ACTIVITIES

September School under the title "Russia's Soft Power in Serbia and the Balkans: Busting Myths and Confronting Facts", organised by the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy in partnership with the Federal Agency for Civic Education (BPB), was held at the hotel Fruške Terme from 20-24 September.

The network of associations of citizens, journalists, and media standing up against violence strongly condemns the decision of the authorities in Serbia to prevent Jovana Marović, an activist and former deputy Prime Minister of Montenegro and Minister of European Affairs, from entering Serbia at the Nikola Tesla airport on August 23, 2023.

The Network of Citizens, Journalists, and Media Organizations, fervently urge you to direct your attention to a deeply disconcerting incident in Serbia. Ms. Sofija Todorovic, Programme Director of the Youth Initiative for Human Rights (YIHR), was deliberately targeted in an alarming attempt to intimidate and undermine the fundamental rights of civil society activists. This act not only dehumanizes our defenders of liberty but ominously heralds potential harassment and threats they may face in the future.

This is an act of extreme violence against the institution of the National Assembly, since the decision was reversed without the MPs being granted the opportunity to make a decision, all in order to suspend the work of the Inquiry Committee in connection with the crimes of May 3 and 4, that is, so that the government would avoid the risk of political responsibility, related to the explosion of violence in society, becoming more visible through the work of that parliamentary body.

The Belgrade Centre for Security Policy (BCSP) organised a roundtable discussion titled "How to De-capture a State?" during which we presented recommendations for Serbia's exit from state capture and the latest research findings on digital captivity.

The network of associations of citizens, journalists and media standing up against violence, that supports the civil demands of the “Serbia against violence” protests, reminds the Minister of the Interior Bratislav Gašić and the Director of the Security Intelligence Agency (BIA) Aleksandar Vulin of the citizens’ demand to resign and thus open up space for the reform of the security system that, captured by party interests, currently fails to stand in the way of widespread violence.

Under the title “Russian Aggression Against Ukraine: New Momentum for the EU Enlargement?”, the second in a series of BSC Leaders Meetings events took place in Skopje on Wednesday, May 17, 2023.

The citizens of Serbia are still shocked and appalled by the last week’s two mass shootings that took place in less than 48 hours, resulting in 17 dead and another 20 wounded.   

The Belgrade Centre for Security Policy (BCSP) organized a panel discussion titled “Serbia and Ukraine: Challenges of War” that gathered experts from Ukraine and Serbia, aiming to discuss the relations between Serbia and Ukraine, pro-Russian narratives and position of Ukraine and the Western Balkans in the European security architecture after the end of the war. Helena Ivanov, an associate research fellow from the Henry Jackson Society, moderated the panel.