SERBIAN PRESS SEEKS JAIL FOR WOMEN PEACE ACTIVISTS WHO ADVOCATE

SERBIAN PRESS SEEKS JAIL FOR WOMEN PEACE ACTIVISTS WHO ADVOCATE
INDEPENDENCE FOR KOSOVO
February 21, 2007, Belgrade and Prishtina:

In a blatant attempt to intimidate advocates of a peaceful solution to
the Serbia-Kosovo conflict, a leading Serbian nationalist newspaper
has called for the prosecution of the Women's Peace Coalition, a joint
initiative of women activists, for advocating for the independence of
Kosovo. A leading article last Sunday in the tabloid paper Kurir,
titled simply "Prison," argued that the Serbian Constitution
proscribes up to 15 years in jail for anyone calling for the break-up
of Serbia. The paper urged the prosecutor's office to open proceedings
against the Serbian organization, The Women in Black Network, one of
the two partners in the Coalition. A statement yesterday from the
Coalition accused the paper of intimidation and stated that the Kurir
journalist was likely "acting on instructions from those power
centers, which want to further destabilize the Balkans and further
alienate Serbia (from Europe)." The Kosova Women's Network (KWN) and
The Women in Black Network (Serbia) launched the Women's Peace
Coalition in March 2006 to monitor the joint Serbia-Kosovo
negotiations on Kosovo's future status from the perspective of women
and to reject the "divisions of ethnicity and religion, as well as
state borders and barriers." The Coalition has been active on both
sides of the troubled frontier since Martti Ahtisaari, the UN's
Special Representative on Kosovo, proposed that Kosovo be awarded
limited independence, under continued international supervision. A
recent statement from The Women in Black Network insisted that the
political future of Serbia and Kosovo must rest on human rights rather
than nationalism, even if this results in Kosovo's independence. The
Coalition followed this up with an open letter last week that called
for Kosovar women to be included in talks on the future status of
Kosovo and in the drafting of any new constitution for Kosovo. Both
partners in the Peace Coalition understand that their position will be
unpopular with nationalist sentiment on both sides of the frontier.
Public opinion in Kosovo has been strongly in favor of outright
independence for Kosovo, and on February 10 two ethnic Albanians died
after being shot with rubber bullets by UN police during a major
protest against Mr. Ahtisaari's plan. On the other side, in Serbia,
the Kurir article appears to indicate that Serbian nationalists will
use the right-wing press to go after anyone who speaks out in favor of
political moderation, and of rights rather than extremism. * For more
information, and to express solidarity with the Coalition, email
info@womensnetwork.org (KWN, Prishtina) and stasazen@EUnet.yu (The
Women in Black Network, Belgrade)* For a copy of the open letter,
visit: http://www.womensnetwork.org/pdf/letters/WPC%20letter%20to%20Ahtisaari.pdf

technorati tags:Serbia, Women, Kosova, Kosovo

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