KLIKAKTIV’S STATEMENT ON RECENT ARMED CONFLICTS BETWEEN SMUGGLERS IN THE NORTERN AREA OF SERBIA
Klikaktiv strongly condemns conflicts between smugglers groups in the north of Serbia that happened in the previous days. We understand fear and anxiety that the local population in the area has expressed since. Such incidents must be prevented throughout the territory of Serbia, and we call on the Ministry of Interior and the Public Prosecutor’s Office to systematically target the perpetrators and process them.
We want to shed light on harmful practices that had been implemented in response to the event by the mandated state institutions, and in the way how the media narrative has been shaped in reporting about the events, which might mislead the public in understanding the complexity of the situation of refugees and migrants in the area. Firstly, we would like to ask reporters, journalists and other media workers who create the media narrative on refugees to take into account the complexity of the context of the recent armed conflicts between smuggling groups and to adhere to the journalists’ code of conduct. Sensationalist reporting on such grave incidents further harms refugees who are not involved as perpetrators but as victims too. To provide an example of such reporting, majority of the media in the country in its reporting about the incident highlighted that more than 800 police officers detained 300 migrants, with these numbers “800” and “300” inducive to panic and shock in the general public, while a few readers might find and register the information that only 13 of the detained were arrested as suspected perpetrators of violence and smuggling.
These armed conflicts are almost always incidents between different smuggling groups both involved in the criminal activity. Smugglers are far less in numbers than refugees. The refugees also fall prey to smuggling groups, who exert power over them due to their precarious position and dependability on the smugglers to continue their journey to EU. On the one side, the asylum system in Serbia does not provide an effective and quick enough response to the refugees’ needs. Secondly, the EU has raised fences at its external borders and continues its policy of securitization and denial of refugees’ access to its territory.
We also call on the Ministry of Interior and the Prosecutor’s Office to systematically investigate, identify and prosecute members of the organized criminal groups of smugglers, compared to the current practice of untargeted mass forced relocations of refugees who do not lead to solutions long term. Such practice we have witnessed in the police raids for more than 18 months now, further deteriorate the public opinion on refugees, who transit through Serbia in search for safety they are denied in their countries of origin, and who are not involved in the criminal acts, smuggling and armed conflicts. The police raids further damage refugees’ physical and mental health, having already undergone several traumatic events on their journey on the route prior to Serbia. Emotionally and financially drained, they continue their stay in Serbia in constant fear of being reported to the police.
Once again, we would like to highlight that Klikaktiv stands strongly against all forms of violence perpetuated by organized criminal groups of smugglers and we extend our understanding to all citizens of Serbia who feel unsafe and voice their concerns through protests in their local communities. We remain available for further information or interviews to all journalists and reporters who wish to gain insight on the situation on the field. We believe that a conversation with humanitarian organisations working in the area, including Klikaktiv, could help frame the reporting more adapt to the context, instead of the sensationalist reporting that we have witnessed recently.