Imagine living in a country that has been turned into an experimental laboratory by Western powers. Part of this experiment (don’t let it catch your attention) is an institution overseen by those who, for decades, have persistently tried to impose their values and “truths” on the population. The representative of this institution, understandably, is not elected by the will of the people but is appointed by non-governmental organizations funded by the West, acting as an extended arm of foreign embassies and funds. Now, let’s assume we are talking about Serbia. The story continues like this…
The institution, once introduced into law, is funded directly from our pockets, and one of its main functions is to implement positive discrimination. Behind this cold and soulless phrase lies a value statement—everyone else is more important than Serbs, and accordingly, the rights and interests of the Serbian people are consciously and systematically pushed into the background.
YOU SAY IT’S INDEPENDENT?
This is not the end, but the beginning of a saga of disciplining a nation. The true task of this institution is to act like a special police force of the new era, monitoring and checking whether the Western agenda has been fully accepted and implemented. If you dare to think differently, dare to say something that doesn’t align with the prescribed “values,” the punishment mechanism follows this order—criminal charges, fines, and even imprisonment. They will explain to you that this brutal fight against common sense is actually the advocacy of freedom of speech.
The goal is to impose Western ideologies, suppress any resistance, and deepen the divide among us. And all of this, imagine, is done with our money and our consent, as we quietly withdrew and allowed the imposition of foreign will. All of this is not fiction. The institution exists and is called the Commissioner for Equality.
In theory, the Commissioner is envisioned as an independent body established to protect and promote the equality of all citizens. In practice, the Commissioner is a mechanism for implementing policies that are not in line with the traditional values and interests of the Serbian people. It is a punitive unit that, instead of protecting all citizens, has the task of implementing agendas that favor everyone except the indigenous population.
Independence is a term generously used in the office of the Commissioner, likely in an attempt to convince everyone that they are truly independent and impartial. However, this term becomes almost comical in its contradiction as soon as you visit the official website of the Commissioner for Equality. At the very bottom of the page, it states that the website was created with the support of USAID, and among the partners are Equinet Europe, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (Council of Europe), and the Association for Intergenerational Solidarity. These pieces of information negate any notion of independence, as they clearly reveal the real influential actors behind this institution. It’s even more unsettling to realize that the Commissioner is a state body of the Republic of Serbia, not a non-governmental organization or private company, where such “partnership” relations might be less controversial. This situation calls into question the very legitimacy of their claims of independence and raises serious doubts about whose interests they truly represent.
ACTING UNDER DICTATION
Among the numerous projects of the Commissioner for Equality available on their website, you can also find those funded by Western embassies. For instance, one such project, funded by foreign actors, raises numerous questions about sovereignty. Project Supported by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The grant agreement between the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Commissioner for Equality in Serbia relates to the project “Strengthening Local Anti-Discrimination Capacities and Institutional Capacities of the Commissioner for Equality.” The agreement sets conditions and procedures for financial support provided by Norway within the project aimed at improving human and minority rights in Serbia. The key provisions of the agreement include:
- Financing: The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs provides a grant of NOK 1,713,506, which will be used exclusively for financing costs associated with the project.
- Responsibilities: The Commissioner for Equality assumes full responsibility for planning, implementing, and monitoring the project.
- Reporting: The Commissioner is required to regularly submit financial and narrative reports on the progress of the project, as well as a final report upon the project’s completion.
- Project Duration: The project will last from December 11, 2017, to December 11, 2019.
The agreement also includes provisions on transparency, auditing, and the possibility of resolving disagreements between the contracting parties. It also emphasizes the importance of avoiding conflicts of interest and preventing financial irregularities.
The Constitution of the Republic of Serbia in Article 2 stipulates that sovereignty derives from the citizens and is exercised through state organs established by the Constitution. This provision implies that state organs act independently and in accordance with domestic legislation.
GUIDELINES FOR LITIGATION
The document representing the agreement between the Commissioner for Equality and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway raises serious questions regarding the sovereignty of the Serbian state. In one section of this agreement, it is explicitly stated that the Commissioner, who is supposed to be an independent state body, is accountable to a foreign institution, namely the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of another country. How is it possible that an organ of the Republic of Serbia, established to protect citizens and their rights, becomes an instrument of foreign influence? What kind of sovereignty is it when one of the key state organs must report to, justify its expenses and activities to, not the institutions of its own country, but to a foreign government?
This arrangement not only calls into question the independence of the Commissioner but also casts a shadow over the entire legal order of Serbia. While the Serbian people are told about independence and sovereignty, in reality, state organs become puppets in the hands of foreign powers, fulfilling agendas imposed by those who have no interest in Serbia being strong and autonomous. What kind of country do we live in if key institutions bow to foreign authorities rather than serve their own people? This is not just a matter of one agreement; it is a question of the very essence of our country’s sovereignty.
