In support of Dejan Anastasijevic – updated
Update: Five-minute protest took place today when few hundred people blocked the traffic in Belgrades’s busiest street Kneza Milosa for five minutes in protest against the attack on Dejan Anastasijevic. Protest happened simultaneously in 165 towns in Serbia and was organized by LDP.
Update: One good article by Jasmina Tesanovic on Boingboing, read it for more info on the whole situation.
I’m re-posting the following great text from Time in support of one of the best journalists in Serbia, Dejan Anastasijevic, long-time member of Vreme, one of the best weeklies in the region and as a protest against the vicious attack on him that took place this morning. So far, nobody has taken the responsibility for the attack with the hand grenade this morning, but the guess is that it has something to do with Anastasijevic’s comments on Scorpions verdict recently.
The people who did this obviously still think that the scare tactics work, but the thing is, these days – once the truth is out there, there is nothing you can do to stop it.
One Day, They’ll Sit Down Together
Thursday, Feb. 08, 2007 By DEJAN ANASTASIJEVIC
In a matter of six months, possibly less, cartographers will have to make a small change in the political map of Europe: according to a U.N.-backed proposal unveiled Feb. 2, the formerly Serbian province of Kosovo is about to become an independent state. Ethnic Albanians, who make up the bulk of Kosovo’s population, welcomed a plan that brings them to the brink of fulfilling their century-old dream; Serbia and Kosovo’s Serb minority have already rejected it, and they’re struggling in vain to prevent its implementation. But as the wheels of diplomacy spin, the impact of this change on the lives of people on both sides of the border is a far more subtle thing than either side seems ready to admit. Proponents of Kosovo’s independence, including most Western countries, claim that it will bring a much needed stability to the land that languished in legal uncertainty after nato forced Serbian security forces to withdraw in 1999. Since then, Kosovo has been ruled by U.N. administrators while formally remaining a part of Serbia. Now this largely symbolic bond is about to be severed, but that doesn’t mean the people of Kosovo will be free from foreign rule: according to the plan, devised by U.N. envoy Martti Ahtisaari, the European Union’s office in Pristina will have broad powers to keep local politicians in line, both in internal and external affairs, much as in Bosnia (which is also nominally independent and internationally recognized). Furthermore, some 30,000 nato troops will remain in the province, while Kosovo will be allowed only a 2,500-man army. And finally, some 100,000 Serbs in Kosovo will have a high degree of autonomy, and rights to economic and administrative links with Serbia.
While most ethnic Albanian leaders are ready to accept token independence over the status quo, some are already grumbling that Ahtisaari’s plan falls far short of their expectations. Albin Kurti, the leader of the pro-independence Self-Determination movement, warned that “Ahtisaari’s proposal does nothing for Kosovo’s independence, state system and sovereignty” — and called for its rejection. Kurti’s movement, which intends to stage a series of anti-plan protests, is backed by hard-line veterans of the disbanded Kosovo Liberation Army, a guerrilla force that waged a ruthless war against Serbs. In the short run, Kurti’s extreme views are unlikely to attract many followers, but that could change once the Kosovars discover that having a national flag and anthem will not automatically bring jobs and put food on the table. One thing diplomats rarely discuss is the sustainability of Kosovo’s economy: an unemployment rate estimated at 50% coupled with rampant corruption and an absence of the rule of law presents a tough challenge for any elected government, independent or not.
As for the Serbs, the independence of Kosovo is nothing short of catastrophe. Most of my compatriots have never been to Kosovo, nor do they intend to go, but that doesn’t stop them from having strong feelings about it. Too many Serbs nurture a romantic notion of Kosovo; it is a part of our upbringing, our epic poems and our national mythology. Most Westerners find that difficult to understand, but not me. To find a place as firmly attached to the sense of national identity as Kosovo is to the Serbs, you have to look to the Holy Land’s iconic status for Jews and Palestinians alike.
When I first went to Kosovo, as part of a school trip some 30 years ago, I was half-expecting to see the ghosts of the noble knights and wise priests who forged the Serbian medieval empire centuries ago, before the Ottoman army crushed them in the epic battle of 1389. That was the image I learned in school. Instead, my 14-year-old schoolmates and I saw that this mythical and magic land was teeming with grim, foreign-looking folks who made us feel distinctly unwelcome. And we couldn’t understand why they seemed so angry and miserable when everyone in communist Yugoslavia was supposed to be happy in ethnic harmony. When I went back, much later, to cover the dirty war between Serbian security forces and the KLA, I was much less naive. In the end, I learned to love Kosovo not because of its history, but in spite of it.
The Ahtisaari plan comes at a bad time for Serbia. It is swinging between pro-reformist forces who are aware that the loss of Kosovo is inevitable (but daren’t say so for fear of losing votes) and hard-line populist “patriots” who find the general frustration over Kosovo a fertile ground for their merchandise — and whose ascent to power would push Serbia deeper into confrontation and misery. I do not dare predict which of the two sides will prevail.
