Serbia: Supporters of Harsher Resolution Detained

1. 4. 2010. Source: Balkan Insight, April 1st 2010

Serbian police detained nine activists of the NGO Youth Initiative for Human Rights in the night between Wednesday and Thursday for spraypainting "the heavy foreign word genocide" on the sidewalk in front of the Serbian Parliament building. On Wednesday a resolution condemning the Srebrenica massacre was adopted by the parliament, but the resolution did not call the crime a genocide.

The activists, who were detained at 2am, were released after five hours, while city employees removed the pavement message around 3am. The resolution condemns the massacre of more than 8,000 Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) men and boys in Srebrenica in 1995, and extended an apology to the families of the victims for not doing everything possible to prevent the massacre, but it did not call the crime committed an act of genocide. The NGO activists said that they wanted to remind the public that dealing with the past is of key importance in the process of building a democratic society.

"By writing a message on the sidewalk in front of the Parliament of Serbia, activists of the Youth Initiative for Human Rights sent a clear message that there are new generations who sympathize with the victims and advocate for a better future for the region. "The message which was sent by writing on the sidewalk is much more important than possible penalties and dirtying the pavement. By making the pavement dirty, we washed the face of Serbia," Maja Stojanovic, director of the Youth Initiative for Human Rights, said upon release.