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The Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia
expresses serious concern over the selective and politically
motivated withholding of legally mandated budget transfers to the
city of Novi Pazar, which is currently the only local
self-government deprived of funds from the national budget –
including revenues from payroll taxes and non-earmarked transfers.
In this context, the announcement by Minister
Usame Zukorlić that the Government of Serbia will donate 20 million
dinars to the Islamic Community for the restoration of waqf property
cannot and must not be presented as compensation or as a balancing
measure for the damage inflicted on the citizens of Novi Pazar.
Support for religious communities and the preservation of cultural
and religious heritage is a legitimate state policy, but it can
never serve as a substitute for respect for the law and equality of
citizens before institutions.
It is troubling that, parallel to this donation,
state authorities remain silent on the issue of the withheld
transfers to Novi Pazar. The retention of these funds directly
endangers the functioning of public services, the payment of
salaries, and the basic social and infrastructural needs of more
than 100,000 citizens.
In a democratic society, rights and obligations
cannot be distributed selectively, nor can institutional injustice
be concealed with symbolic handouts. Donations to religious
communities, however culturally significant, cannot serve as a cover
for the fact that Novi Pazar has effectively been subjected to
collective punishment – unprecedented in contemporary Serbia.
The Helsinki Committee reminds that legal
transfers are not a political favor but a guaranteed obligation of
the state toward all local communities, regardless of their
political orientation or ethnic composition. Their withholding
seriously undermines the principles of the rule of law,
decentralization, and local autonomy, while at the same time
constituting an act of institutional discrimination.
We call on the competent authorities to urgently:
Present to the public the reasons why
Novi Pazar has not received the funds to which it is legally
entitled;
Enable the unhindered transfer of all
withheld funds;
End the practice of selective
institutional punishment against local communities that are not part
of the ruling structures.
The right to a dignified life and equal treatment
by the state must not be subject to political blackmail. Through
such actions, President Vučić punishes citizens on the basis of
their ethnic identity, provoking discontent that he may then exploit
by labeling it as Islamic fundamentalism. In doing so, the
authorities deliberately shift the focus onto the ethnic field in
order to conceal the fundamental problem that has mobilized the
whole of Serbia – systemic corruption.
The Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia
will continue to insist on accountability, equality, and the
protection of the rights of all citizens – without exception.
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