March 2000:xxx

OTPOR!

Student Resistance Movement in Serbia

MOTSTAND!

RESISTANCE!

 

youth action

get up..., stand up for your rights!

by vesna radovanic

In Serbia there is no individual that doesn't know about OTPOR. This article is aimed at those who have never or have heard a little about it and want to know more.

It is well known through the past that most great changes come from young people. In Serbia, after ten years of agony under the regime of Slobodan Milosevic and the socialists it became obvious that only the strength of youth can make us raise our heads and fight for the freedom that we all deserve.

Ever since 1991 there were student demonstrations in Serbia, but there was no organized student movement. Finally that
changed with OTPOR. Students gathered and formed their first true organization.

At the beginning, this group was kind of mysterious, underground movement. Graffiti, posters, performances. People were curious. What is OTPOR? Who are these young men? But then, day-by-day, citizens become familiar with whole idea and the group got all the sympathies as well the support of professors, artists and opposition parties.

OTPOR is a youth organization, but not only youth, of people gathered around the idea of confronting the current situation in our country. The intention is to animate and encourage as
many people as possible and to make them do something for their lives. And all of that in a way of the newly rising generation—smart, humorous, free, and with spirit.

No more waiting for better times to come. No more waiting for someone to bring it! Somebody's got to get it! And it's up to
all of us to take our own future in our own hands. Leave the past behind and look to the future. Wake up!

And as these young people say: "The crucial motivation that moves us to do all that we do is a longing to live a normal and peaceful life in our country Serbia, and that is something that the current regime does not allow us".

To some of you, this may seem like a very modest wish, but
for us in Serbia that's the first thing that we have to reach if we want to continue or better say to start with the normal life.

Serbian youth are sick of being insulted, persecuted, beaten, and sent to senseless wars—lost before they begin, where lots of them lost their lives. These days you can feel that something positive and powerful is happening in Serbia. Besides all that misery, disappointed and tired people, refugees from Kosovo, there is some hope. A light!

Again! People decided to fight back. It's enough! We won't stand it anymore. And that's the reason for resistance!

Our demands are:

1 ) He must leave! (and you all know who that is)

2) The elections must be fair!

3) Serbia must be a normal country!

Resistance until victory!

Youth are concerned about their future and therefore they invited the nation to stand for these demands in order to establish democratic state settlement with guaranteed highest standards of individual and collective human rights and liber-
ties as well the rights for all ethnical groups; opening toward international organizations, especially UN, OSCE, as well to the world, the European Community and the Balkan counties.

OTPOR's everyday actions are proof of creativity, energy and a strong will to change things and make them better. Started in Belgrade, OTPOR is now a well-spread network with activists all around Serbia. Wallpapers, street art, lectures, concerts, internet conferences are just some of the projects. Fighting against repression on University, free media ... more arrests, but less fear.

It is time for the truth! And spreading the truth is not a hobby, but more then anything it is a personal mission of each of us.

The time is near!

Time to stop the terror!

Vesna Radovanovic,
Student of Comparative Literature

Read more about OTPOR here:

www.otpor.com

The article above was printed in the "Collage" - Helsinki Citizens´ Assembly´s (hCa) International Youth Magazine, Winter 2000 number 11.

Visit hCa online: http://www.hca.cz for basic information about hCa, announcements about events and opportunities, mission reports, appeals, useful links, and also downloadable-publications... including "Collage".

Liste over arresterte og anholdte opposisjonelle i Serbia

List over arrested and detained members of the opposition in Serbia

Informative talks/Informelle samtaler = Interrogations/Politiforhør
JUL = Miljana Markovic´s party/Milosevic´s kones parti

28. februar 00: Becej Boris, Negeli trial.

24th February 00. Ivanjica, 4 activists arrested, information talk

24th February 00. Zrenjanin 8 activists take in.

20th February 00. Backa Palanka, Stanko Lazendic and Milan Djilas.

19 February 00. Belgrade, police in civil suits or private security of
JUL beaten up Nenad Petrovic.

17th February 00. Subotica 15 activists, information talk.

16th&17th February Batocina, near Kragujevac,Vuckovic Vladan and Milojevic Dejan were taken in.

16th February 00. Belgrade, 1 activist beaten in front of Mc Donald's.
16th February 00. Belgrade, 2 activists taken in + material taken

15th February 00. ALL I HAVE I CARRY WITH ME Kragujevac, police and ununiformed policemen tryed to stop the action, but eventually they did not succeed.

15th February 00. Subotica ,18 activists take in .

14th February 00. Belgrade, Branko Ilic, Nikola Andric, Milos Milenkovic taken in.

12th February 00. Sremski Karlovci, Nemanja Starovic taken in.

11th February 00. police stopped ELECTRO-DISASTER OF SERBIA action. Three activists were taken in: Tomislav Dragovic, Milan Jovanovic and Aleksandar Visnjic.

4th February 00. Paracin, 1 activist taken in, inspection of the car, tribune stopped.

4th February 00. Paracin ,Branko Antic were taken in.

