, Velika Plana, Vlasotince, Vrbas, Kikinda, Kraljevo, Novi Pazar and Pljevlja.
February 1-2, 2008: Meeting and conversation with Yolanda Aguilar, women activist from Guatemala, “Experiences in Women Peace Activism.” Twenty-eight women attended the workshop from 10 cities.
Someone said feminism? Book promotions: The book was published by Women in Black, The Women Studies and Reconstruction Women Fund. Book promotions were organized by the Women in Black Network-Serbia on the following dates:
- February 20, 2008, Belgrade’s Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory: The book promotion was led by Lino Veljak, Paola Petricevic (an activist from Kotor), Dasa Duhacek, Predrad Sarcevic, and Adriana Zaharijević from Belgrade. Seventy activists attended the book promotion.
- February 23, 2008, Niš: The book promotion was held in the Alternative Cultural Center. A discussion was facilitated by several of the book’s authors: Marija Petrovic, Nadja Duhacek, Hana Ćopić, and Diana Miladinović. Eighty people attended the event.
- March 7, 2008, Sremski Karlovci: A book promotion was held in the town library and led by Marija Petrovic, one of the book’s authors. Twenty-one people were in attendance.
- March 8, 2008, Belgrade: The book promotion was held in the REX center and was facilitated by eighteen of the book’s authors: Marija Perkovic, Hana Ćopić, Lidija Vasiljevic, Marija Mladenovic, Tijana Krstec, Dragana Obrenić, Jelena Visnjic, Mirjana Mirosavljevic, Katarina Loncarevic, Nadja Duhacek, Ana Bukvic, Jasmina Stevanović, Nataša Zlatković, Diana Miladinović, Jelena Miletić, Iva Nenic, and Adriana Zaharijević.
- March 11, 2008, Zrenjanin: The book promotion was held in the town library and was facilitated by Katarina Loncarevic, Mirjana Mirosavljevic, Jelena Vusnjic, and Adriana Zaharijević. The promotion was organized by the non-governmental organization “Women’s Alternative Center.” Forty activists attended.
Women’s Peace Coalition: Members of the Coalition (The Kosova Women’s Network and The Women in Black Network—Serbia) maintained in contact, organized consultations and joint activities, and exchanged reports concerning the situation in Serbia and Kosovo, especially after Kosovo declared independence. Women in Black Network – Serbia activists traveled to Priština for the first meeting of The Women’s Peace Coalition held after the declaration of Kosovo’s independence.
G8 Coalition: This group of non-governmental organizations held several working meetings and planning sessions during this reporting period. A number of joint statements were published, mainly concerning responsibility for war and war crimes, and urging the enactment of transitional justice. Along with numerous announcements, the G8 Coalition held a press conference in the Media Center entitled “Appeal to Presidential Candidate Boris Tadic on the occasion of the second round of the Presidential Elections.” Speakers at the press conference were Biljana Kovačević-Vučo (Lawyers’ Committee for Human Rights-Yucom), Borka Pavićević (Center for Cultural Decontamination), Andrej Nosov (Youth Initiative for Human Rights), Miljenko Dereta (Citizens’ Initiative), Nataša Kandić (The Humanitarian Law Center), and Staša Zajović (Women in Black).
Coalition for Tolerance Against Hate Crime: This Coalition was created in August 2007 by the Lawyers’ Committee for Human Rights (Yucom). Women in Black has been an active member of this Coalition from the beginning. The Coalition had various meetings and activities during this reporting period, including:
- March 25, 2008: Round table Discussion “Legal standards regarding the freedom of expression, their use in Serbia, and the influence of ethics and self-regulation in journalism.” This event was held in the office in Novi Sad at the Independent Journalist Society of Vojvodina and was organized by the Lawyers’ Committee for Human Rights.
- March 26-7, 2008: ‘Training for the practical use of international standards in the area of human rights’ led by the Lawyers’ Committee for Human Rights. The training took place at Palic Lake.
- March 31, 2008: Public discussion “International Legal Standards on the Banning of Hate Speech and their use in Serbia”, held in Media Center-Belgrade by the Lawyers' Committee for Human Rights.