What the Albanians (who think Ahtisaari’s proposal gives them too little) and Serbs (who grieve that it takes away too much) don’t seem to understand is how little real change independence will bring to people’s ordinary lives, and how many of the present problems will remain. Kosovo will not fly to Venus and Serbia to Mars, no matter what diplomats agree in New York City, Brussels and Moscow. The truly lasting solution will be reached only when Serbs and ethnic Albanians sit down together and work it out among themselves. That will not happen soon, but one day it will. Ahtisaari’s plan, provided it survives its first contact with reality, could at least be a step toward that day.
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I accidentally deleted Owen’s comment when updating, here it is again:
What I admire about Serbia is the fact that even in the worst of times there are brave voices prepared to speak out even when they know there are plenty of people who’d be happy to see them come to harm. Honour to Anastasijevic and the rest of them.
Thanks for salvaging the comment, Viktor, and thanks for the link to Tesanovic’s admirably angry article. I wish I had half her and Anastasijevic’s courage.
Anastasijevic is a presstitude, as some has called him already elsewhere. Brave, is he? I’ll bet his pockets weigh him down.
After the funniest comment on this blog ever (Tommy on “Belgrade Clubs->Stefan Brown”), we now have the most disgusting one: Congratulations, Blackbird – that’s some first class guano!
If you are interpreting my comment as condoning any kind of harm to this man, then you are grossly mistaken, as is typical here. Do you support Natasa Kandic, too? Don’t bother answering— I can take a guess.
Blackbird you are wrong. He believes what he writes. As journalists go he has much more integrity than the average.
Of course he comes from a certain position so you might disagree with him but he believes it and doesnt see his job as (purely) a means to make money.
In any case the right response is to condemn attacks on journalists on human rights grounds – freedom of speech etc. Still, I think there is some room to criticise some of those who have appointed themselves his defenders – ie the political party LDP.
Speaking as a member of the dishounourable profession no political party has the right to hijack an attack on press freedom to advance its own political cause. If it wasnt about advertising LDP then why were hired campaigners carrying LDP banners and so on? Fine, if a certain group of people who are LDP members insist upon organising the protest its ok, but lets not have the political propoganda when this is not a party issue.
Oh and bear in mind that Anastasijevic said he was not consulted by LDP before they hijacked his cause.
Anastasijevic writes for Time. He writes what they are willing to print.
Dishonorable “profession” is right.
Bganon, well, as you can see from the picture, i was late for the 5-minute protest, that’s why i took it from far, when arriving, i only arrived at the literally last minute so i missed to see any large LDP banners – there were some people i saw holding something that resembled bumper stickers, but i couldn’t make out what stood on them besides LDP logo. I must have missed you in the crowd if you were there.
Bottom line, if i had the chance to choose either to have this kind of protest organized by some party or not have the protest at all, i would chose the first option.
All parties condemned the attack except for SRS and SPS as i saw on the news.
I didnt really attend rather watched because I didnt like the fact that this was organised by a political party rather than say by Vreme or media organisations such as NUNS and UNS. I know that members of these organisations took part but I know other people who deliberately didnt take part because they thought the protest had been politicised. As I understand it that was Anastasijevic’s view as well.
Not everything in Serbia has to be or should be defined by a political party or used by a political party. And sometimes involvement by a political party lessens the effect of pressure rather than increases it. The issue is press freedom not the promotion of LDP.
As I mentioned elsewhere I have joined protests led by those with a political agenda I dont necessarily agree with (on student funding), but these were held in conjunction with an organisation I was a member of – the National Union of Students. It was clear to everybody at those protests that the issue united us. If you read the news reports in almost every newspaper this protest was called an LDP organised one.
I dont know who makes these decisions but the abuse of turning every issue into a party one has to stop. Perhaps this was an LDP organised event only because they were quickest. In that case its a disgrace that journalist organisations in Serbia are so slow to react. For sure LDP or other political parties should be allowed to participate in such a protest but morally they should not use the issue to promote their party.
Blackbird ‘Anastasijevic writes for Time. He writes what they are willing to print.’
I know, and I must say that his more radical viewpoints seem to appear in Time rather than in Vreme or Serbia. It is slightly offputting but I mostly put it down to copy-editting at Time which serves an American audience looking for more simplistic answers to questions many dont understand. Still, I dont see him in the way you describe because he believes what he writes. You might say it doesnt make a difference if he’s wrong but I think it makes a huge difference.
I know a newspaper editor who writes stories purely on the instructions of his masters. He then receives his reward in cash. I’m talking about domestic businessmen who pay editors to write positive / negative stories about them or their rivals. So he makes up stories and at the same time potrays himself as a heroic supporter of press freedom. He also accepts money from other countries such as Montenegro and Russia – either their governments or ‘businessmen’.
Journalism is a tainted profession. Then again look around at other professions there are precious few noble ones. Oh and one of the most hypocritical / dishonest professions of all – the legal one. What a sham that is. I recently engaged a lawyer on some minor matter. The first thing they told me was to lie to a judge if I was asked a certain question. Call me simple minded but this sickened me. Morality and truth? No its about winning and making money – apparantly. A bit like politics really.