Serbia: defining the sector

The Technical Assistance to Civil Society (TACSO) project considers civil society to be comprised of all those organisations that have members whose objectives and responsibilities are to act in the public interest as well as those that act as mediators between public authorities and citizens. The latter half of the definition reflects the resistant and antagonistic role that civil society in Serbia played throughout the 1990s. During this periode civil society organised campaigns against the government and actively gave its support to government opposition parties. Under this definition civil society includes different types variety of organisational types, including, NGOs, mass movements, cooperatives, professional associations, cultural and religious groups, trade unions and grassroots community groups. [3]

History

1990s direct conflict with the government

According to Marija Andjelkovic, President of ASTRA:

“NGOs in Serbia emerged during the 1990s. They arose out of a need to fill the gaps that existed within the communist system and, more importantly, to initiate changes and draw attention to the irregularities and shortcomings of the new social system. They raised and insisted on questions that were not desirable or not priorities for politicians, such as human rights, war crimes, responsibility and violence. During this time, NGOs were under permanent pressure from the Miloševic regime. Prominent activists were subjected to fierce media campaigns against them, they were marked as traitors, spies, non-patriots and foreign mercenaries. Public opinion was made to see NGOs as a group of people that worked following ‘instructions from abroad’ and thus making enormous profits.” [5]

2000 regime change, high hopes lead to dissillusion

During the Miloševic regime civil society was the strongest ally of the opposition party, the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS). After the regime was overthrown in 2000 the expectation amongst civil society actors was that the new government, lead by the DOS, would continue to work with them. However, civil society did not find the new government as cooperative or supportive as they had hoped and there was wide spread dissapointment. Slowly, cooperation between government and civil society has started to grow. EU support to civil society has helped build bridges as it has increased the credibility of civil society in the eyes of the government.  

While much progress has been made Marija Andjelkovic says:

“From time to time NGO activists are still exposed to insults, threats and attacks. The former Director of the Serbian Security Intelligence Agency (replaced in 2008) publicly said that the Agency watched the work of certain NGOs. Organizations focused on the issue of war crimes and facing the past are in a particularly difficult position. Attacks on these organizations culminated in summer of 2005, when a group of NGOs released a joint declaration on the Srebrenica Massacre in July 1995. The representatives of government, political parties and the media joined in a campaign against these NGOs. Human rights activists were accused of ‘anti-Serbian propaganda,’ and labeled as traitors; they were threatened with courts and jail.” [5]