Within the projects funded by the United Kingdom, there is one with a particularly interesting title—“Guidelines for Strategic Litigation.” (https://ravnopravnost.gov.rs/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/szsp.pdf)
“Guidelines for Strategic Litigation,” a document meant to provide insight into how the Commissioner for Equality conducts its fight against discrimination, at first glance, seems like a technical manual for lawyers and activists. However, behind that seemingly neutral facade lies much more than just a work manual. In this document, we see clearly defined methods and strategies that can be interpreted as tools for ideological control and the sanctioning of all those who dare to deviate in thought or action from the official agenda.
A MANUAL FOR DISCIPLINING SERBS
These guidelines, created by the Commissioner with financial and logistical support from foreign partners, particularly the British government, represent precisely defined mechanisms for initiating strategic litigation. The greatest danger lies in the fact that strategic litigation is designed to target those whose views deviate from the liberal and pro-Western values that the Commissioner, by all appearances, seeks to promote.
Under the guise of protecting vulnerable groups, these litigations are used as a sword hanging over the heads of all who dare to think differently. The selective application of the law, as described here, allows the Commissioner to determine which ideas are acceptable and which are subject to sanctions. Thus, the Commissioner, who by definition should protect the rights of all citizens, actually becomes a tool for suppressing inconvenient opinions and promoting a particular ideological agenda.
The document is a kind of manual for legal and political disciplining, relying on the support of Western partners, which further calls into question Serbia’s sovereignty. Such actions do not serve true equality but are a tool for influencing public opinion and aligning Serbian politics and society with values imposed from outside. In this light, these guidelines for strategic litigation are nothing more than a plan for implementing an ideological and political agenda under the guise of fighting for human rights.
INFORMING ON ONE’S OWN PEOPLE
This brings us to the core of the Commissioner’s actions, which selectively abuses its function by promoting certain, primarily liberal and Western ideologies over traditional heritage. In other words, anything that does not fit the NGO agenda, that is, the civil sector of Western services in Serbia, will be legally sanctioned.
In recent years, we have seen hundreds of criminal charges filed, first by Nevena Petrušić and later by her successor Brankica Janković, against journalists and socio-political activists because of posts on social media. It went so far that completely marginal people, without any expressed or defined stance on anything, were brought in for questioning, with the reason for their detention being a status posted in the heat of the moment on social media.
At one point, the number of people who were detained or against whom some processes were initiated was relatively large compared to the population size, which certainly left a certain impression and affected people’s awareness of the situation. An even greater impression was made by the detention of journalists and socio-political activists known for their traditional and patriotic views expressed through their articles. Among those who did not fit the agenda and who were to be silenced through “strategic litigation” were Vladeta Dimitrijević, Branislav Ristivojević, Miša Đurković, the author of this text, and many others. However, filing criminal charges against the aforementioned did not result in silence but in an even stronger response.
THE DISTRICT INFORMANT – BRANKICA JANKOVIĆ
The attempt to adopt the Law on Gender Equality, which came from the “kitchen” of the Commissioner for Equality, was one of the examples of how ideologies can be imposed on a nation without its will. Commissioner Brankica Janković put all her efforts into pushing this law, using all available tools, including litigation against those who had the courage to publicly criticize or express their disagreement. In doing so, she clearly demonstrated that she was ready to silence any opposition, regardless of the cost.
However, this law failed to pass, which is an indicator of what is possible when the Serbian patriotic public and the Serbian Orthodox Church unite in defense of traditional values.
Unlike members of the NGO sector, who act on instructions and with support from abroad, Serbs who belong to the traditional, patriotic register, who are not paid to be so but are so by birth and conviction, do not have a formal organization, do not have a leader, but have the SPC (Serbian Orthodox Church). The failure to adopt the law was a strong indicator that the people cannot be broken and that the sovereignty of their spirit remains unwavering when all layers of society unite to protect what is fundamentally theirs.
LIES, SLANDER, AND BLASPHEMY
During the debates surrounding the law, the Serbian Patriarch Porfirije was also targeted by the Commissioner for Equality due to his statement that the women fighting for such a law were “nothing but wretches.” After a torrent of insults, threats, and slander from individuals who are part of the NGO sector and a section of the public that participated in promoting the law, he was asked to apologize, which, of course, the primate of the Serbian Church did not do. Is there any greater promotion of hypocrisy and proof that there is no real equality, but that behind everything lies a servile attitude towards Western and liberal ideologies, and positive discrimination that is evident even in matters of religion?
The withdrawal of this law is not a final victory, as the occupation in Serbia is evident at all levels, but it is a huge encouragement and a sign that even under such circumstances, there is room for struggle. Under the auspices, of course, of the Serbian Orthodox Church—the oldest institution among Serbs, which, not without reason, found itself on the pages of a European Parliament Resolution because it protects family values just like the Russian Orthodox Church. Nowhere has the essence of Western plans related to Serbia been described more precisely than in these few sentences by the Strasbourg parliamentarians.
