(Mainstream Media) Borba: Arrested Anarchosyndicalists Should be Freed from Prosecution
The Center for Civil Society Development (CRCD) sent an open letter to Serbian President Boris Tadic with asking him to release the arrested anarhosindikalists – Ratibor Trivunac (28), Tadej Kurepa (24), Ivan Vulovic (24), Nikola Mitrovic (29) and Sanja Dojkić (19), wo have been in custody since 5 September. They are under investigation on suspicion of throwing two Molotov cocktails at the building of the Embassy of Greece in Belgrade on August 25 and of the criminal act of international terrorism. The letter, which was signed by Dr. Vladimir Ilic, director of CRCD, explained that this is motivated by reason of fairness and public reason. The reason of fairness requires that they be exempted from criminal prosecution for the crime of international terrorism, the statement says. Further, it states that the suspects, in the worst case, threw two beer bottles with a flammable substance at an empty building of the Greek Embassy, causing minimal fire damage. CRCD then claims that it is completely incomprehensible that after the burning of the U.S. Embassy on 21st February 2008, which led to a fatality, only one person was suspected of serious offenses against general safety, whereas with the failed attack on the Greek embassy, which occurred almost without any material damage, five young people have spent more than a month in detention and under investigation for a more serious crime – international terrorism.
“There looms the shadow of adoubt that the arrested anarchosindicalists are being exposed to criminal proceedings because of the Hellenophilia of our citizen – voters, including widespread anti-Americanism, and the need (for the state) to establish a semblance of balance after the arrest and criminal prosecution of right-wing extremists who during the month of September threatened deadly violence on the streets of Belgrade. I do not claim to have indications that the arrest and search of the suspect anarchosyndicalistas may be related to the ongoing process of re-election of all judges and prosecutors in Serbia, but this is reminiscent of the opinion of the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe and the last report of European Commission on the influences on the judicial system in our country. The Republic of Serbia, arresting suspects for throwing two beer bottles with flammable liquids at the Greek Embassy showed that it not only protects the territorial integrity of Greece, given that the principle of embassy exterritoriality applies, but preserves the national honor of the Republic of Serbia. But it would be unfair that for reasons of political influence the fate of young people against whom there is no proof that they have committed any crime or been involved in international terrorism is under question. Even if they did commit punishable actions which they are suspected of, why in the case of their particular investigation, with no proof, are they still in the investigation prison, given the weight and the real consequences of what they actually might have done? ”
Stating the reasons for the release of the anarchosyndicalists from prosecution, the CRCD reminds us that we “in recent weeks witnessed not only the flood of right extremist violence on the streets of Belgrade, but also the contact and cooperation of the right-wing extremist, militant fan groups and left extremists in joint opposition to the security bodies which guarantee the safety of all citizens. ” “The best way to socially isolate the right extremists is its separation from all other extremist groups, especially those of the communist and anarchist orientation. According to our reasoning, it is very dangerous in conditions of economic crisis and social discontent to understand right extremism would have remained isolated, and marginal , without wider support, with the action of the organs of prosecution when its exponents violate the law. In short, for the reasons of social stability of our society and state, the reasons to demand the release of the arrested anarchosyndicalists is to show that the state is different from the actual perpetrators of the Thessaloniki – model of ultra-leftists, and how the unfounded effects and consequences of eqaulizing left and right extremism in our country, would increase the risk of spreading support of right extremism among those with socio-economic problems who see the opportunity to undermine the constitutional order of Serbia. ”
A group of Serbian intellectuals have already addressed an open letter to President of Serbia, against the political background and application of double standards, which can have a disastrous impact on the further development of our society. The letter was then, signed by, in addition to Vladimir Ilic, Zagorka Golubovic, Želimir Žilnik, Todor Kuljić, Boris Dežulović, Sonja Drljević, Ljubomir Zhivkov and Vladimir Arsenijevic. The AnarchoSyndicalist Initiative (ASI) is a working group of the Center for Libertarian Studies (CLS). Trivo Inđić, political adviser to Boris Tadic, participated in its founding said the lawyer for “Borba”, Dragoljub Todorovic. “If the adviser to the President of Serbia has links with international terrorism, because you have anarchosyndicalists there,” says Todorovic in favor of the opinion that the ASI is not a terrorist organization and that it is absurd to detain the five members of ASI accused of international terrorism for more than a month. “The Statute of the ASI is not in contradiction with the Council of Europe Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism, which was ratified this year, and our country. Furthermore, ASI is not a military organization, and none of its members are in such organizations. ASI is a member of the International Workers Association (IWA), whose Secretary General in 2006 was Ratibor Trivunac. Finally, ASI is not a terrorist organization and its members are not terrorists, because they did not make graffiti on the Greek Embassy calling for a terrorist attack,”said Todorovic.
Source: Borba
(Loose, not exact translation.)
