Serbia Failed to Protect Minorities from Attack

EU Should Press Belgrade to Bring Perpetrators to Justice (Belgrade, November 3, 2008) – Serbian authorities failed to prevent attacks against businesses and homes owned by ethnic Albanians in the wake of Kosovo’s declaration of independence (by the majority ethnic Albanian government) in February 2008 or to bring to justice those responsible, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Serbia’s treatment of ethnic minorities is likely to be critically assessed in the European Commission’s annual progress report on Serbia, to be published on November 5.

Serbia cannot hope to move closer toward the European Union unless it shows it won’t tolerate the violence. Wanda Troszczynska-van Genderen Balkans researcher The 74-page report, “Hostages of Tension: Intimidation and Harassment of Ethnic Albanians in Serbia after Kosovo’s Declaration of Independence,” documents attacks against ethnic Albanians and other minorities in February and March 2008, including broken windows in businesses and homes, attempted arson, hate graffiti and intimidating protests. Most took place in the ethnically diverse Vojvodina region, in northern Serbia. The Serbian government’s response was inadequate. The police failed to take preemptive action to protect property, despite a pattern of similar attacks in the past linked to protests over Kosovo. On the positive side, they often patrolled outside property once it had been attacked. But none of the 18 cases in the report resulted in criminal charges or misdemeanor proceedings, even when police were present during the attacks. “Serbia needs to show it is serious about stopping these attacks,” said Wanda Troszczynska-van Genderen, Balkans researcher at Human Rights Watch. “It needs to p...