2th Febryaru 00. RANSOM FOR THE TRUTH Kragujevac, police stopped action.

27th January 00. Backo Petrovo Selo three activists arrested.

27th January 00. Novi Sad information talk Vladimir Pavlov and Stanko Lazendic. with DB inspectors Markovic i Grujic.

20th January 00. Krusevac, Srdjan Milivojevic, Misa Novakovic, Dejan
Petkovic, Dejan Gajic taken in.

19th January 00. Krusevac, Misa Novakovic, Dejan Petkovic taken in.

18th January 00. Krusevac, Srdjan Milivojevic, Misa Novakovic, Dejan
Petkovic, Dejan Gajic taken in.

11th January 00. Belgrade, action voting for "Resistance heroes" forbidden

10th January 00. Belgrade, 3 activists taken in + material taken.

23rd December 99. FOR EVERITHING YOU HAVE DONE TO US Kragujevac, action stopped by police,cammerman and photo-reporter were taken in.

9th December 99. RESIST TO FASHISM Kragujevac, NN persons stoped action by force.

24th November '99. Ivanjica, 14 activists taken in.

21 November '99 Belgrade, 7 activists attacked by police in civilsuits on Zeleni Venac

20 November '99 Belgrade, police stopped gluing billboards action and
took materials.

19th November '99 Belgrade, 7 activists taken in + material taken.

9th November '99 Belgrade, round 50 activists wounded in the
intervention of police

6th November '99 Belgrade, 5 activists taken in + material taken

4th November '99 legitimating of Vladimir Jesic and Stanko Lazendic during the action.

3 November '99 Belgrade, Djordje Vucicevic taken in while providing
leaflets in Student house "Karaburma".

4th November '99 Belgrade, 5 activists attacked in front of the SPS
building + taken material.

21th October 99.PAYING RESPECT TO THE VICTIMS OF FASHISM Kragujevac ,police used force to stop action.

29th October '99. Belgrade, 7 activists taken in + material taken

14th October 99. Nis, TOUR DE OTPOR! action took place while President Milan Milutinovic was celebreting opening of a reconstructed bridge. One policeman harmed phisically an OTPOR! activists. Lather, police was beating students in front of Building of University. Five students were taken in.

12th October 99. Nis , Aleksandar Visnjic was taken in for an informative talk.

27th September 99. WE HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH A PRESIDENT - Kragujevac, action stopped by police.

21st September 1999. Belgrade, Branko Ilic and Vukasin Petrovic taken in during the action.

20th September 99. A DINAR FOR DISMISSLE Kragujevac, Predrag Stankovic, Zoran Matovic, Jelena Urosevic,Predrag Madzarevic,Vojkan Pavlovic,Nikola Kujovic, Darko Milenkovic, Nenad Bankovic, Darko Busarac, Branko Antic, Dejan Markovic and Velibor Stefanovic taken in, Zoran Matovic was beaten.

19th Septembar 99. Nis , Aleksandar Visnjic was taken in for an
informative talk.

18th September 99. Nis, A DINAR FOR DISMISSLE, action was stopped by police Aleksandar Visnjic and Marko Dakovic were taken in.

13rd September 99. Nis, Aleksandar Visnjic was taken in for an informative talk,because of problems with Dean of Medical Faculty.

13th August 99. Vranje ,two activists were taken in for an informative talk.

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Iflg. Agence France-Presse stilles den serbiske opposisjonslederen Dusan Mihajlovic for retten i Beograd 7. mars, anklaget for å ha spredt falsk informasjon om regimet til president Slobodan Milosevic.

22. februar kritiserte Mihajlovic Jugoslavias president Slobodan Milosevic i et TV-program der han beskrev hans styre som et "terror-regime" som var i sin "første fase på veien mot diktatur".

Mihajlovic, som risikerer tre års fengsel dersom han blir dømt, hevder at han "ikke har begått noe kriminelt, bare hevdet sitt eget og sitt partis politiske standpunkt".

http://www.clari.net/hot/we

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March 1, 2000:

Onsdag 23. februar arresterte serbisk politi rundt tyve medlemmer av et opposisjonsparti i byen Novi Sad i Serbias nordlige provins Vojvodina. Branislav Pomorski, leder for Vojvodinas Sosialdemokratiske Liga, sa at medlemmene av partiet ble anholdt mens de delte ut løpesedler utenfor partiets lokaler. Blant de anholdte var partiets visepresident Bojan Kostres og Zoran Petazkob, medlem av provinsregjeringen.

Arrestasjonene fant sted straks før Serbias statsminister Mirko Marjanovic skulle innvie konstruksjonsarbeidet på den nye broen som skal erstatte den som ble ødelagt av NATOs bomber mot Jugoslavia ifjor. På løpesedlene ble folk oppfordret til å protestere mot det partiet beskrev som statens "svindelrekonstruksjon".

Lokalregjeringen i Novi Sad, som er under opposisjonens kontroll, markerte i januar sitt eget prosjekt for å gjenoppbygge de tre broene over Donau som NATO ødela i 1999.