"Authorities should fully appreciate NGO sector"

Belgrade, July 16 (Source: B92) - Sonja Liht says Serbian authorities do not fully appreciate the role of the nongovernmental sector. Sonja Liht, president of Belgrade-based Fund for Political Excellence, substantiated her claim with a fact that the law on nongovernmental organizations was still non-existent. She stressed that the adoption of the appropriate legislation to regulate the nonprofit and nongovernmental sector was the first test that would show whether the authorities recognized NGOs as an indispensable part of the social scene.

“The law should be followed with numerous by-laws aimed at regulating the nonprofit sector’s financing,” she noted. On July 2, Council of Europe (CoE) Secretary-General Terry Davis presented Liht with the Council of Europe Medal of Merit for her contribution to democracy, respect for human rights, and development of civil society in Serbia and in the region. She reminded of the important role the nongovernmental sector had in creating resistance to the 1990s war in former Yugoslavia and Slobodan Milošević’s authoritarian regime.

“After the October 5, 2000, downfall of Milošević’s regime the civil society faced an ‘identity crisis’ with respect to the attitude it had to assume towards a newly-formed democratic regime.” “This does not mean that civil society now has to give up on criticizing the authorities and the political elite. However, it has to preserve its impartiality towards the ruling structure and not take sides,” she said.

Speaking of the relationship of the Serbian society towards the nongovernmental sector, Liht said that, generally speaking, there was no hostility towards NGOs. “However, the antagonism towards certain organizations still exists, particularly towards those dealing with humanitarian law, human rights protection and reconciliation with the past,” she remarked.

Commenting on society’s attitude towards minorities, Liht said that there were still prejudices against the Roma and homosexuals. She noted it was encouraging that nationalism in Serbia became more moderate in comparison to other states in the region. “The widespread prejudice that Serbia is the most nationalistic state in the Balkans is simply untrue.”

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