Opposition Strikes Back?

The deputy parliament group chiefs of the Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO), Serbian Radical Party (SRS), Democratic Party (DS), Serbian Democratic Party (DSS) and Democratic Union of Vojvodina Hungarians (DZVM) issued a statement last Tuesday saying they had agreed the text of a resolution on violations of human rights in Serbia, a kind of political Magna Charta. Their initial intention was to show foreigners who are only interested in national minority rights that everything was not well with the rights of average citizens. The opposition parliament groups were due to issue separate statements on the document on Thursday, February 1 and adopt the text at a meeting.

We present some 20 key political terms included in the text of the resolution:

Autocracy: The system of division of power (legislative, executive and judicial) isn't functioning and the authorities are autocratic with elements of dictatorship.

True explanation: The public media are under a monopoly and the state TV is the ruling party organ which removes the right of citizens to truthful, unbiased and timely information.

The public work of Parliament: Instead of the National Assembly being accessible to all citizens and expressing their will through the full realization of the multi-party system, its work is hidden from the population by the will of the majority.

Crime: Crime of all kinds rules the state, while the authorities make false promises to destroy it and rarely take part in it themselves.

Mandates: Parliament has become a place where deputies are beaten and jailed. The immunities and mandates of some are taken away illegally while others keep their mandates by force to keep the parliamentary majority.

National Assembly: The National Assembly, instead of being the source of constitutionality and legality is the place to violate the constitution and laws and confirm decision taken outside of it. The National Assembly should in these hard times be in constant session but it has constant breaks and meets rarely.

Education: The education system in Serbia is being systematically destroyed not by bad curricula and the poverty of teachers.

The Police: Without parliamentary control.

National Minority rights: Not regulated which causes misunderstandings and unnecessary political tension which are manipulated by the authorities. The status of national minorities is not in accord with international norms and their protection is not efficient.

Self-will of the majority: Parliamentary life has boiled down to the self-will of the majority who represent the minority of the people.

Unions: Employees have lost their rights and job legislature does not exist while unions are obstructed and not regulated by law. Union leaders are hounded and the right to strike has been annulled by violence. Pensioners and farmers are subject to the violence of the authorities. Pensioners are paid irregularly and are prevented from forming a pension fund. Farmers pay taxes by force and prices devalue labor.

Freedom to gather and reach agreement: The constitutional right of citizens to attend public gatherings has been taken away by the authorities who unconstitutionally demand permits and set the place to rally.

Parties: Political parties, except the ruling party, are prevented from enjoying their constitutional right to act.

Judges: The judiciary and law enforcers are under direct control by the authorities who enforce the principle of political suitability in filling posts. Judges have low wages and are thrown to the bottom of society as if the authorities want to push them into corruption.

Constitutional order: The constitutional order in Serbia has been devalued and violated by the abuse of the authorities. The republican constitution is decadent and runs counter to a number of laws.

Constitutional court: The constitutional court mainly doesn't do its job and when it does make a ruling it isn't implemented.

Serbian Government: The most expensive in the world since it serves ministers to get rich and achieve monopolies for their companies; counter to the constitution it passes regulations with the power of laws; the government includes a number of party representatives who do not have deputies and who lost at elections.

Personality protection: Protecting one's personality in court and the state of jails are true examples of violations of human dignity.

More people would trust the opposition if it managed to draw up a code of political fair play, a memorandum on its own failures, events which led to the erosion of vital constitutional institutions.

Professor Vucina Vasovic (Subdued Civil Society, Belgrade 1995) concludes that some of these parties are below the level of the ruling party in the previous system when the party leader couldn't appoint a third of the Central Committee.

Since the Serbian opposition should finally realize that it has no more right to stupidity because it represents public interests and ruins opportunities for renewal through its failures, it's discovery of the classics of political thought should be welcomed as an effort to establish some public standards.