Press Release regarding the panel in Rex

Tuesday, 04 November 2008 00:00

We take this opportunity to express our protest and criticize the panel which was, in spite of the NGO’s request for cancellation, held in the cultural center Rex on Sunday, 2nd November 2008. Reason for the panel was the projection of the documentary Hot Blood which talks about the strengthening of the right wing and fascist organizations in Serbia. The panel participants were, judging from the media statements, chosen by the film’s crew and supported by B92 – Editor in Chief Veran Matić opened and closed the gathering, while the journalist Antonela Riha moderated the panel.

We consider it unacceptable to consciously open a space for hate speech and regretfully conclude that propagating fascist attitudes was equated with freedom of opinion by the organizers of this event. Laughter which could be heard in Rex during the scenes from the film talking about the murder of Roma boy Dušan Jovanović by the skinheads, chanting of “Kill the faggot” upon the mention of the Pride parade and lesbian and gay population, denial of the Srebrenica massacre and the Holocaust – are not examples of open dialogue, but rather legitimizing fascist attitudes, which are criminal acts and are in direct violation of the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia and existing laws. We also consider shameful journalists’ reports from this even stating that “there were no incidents”, in which the persons propagating fascist ideas are referred to as quote on quote right winged and according to which the abovementioned film “seemed a little bit like an attack on the right winged organizations and their philosophies”.

We would like to remind the public that it was the members of the clero-fascist organization Obraz who, according to police reports,  a month and a half ago, right in front of the cultural center Rex – assaulted three participants of the fifth Queer Belgrade festival because of the actual i.e. assumed sexual orientation and that charges have been filed against them; that the president of Obraz is the one who calls for violence and threatens all that is not “Serbian” during his “nightly patrols” – so we ask the event organizers if they really think that they supported freedom of opinion and democracy in Serbia during this event? We demand an answer to the question – why did you legitimize those who are, in an official police report, classified as clero-fascists? Once again we emphasize that the freedom of opinion and speech does not mean that you should allow hate speech and that this freedom has a limit within respecting the freedom of and not violating others. We remind everybody that the judicial process is currently underway to determine the legal basis for banning fascist organizations and we consider the happenings in cultural center Rex a step backwards in efforts to protect human rights in Serbia i.e. it encourages all those who spread hate on any basis and propagate violence.

Press Release signed by:

1.  Labris - lesbian human rights organization
2.  Queer Belgrade
3.  Queeria Center
4.  Reconstruction Women’s Fund
5.  Center for Girls, Niš
6.  Youth Initiative for Human Rights
7.  Regional Minorities’ Center
8.  Impuls, Tutin
9.  Gayten LGBT Center for the Promotion of Sexual Minorities’ Rights
10. Lambda – Center for Promotion and Advancement of LGBT Human Rights and        Queer Culture
11. Anti-trafficking Center
12. Center for Advancement of Legal Studies
13. Taboo Group of Diversity Affirmation
14. Voice of Diversity
15. Swedish Helsinki Committee for Human Rights
16. Network of Boards for Human Rights in Serbia CHRIS
17. Initiative for Inclusion BigLittle

Translation: Milica Ranđelović

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