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Attacks in February 2008 outside Vojvodina

The attacks on Albanian and other minority-owned property were not limited to the territory of Vojvodina. Human Rights Watch also traveled to Kragujevac, Negotin and Bor, cities and towns outside Vojvodina where attacks took place. Serbian independent media also reported attacks in Cacak and Nis.⁸⁶ As in Vojvodina, there were very few ethnic Albanians living in the towns and cities in central Serbia where attacks took place.

Kragujevac

Kragujevac is the fourth largest city in Serbia. It is located in central Serbia and it is the center of the Sumadija district. Its population of 148,000 inhabitants is mainly of Serbian ethnicity, with a small percentage of Montenegrins, Croats and Roma. There are only 32 Albanians in the municipality of Kragujevac.⁸⁷

Attack on the shop “Avala”

Abdyl Murselji is a Gorani⁸⁸ owner of the “burek” (pie) shop “Avala” in Kragujevac. His shop was stoned on the night of 19 February, resulting in minor damage. He was defiant about the attack, telling Human Rights Watch that “nobody will manage to intimidate me like that” and called the perpetrators “people brainwashed by hate speech spun by politicians.” He praised the police for providing him with adequate protection for a period of over two weeks after the attack took place. “There was a car parked day and night in front of my shop.” He said that the police also informed him that he could apply for compensation from the municipality, even though this attack did not happen in the context of a protest.⁸⁹

Human Rights Watch wrote on August 11, 2008, to the Uniform Police Directorate to enquire further about this case (see Annex 1), seeking to confirm whether any suspects had been identified and whether the victim had received compensation.  The reply, received on September 16 (see Annex 3), contained no information on the case.

Attack on a bakery, city center⁹⁰

Human Rights Watch spoke to an owner of a bakery in Kragujevac city centre that was attacked twice during the night of February 17 resulting in approximately EUR 100 of damages. He also received protection from the police during the 10 days following these two attacks, but says that the perpetrators of the attacks were never found, which worries him because he is concerned for the safety of his two small children.⁹¹ 

Human Rights Watch wrote on August 11, 2008, to the Uniform Police Directorate (see Annex 1), seeking to confirm whether any suspects had been identified in the attack of the bakery.  The reply, received on September 16 (see Annex 3), had no information on the case.

The owner told Human Rights Watch that he thought his work was appreciated by the community and that he was able to work even during the NATO bombing of Serbia in 1999, when his bakery was the only place that did not close down in the area, which he said had led many in the community to praise him.⁹²

Human Rights Watch also contacted three more Albanian and Gorani owners of businesses in Kragujevac, whose shops were also attacked. One of them declined to speak to Human Rights Watch at all, while the other two briefly confirmed that their businesses were attacked but were reluctant to give any further details regarding the attacks.⁹³ None gave any reason for their reluctance to speak to us.

Negotin

Negotin is a town in the north-eastern part of Serbia situated near the borders between Serbia, Romania and Bulgaria. According to the 2002 census, the population of the Negotin municipality is 43,551, 88% Serbs and 7% Vlachs.⁹⁴ Only a handful of Albanian families live there, and they have lived there since the early 1950s. The town is considered peaceful and no major incidents against minorities, including ethnic Albanians, had previously occurred there.

Albanian-owned business, city center⁹⁵

Human Rights Watch spoke to an Albanian business owner whose premise was stoned on the night of February 14-15. The attack resulted with a few broken windows. He was not present at the time of the attack, and he did not see the perpetrators. He initially dismissed the attack as the isolated action of a “hooligan,” repaired the damage himself the next day and did not follow up with the police or the municipality.

However, on February 17, around midnight, a few individuals ran by his premises, which were open for business at that time, throwing stones and bricks, which smashed the windows and scared customers, who left immediately.⁹⁶ The owner was present during the attack and called the police who promptly arrived on the scene and wrote a report. For the next few days, the police maintained a presence outside his business to protect it. Nevertheless, the owner told Human Rights Watch that some of the workers had resigned following the attack, and most of the clients were too scared to continue going there.

A few days after this incident, the owner told Human Rights Watch that a group of school children had demonstrated in front of the business. The victim said he was too distressed to talk about the details of this incident, as it had greatly affected him and the well being of his family:

 “After [the schoolchildren’s demonstration] had happened, my child came up to me and asked whether it was ok to go to school that day. This was the most horrible of all, much worse than the loss of workers, customers and money. I did not know what to say. My child is big enough to understand what was happening.”

According to the victim, there was no further action by the police or the municipality with respect to the events described above. The victim passed onto the police information about the possible identity of the perpetrators of the attacks on the business, but said he was unaware of any further action taken by the police in the case.⁹⁷

Human Rights Watch wrote to the head of the Uniformed Police Directorate on August 11, 2008 (see Annex 1), asking whether the police had received any indication from the victim or others witness of who was behind the attacks and whether any suspects had been identified. The reply, received on September 16 (see Annex 3), had no information on the case.

Bor

Bor is a town in the eastern part of Serbia, close to the town of Negotin and the border with Romania and Bulgaria. Bor has 40,000 inhabitants, 72% Serbs, 18% Vlachs, 3% Roma, 1% Macedonians, and 115 Albanians.⁹⁸

Human Rights Watch spoke separately to two Albanian businessmen whose bakeries/ice cream shops were attacked after February 17. There were not present during the attacks, which took place at night. One of the businessmen’s cars was also damaged when the perpetrators threw bottles, stones and bricks at it. The police responded to the attacks by dispatching frequent patrols to the area of one of the businesses and by physically guarding the premises during the period of two weeks that followed. One of the owners told Human Rights Watch he had incurred material damage of around EUR 700 due to the attack, and said that the police had told him that he would “get the money back” without specifying who would be responsible for compensation. At the time of the interview, neither of the victims has received any compensation, and both were unaware of any further official actions related to the attacks.⁹⁹ 

Human Rights Watch wrote to the Head of the Uniformed Police Directorate on August 11, 2008 (see Annex 1), asking whether the police had identified any suspects in the attacks on the two businesses and whether the victims had received compensation. The reply, received on September 16 (see Annex 3), contained no information on either case.