The Coalition for a Secular State: This Coalition was formed to work against the adoption of the Law on Churches and Religious Communities passed in 2006. Activities of this Coalition focus on demanding an evaluation of the constitutionality of this law-March 17, 2008: Round table “Prohibition of Discrimination and Harassment towards Women,” organized by the Center for Peace and Democracy Development at the Media center.
-March 22, 2008: A working meeting titled “Further steps after CEDAW reports” was led by the organizations Women’s Space (Niš) and Voice of Difference (Belgrade).
Internal Workshops and Discussions – Located in Women in Black office
- March 30, 2008: Conversation with sociologist Zagorka Golubovic on “Politics and Everyday Life – Reviewing the current political situation.” This discussion was held in the Women in Black office and was attended by 15 activists.
International Politics
This includes participation in international conferences (official and alternative), contact with international institutions, and activist visits and exchanges.
Participation in alternative and official conferences – we will mention only those which we helped to coordinate or in which we gave presentations or lectures:
- February 3, 2008, Milan, Italy: A non-formal meeting was held in the evening with Women in Black activists from Milan.
- February 4, 2008: A panel discussion entitled “Transitional Justice- A Feminist Approach” was organized by Women in Black-Milan and the Free Women University. The speakers were Staša Zajović (Women in Black) and Marieme Helie Lucas (Secularism is a Woman’s Issue and Women Living Under Muslim Laws).
- February 5, 2008: A meeting with Women in Black activists and other peace activists from Milan, Rome, and Verona.
- February 6, 2008 -Torino: Lectures by Staša Zajović and Marieme Helie Lucas entitled “Nationalism and Fundamentalism – Reflections on a Feminist Approach.”
- February 28-29, 2008: A conference “Region in Transition” organized by the Igman Initiative and Forum of Tuzla Citizens. The conference was held in Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In addition to the activities mentioned above, we had many international visitors during this reporting period. We had a meeting with each visitor in which we talked about Women in Black’s activities and the current situation in Serbia. The visitors in this reporting period included: Laura McLeod -- London, a group of 14 students from the United States, Walter Veirs, a representative of MOTT Foundation, UNHCR representatives, representatives from various media from throughout Europe (Spain, Croatia, and France), and numerous artists, including the famous theater director Michel Lessac from New York.
Publishing Activities
During the time covered in this report, and in order to promote activities and ideas of the Women in Black, we have published the following:
- Someone said Feminism? A book that explores the question, ‘How has feminism influenced women of the 21st century?’ Published by WiB, Women Studies and Reconstruction Women Fund, it contains 26 published pieces written by female activists and feminists of the younger generation. Adriana Zaharijević, a philosopher from Belgrade, was the editor of the book.
- A Woman’s Side of War – This book contains 120 testimonies, letters, and memories of women about the wars in ex-Yugoslavia. It is the first time women from all sides of the wars in ex-Yugoslavia have been presented in one anthology. It contains 14 chapters entitled: ‘Vukovar’, ‘In front of the wall of silence,’ ‘Man is a terrifying force of violence and pain,’ ‘They took everything,’ ‘Sarajevo under siege,’ ‘I am running away, hide the children,’ ‘Women of Krajina,’ ‘Srebrenica,’ ‘Voices of despaired ones,’ ‘Lights in the tunnel,’ ‘Women renewing memories,’ ‘Kosovo,’ ‘Humanitarian intervention,’ and ‘Crossing the line.’
- The following booklets were published in this reporting period as a part of an ongoing series that started in 2006 entitled ‘Feminism, Pacifism and nonviolence’:- Women’s Peace Politics and Peace Activism in Religion.
- Neda Bozinovic - Continuing the fight for peace and women’s rights - A publication containing 44 pages dedicated to work of Neda Bozinovic.
- 100 Years of the Struggle for Women’s Rights - Publication about 100th anniversary of March 8, International Women’s Day. It contains 4 chapters and has 75 pages. The editor of the booklet was Marija Perkovic.
Belgrade, April 2008
(Report prepared by: Ljilja, Miloš, Marija, Nataša, and Staša)
