The Helsinki
Committee for Human Rights in Serbia
hosted the round table “Resistance
to Extremism” in Belgrade’s “Aero
Club.” Chairman of the Human and
Minority Rights and Gender Equality
Committee Meho Omerovic,
commissioner for the Protection of
Equality Nevena Petrusic, ISC Chief
of Party Bogdan Gavanski and
Chairwoman of the Helsinki Committee
for Human Rights in Serbia Sonja
Biserko delivered opening speeches
and welcomed the participants.
The round table discussed the
legislation and practice in
countering violence, hate speech and
hate crimes, women rights vs.
ideology of right-wing extremist
organizations, the relationship
between rightist organizations and
the Serb Orthodox Church and usual
targets and motives of right-wing
violence. Considering a series of
debates on right-wing extremism the
Committee held throughout 2014 in
Vojvodina, the round table
specifically focused on
(in)tolerance in Vojvodina.
President of the Assembly of
Vojvodina`s Committee on European
Integration and Interregional
Cooperation Maja Sedlarevic,
President of the Independent
Journalists’ Association of
Vojvodina Dinko Gruhonjic and
politicologist Pavel Domonji
addressed the issue.
Authors of the publication
(politicologist Pavel Domonji,
sociologist Srdjan Barisic, lawyer
Ivana Stjelja and historian Milivoj
Beslin) launched the publication
“Extremism: How to Recognize a
Social Evil”, which was then
distributed to all the participants.
Executive director of the Helsinki
Committee for Human Rights in Serbia
Izabela Kisic presented the goals of
the newly established Coalition of
Nongovernmental Organizations
“Resistance to Extremism.”
The round table was organized under
the project “Civil Society
Initiative against Hate Crime and
Hate Speech” the Helsinki Committee
has been realizing with the
assistance of the Institute for
Sustainable Communities. |