Letter to the Socialist International

Прочитајте ово писмо на српском језику

 

18th of January 2013
Socialist International
London

 

I address myself to an organization which stands firmly against fascism and political violence, on the occasion of the commemoration of the 71st anniversary of the Novi Sad Raid, in which citizens of Novi Sad were brutally killed by the fascist occupying forces, mainly for the single reason that they were Serbs and Jews.

Two local political parties have lately issued official statements in which they claim that the logo of the Cultural center of Novi Sad represents the main symbol of nazism, the swastika.

This is a major insult not only to the staff of the Cultural center, which, as the foremost municipal cultural institution, traditionally co-organises the commemoration, but also to the memory of the innocent victims that were slaughtered in the nearby streets.

Up until now, the defamation of the new cyrillic logo of the Cultural center in Serbia coincided with the similar attacks by the extreme right in neighbouring Croatia.

As protests have been announced against cyrillic signs in Croatia, I fear that Serbian political parties would again follow and join in the condemnations.

I ask you to use your influence to protect the memory of the victims of fascism and to prevent the defamation of citizens and institutions of Novi Sad while they are commemorating their victims.

You have the influence – and the responsibility – because the attacks are not lead by the extreme right like in Croatia, but by social democratic parties: League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina and Democratic Party, which is your full member party.

 

Yours truly,

Andrej Fajgelj, Ph.D.
Director
Cultural Center of Novi Sad
kcns.org.rs