The
Helsinki Committee Communicates the News Reported by B92 News Service
for
December 22, 2005
"Kostunica Contributed an Article to Obraz"
12/23/2005
Novi Sad - In 1996, incumbent Serbian Premier Vojislav
Kostunica contributed an article to the "Obraz" magazine originating the
"Obraz Fatherland Movement."
This is what the professor at the Social Sciences
Department, Nottingham University, England, Jovan Byford said today at
the forum titled "Racism, Fascism, Xenophobia." He said that Kostunica
had written one nationalistic article for the "Obraz" and wondered what
has prompted him to contribute to an almost unknown magazine, the more
so since he must have been aware that the paper's ideological profile
had often been anti-Semitic and racist.
Byford explained that the "Obraz" magazine had been
set up in 1993, then issued irregularly and, later on, gradually turned
into a movement.
"The 'Obraz' movement was founded by late Nebojsa
Krstic, a man very close to the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC), a man
whom the Patriarch awarded for a paper he had written as a student at
the Theological College," said Byford. He added that the "Obraz's'
tie-up with the SPC considerably abated in 2001 when Krstic was killed
in a traffic accident.
" Mladen Obradovic, Krstic's successor, is less
capable and has less links with the SPC than Krstic. However, today they
establish this connection with the SPC through the Serbian Popular
Movement 'Svetozar Miletic' close to Bishop of Backa Irinej. So, though
no longer direct, the connection between 'Obraz' and the SPC exists for
sure, while the SPC has never distanced itself from 'Obraz'," said
Byford.
Byford said that what marked today's Serbian scene was
overall convergence of the so-called patriotic political forces,
including neo-Nazi groupings and movements belonging to the Christian
Right such as "Obraz," "Dveri" and "St. Justin the Philosopher."
"They are coming closer, willing to wipe out mutual
controversies, given that they now have a common enemy - the liberal
public opinion and non-governmental organizations," said Byford. The
forum "Racism, Fascism, Xenophobia." is a part of a larger project the
Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia has been implementing with
the support of the Council of Europe.
HCHRS |
