NGO OR POLITICAL HQ?! Citizens’ Initiatives have a “Protest Guide”, yet in their statute there is not a trace of this
Citizens’ Initiatives present themselves in public as an organisation dealing with democracy and non-violence, but on their official website they have, no more and no less, a “Protest Guide”, with detailed instructions on how to organise and carry out protests, how to block roads, how to deal with the police and avoid sanctions, as well as how to conduct proceedings in case of deprivation of liberty.
The logical question arises whether this is the work of a non-governmental organisation or an operational manual for political activism and destabilisation.
Detailed instructions for protests
In a submenu of the official website of Citizens’ Initiatives there are texts and instructions with titles such as: How to register a gathering; Ban on a gathering; Safety obligations of organisers; What you may and may not do: Blockade; What you may and may not do: soiling, damaging and destroying property; What you may and may not do: Pyrotechnics; Police: identification, use of force, arrest, detention; How to file a complaint in misdemeanour proceedings; Filming the police...
Such content goes beyond mere informing citizens of their rights and enters the zone of operational, logistical and tactical support for politically coloured protest activities.
It is particularly indicative that in the statute of Citizens’ Initiatives, in Article 2, which defines the goals of the association, no mandate for this type of activity can be clearly recognised. The goals defined by the statute include, among others: democratisation and good governance; human rights, dialogue, tolerance and non-violent conflict resolution; educating citizens about the institutions of democracy; multiculturalism, youth, social inclusion; European integrations...
Therefore, nowhere, neither explicitly nor implicitly, is there mention of organising or encouraging protests, producing guides for blockades and mass gatherings, or legal-tactical training for confrontations with the police!
Although everything can formally be subsumed under “informing citizens of their rights”, experts on the civil sector warn that when an NGO systematically, continuously and purposefully produces content that encourages mass protests, with constant media appearances by its representatives carrying politically coloured messages, then we can no longer speak of a neutral actor operating in the field of civil society.
And in the case of the activities of Citizens’ Initiatives, there is too much evidence that this is para-political activity and activism, rather than the well-intentioned work of an organisation presenting itself as coming from the civil sector.
In practice, such a model of activity aims to motivate citizens to take to the streets, prepare protest participants for confrontation with institutions, relativise legal provisions and the authority of the state, and create infrastructure for long-term and destabilising protests. In other words, not only are citizens’ rights explained, but they are actively encouraged towards mass politically coloured protests and a protest machinery is being built.
Questions without answers: Citizens’ Initiatives remain silent about the “Protest Guide” as well
Once again, we did not receive answers from Citizens’ Initiatives to questions about their work. Among other things, we asked this organisation to explain on the basis of which article of the statute the “Protest Guide”, found on their official website, was launched, given that organising and logistical support for protests are not mentioned among the goals and forms of activity of the association. Our questions also remained unanswered as to who the author of the “Protest Guide” is, how it was created and with what purpose it was placed on the website of Citizens’ Initiatives. They also did not answer whether the production and maintenance of this guide were financed by donor funds, i.e. whose donations were used for this.
In a previous text, Kurir wrote about the role of Citizens’ Initiatives in the process of selecting members of the REM Council, i.e. about their REMont project, which had a direct impact on that process.
By the closing of this edition, we did not receive answers to the questions of who financed the project, how much money was invested, what the concrete objectives of the project were and by which criteria candidates and their political suitability were assessed. We also remained without answers to the questions: which exact organisations they represented, on the basis of which formal or informal process Citizens’ Initiatives were chosen to represent them, who defined the positions and goals they advocated during negotiations, how much real autonomy the organisations themselves, as authorised negotiators, had in the process of nominating candidates, and whether they participated in negotiations at all or whether Citizens’ Initiatives spoke on their behalf.
Under the mask of an NGO
When this “Protest Guide” is combined with frequent politically intoned media appearances, open support for opposition narratives and constant attempts to delegitimise state institutions, the conclusion follows that Citizens’ Initiatives function as a para-political actor, but without the responsibility borne by political parties. Unlike political parties, Citizens’ Initiatives do not stand in elections, do not answer to voters, are not subject to political control, yet actively participate in the political life of the country.
The key question for the public and donors of Citizens’ Initiatives and similar organisations is whether it is acceptable for an organisation registered as non-governmental, using donor funds intended for social activism, to in fact engage in political activity.
No less important is the question of drawing a clear line between protecting citizens’ rights and open agitation for the overthrow of a legitimately elected government. Furthermore, the question arises whether this case represents a typical example and model of abuse of the NGO form for the covert pursuit of political objectives.
The citizens of Serbia have the right to know who is calling them to the streets, with what goal and under what legal and financial framework.
One thing, however, is certain – the “Protest Guide” can hardly be fitted into the narrative of dialogue, tolerance and non-violence that Citizens’ Initiatives allegedly promote in their activities.
Kurir Politics
