Uneaqual Help to the Equal: Police Sometimes Defends Human Beings, Sometimes the Law, but Never Human Rights

(photo: Sanjin Buzo) The Accountability coalition of nongovernmental organizations condemns all forms of violence, hatred and intolerance directed at the first Queer Sarajevo Festival, especially the violent events of Wednesday, September 24, in front of the Academy of Fine Arts and later on the streets all over Sarajevo, in which eight people were injured. - It demonstrated, with ultimate brutality, the lack of unerstanding for diversity and equality of rights and freedoms for al citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, says the coalition in a public statement (the full text of the statement, with the list of organizations members of the Coalition is attached to this article). Expressing its solidarity with the victims of the senseless violence, ACCOUNTABILITY demands adequate sanctions for those responsible for the attacks on the participants and guests of QSF opening ceremony. Also, they demand from the Public Prosecutor to file charges against instigators and persons who printed and distributed, all over the city, posters with contents that undeniably call to violence and offer fascist messages. The Coalition demands from the competent authorities to apply the Constitution and the Law in BIH, strictly forbidding any form of incitement to violence and promotion of fascist, racist, xenophobic and similar ideologies opposed to tolerance and promote violence as proper reaction to diversity of views and opinions. - We expect from the Police to do its job responsibly and protect all citizens who supported and continue to support this cultural event. The competent institiutions, especially the Ministry of Human Rights, Ministry of Interior and Gender Equality Agency have to bear their share of the load and demonstrate to the public that the organization of a festival is a guaranteed human right to all citiznes of Bosnia and Herzegovina, says the Coaliation, with the demand to the international institutions that maintain presence in the country to closely monitor the professionality of the work of the Police and to support the organizers of the Festival. Amnesty International in its reaction to the violence, demanded from the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina must provide adequate security for the participants in the first “Sarajevo Queer Festival” and promptly and thoroughly investigate the attacks and bring those responsible to justice. “The call of gay rights activists for equality before the law and an end to discrimination was met with intolerance and violence. Gay and lesbian people have the same rights as everybody else in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the authorities are obliged to guarantee their right to freedom of assembly and to freedom of expression,” said Nicola Duckworth, Europe and Central Asia Programme Director. Amnesty International notes that it still has not received an answer to its letter to the Prime Minister Nikola Špirić, in which AI expressed concerns at the increasing atmosphere of intimidation against LGBT people. AI calls on political leaders at the highest level to condemn publicly the discrimination against individuals based on their actual or imputed sexual orientation and to make clear that any act of discrimination or violence, whoever the victim, will not be tolerated.

Attached files

ODGOVORNOST Statement 35.50 KB