PRESS RELEASE

National Convention on the EU: We strongly condemn the attack on the professor of the Faculty of Political Sciences

The National Convention on the European Union and the Working Group for Chapter 35 strongly condemn the targeting, calls for lynching and endangering the freedom of academic research of professors of the Faculty of Political Sciences in Belgrade. We also call on the Faculty of Political Sciences, the University of Belgrade, and the competent authorities to unequivocally condemn these attacks and immediately react to protect the teaching staff.

The National Convention on the European Union once again reminds the state authorities and the public in Serbia that any kind of attack on freedom of expression is unacceptable. We witness daily attacks on activists, journalists, politicians, professors and socially active individuals, and the normalization of this behavior can lead to serious consequences for their safety and social life in general.

We expect a clear reaction from the competent prosecutor’s office in order to find those who think they can persecute individuals with impunity because of their public actions and advocacy for equality.
Polarization in society is particularly problematic at a time when we are making progress in the negotiations on the normalization of relations with Pristina, when dissenters are increasingly being attacked and persecuted. The National Convention on the European Union will not allow dissatisfaction from the negotiation process to spill over to individuals, organizations and groups, regardless of where they come from. Violence is not and must not be the solution, therefore we demand from state authorities and holders of the highest state positions to act preventively and urgently in all cases that further incite hatred and intolerance at a sensitive political moment.