THE SYNDICATE CONFEDERATION "ANARCHO-SYNDICALIST INITIATIVE" PRESS RELEASE
 
 
For forty two days martial law was officially imposed
in Serbia: we wanted to find out what was happening, but it has just
now become vague what was really going on; what we know is who is,
again, going to suffer the consequences. In order  to face the
criminal, the State needed to ban right to strike and other
syndicalist activities, public gatherings and public commenting on
the decision of imposing martial law - and in this way using the
methods of the fascist regimes, the methods which are perpetuating
undisturbed manipulation and repression.
 
 
*              *              *
 
 
Two days after the statement of the
Anarcho-syndicalist initiative was delivered to the media, related to
the murder of Zoran Djindjic (Serbian prime minister), police
searched the flat, confiscated  the computer equipment and the mobile
phone of one of the members of the local group of ASI. Serbian
Minister of Labor Dragan Milovanovic issued an order according to
which the police was working. He is continuing his politics of
betrayal of the workers' interests, faced with furious resistance of
those whom he betrayed: «the wild», only according to the State
standards, strike of more than 300 workers of IMT factory are giving
best example that we are not going to go along with the state which
has been imposed upon us and which is taking part after part of our
lives.
 
After the arrest, our member was questioned more than
six hours about our syndicate actions, membership and ways of
organizing. During this time our member was not informed about which
law was broken by delivering the statement - since non of the media
had published our statement. Our member got a police document
deciding to hold him for thirty days and he was taken to the prison
cell in the police station «29. November». While staying in the cell
he was faced with other prisoners who were systematically beaten up
by the police (for example: with baseball sticks over their whole
body, especially the knees), who were forced to sign blank statements
and who were threatened with torture and assassination by special
plaintiff. After tree days our member was released - again without
any explanation of the grounds on which he was arrested - and he was
ordered, in spoken form, that he cannot comment on the things he saw
or heard in the cell.
 
The document that was given to our member on the occasion of the
assessment of the sentence in the explanation states that: «Named
person has been detained on the date of 14th of March 2003., on the
basis of legitimate suspicion that his freedom could jeopardize
security of the citizens and of the Republic itself.» It is made
self-evident that the State, i.e. its striking force - the police,
considers that today's safety of the citizens is much more threatened
by those who publicly present their positions than by those
constantly laying off thousands of  working people, those who are
making their living on the stolen surplus value of those working
people, those training young man to kill or those running over
pedestrians in Belgrade. (Note by the translator: a several days ago
Serbian minister of agriculture ran over a young woman in Belgrade
because he was overspeeding in the center of the city)
 
 
*              *              *
 
 
The repression against our syndicate has not ceased
with the detantion of one of our members. Moreover, our member, a
ballet worker, employed in the National theatre in Belgrade had been
exposed to intimidation and threats by her superior. Ministry of
internal affairs (the police - translators note) had delivered
request to the Ministry of Culture of Serbia which, for their part,
addressed the management of the National theatre asking for
surveillance and keeping track of «possible problematic» behavior and
activities of our member. While talking with operational director of
the theatre our member found out that she was subjected to scrutiny
for a longer period of time. As some of potentially criminal acts she
was faced with suspicion that she was: propagating free love in her
rented apartment, painting graffiti against privatization, organizing
the agitation group in the theatre, participating in the distribution
of leaflets in front of the building of Ministry of culture
(translators note: which is completely preposterous falsehood) and
distributing our propaganda newspaper «Direct Action» to other
employees. It is important to notice that the operational director
was not contacting our member, although he is the person in charge
for financial managing within theatre, whereas our member, as well as
many other employees of the National theatre, didn't get paid for
more that six months.

We are going to repeat that only the fascist regimes
in near past used to act in this manner against syndicaly organized
workers. If the practice of the intimidation continues,
Anarcho-syndicalist initiative will not hesitate to use any means
necessary for protection of our member's rights.
 
 
*              *              *
 
 
Imperialism of the USA has continuously beein going
on through the war against citizens of Iraq. Calling themselves upon
the god blessing, protection of freedom and democracy, once again USA
has gained supremacy over «middle east» and control over Iraqi oil
industry in another private war. Apart from that, the war can prevent
severe economic crisis and further declining of dollar. The
government of the republic of Serbia didn't find it suitable to even
comment on this military adventure of its big friend and donor, and
in this way is forgetting that we have all gone through this process
in our not so distant past. Anglo-American barbarians, among other
things, have made it possible for the sum of 170,000 artifacts
created at the dawn of civilized human society - the artifacts which
represent the history of the entire humanity - fall into the hands of
enormously rich collectors from the «west» who will skillfully hide
them from «ordinary» people.
 
 
*              *              *
 
 
Great syndical centrals are still continuing to
undermine the history of the workers struggle - Association of
independent trade unions will not be marking the First of May this
year, while the «Independence» will bring, for second time, the
proven enemies of the workers to the celebration - the
Social-democratic party. The party which in parliament voted for the
law which would shame some of the worst conservatives of nowadays.
 
As long as syndicates are continuing cooperation with
the State and political parties, workers rights will remain forgotten
and unfulfilled.
 
 
*              *              *
 
 
It will be 19 years since the brutal murder of the
sindical activist Radomir Radovic at the end of this April. He was
one of the rare syndicalists who publicly supported the idea of the
creation of the syndicates independent from the State. On the 20th of
April 1984. he was imprisoned along with another 27 participants at
one of the gatherings of the «Open university». The «Open university»
refers to the number of discussions, held in secrecy in private
apartments all over Belgrade during the eighties, which gave
opportunity to dissidents to exchange their ideas. The day after his
imprisonment Radomir was released, but the day after that he was
taken to the police station by the two employees of the State
Security (Mirosavljevic and Petrovic). However he was released around
midnight on the same day.  On Monday, the 23rd of April, Radovic went
to work, afterwards he met his girlfriend from who he parted around 7
pm. - he was not seen since than. On the 30th of April in 1984
Radomir Radovic was found dead in his aunt's cottage in the village
of Orasac. Despite the official survey which described Radomir's
death as a suicide, great number of facts are witnessing that Radomir
was another victim of the State repression. Anarcho-syndicalist
initiative is contributing to the request of his friends and family
to open the files of the State Security that were supposed to clear
the ambiguities concerning his death. The State and capitalism are
killing, but we never forget.
 
 
*              *              *
 
 
We believe that after ceasing of the martial law the
workers rebellion will reach its peak again and that the workers will
see through the syndical bureaucracy and the State structures -
discarding the tactics of the lesser resistance and waiting for the
fulfillment of the false promises, while accepting the radical
struggle for their rights on each and every front.
 
 
In Belgrade,
 
April 24th 2003.
 
 
Secretariat of Anarcho-syndicalist initiative
 
Contact phone: ++381-63-263-775
 
Contact E-mail: info@inicijativa.org