Otpor!

Otpor! ( Serbian Cyrillic ОТПОР! , German resistance! ) was a Serbian organization, since 2000 also party made ​​at the political changes in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus region (Ukraine, Georgia) active support of opposition parties and groups. The Youth Movement of April 6, one of the initiators of the Egyptian Revolution of 2011, was in contact with Otpor and was inspired by them.

Otpor was founded in the 1990s, including through Srđa Popović in Serbia. Until the change of government in Serbia in 2000, the number of members of Otpor rose sharply. The support dropped after the overthrow of Slobodan Milošević in 2001. Otpor achieved at the 2003 elections 1.6 percent of the vote. Then Otpor joined the party in 2004 Demokratska Stranka at.

Idea

Otpors symbol is the clenched fist, which is seen " as a symbol of the movement for the identification sign of democratically-oriented young people in Serbia ". Important influence on their development have taken the theories Gene Sharp.

The basic idea of Otpor is the political leadership reigns in a country with authoritarian or dictatorial government of Western perspective means to facilitate by well organized peaceful revolutions free elections and so install democratically elected governments. This is particularly set to partially concealed and open financial support from Western organizations public and private character. Here the following phases can be identified:

• Creation and support of organizations in the country, followed by medial spectacular " acts of resistance ", is reported in Western countries.
• Creation of symbols with a high recognition value: Here the roses in Georgia and the color orange in Ukraine are mentioned.
• Questioning of a fair election process: There is an obstruction of the opposition in the election campaign assumed in principle and referred to this. At the same time, on this basis about possible and actual manipulations in the supply of choice - eg unilateral occupation of the Electoral Commission with pro-government officials or exclusive media coverage of the government candidates - reported and sensitized in the West in this interpretation, Highness. On that date, an extension of the media coverage abroad with a unilateral focus on the disabilities of the opposition and a negative evaluation of the respective governments.
• Peaceful protests from election night to start the decisive phase. Here the citizen opposition protests in the medial effective form are organized as demonstrations and rallies.
• Elections: Depending on the retention of activity in the population, the economic state of the country and the political pressure from abroad perform the post-election protests in the best case to elections, in which the former opposition takes over the government.

Financing

The financing of Otpor is via a network of Western organizations. The funding is part of the official coverage of these Western organizations. These include, among others:

• National Endowment for Democracy (NED ): The NED was established in 1983, is based in Washington and is funded primarily by the U.S. State Department. In financial year 2006, $ 80 million were planned from the state budget alone for NED. The NED works internationally about the party institutes NDI and IRI, on the companies operating in the foreign branches of the trade union federation AFL / CIO and the branches of the Federation of Enterprises » American Center for International Labor Society ( ACILS ) or the" Center for International Private Enterprise "( CIPE ).
• National Democratic Institute (NDI ): The NDI since 1984 the Party of the Democratic Party Foundation, based in Washington. Chairman is the former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.
• Republican Institute (IRI): the Party Foundation Founded in 1983, the Republican Party, also based in Washington. IRI supports Otpor since June 1997.
• Freedom House: Freedom House, founded in 1941 is a US-based NGO and is currently as the CPD, led by former CIA Director James Woolsey. It is headquartered in Washington, but has branches worldwide.
• Open Society Institute International Renaissance Foundation: The organization of the multi-millionaire George Soros are among the most important sources of income for opposition movements. Soros provides its institutions the task of "civil society and all democratic approaches in the former Soviet republics to support ."
• Committee on the Present Danger ( CPD): In the summer of 2004, the third anniversary of the founding of the " Committee against the present danger " in the United States. The renewed initiative for the establishment of the CPD went from the " Foundation for the Defense of Democracies ," from one of the U.S. institutions for financing, preparation and control of roll-over actions in the former Soviet sphere of influence and in other regions of the world. Chairman of the CPD is the former CIA director James Woolsey. To the improvement of these actions CPD established a department CPD International. Co -Chair of the CPD International were the former Czech president Vaclav Havel, the former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar and former U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz.

Otpor 's activities in different countries

Otpor was founded in October 1998 as an opposition organization of young people, mostly students of Belgrade University. High media attention was given to group particularly in youth media such as MTV and financial support from the West and the number of members rose to an estimated up to 100,000 people in the following years. Otpor presented itself as a grassroots and anti- party organization and spoke thus of particular many previously organized youth. She became an active voice of the opposition movement against Slobodan Milošević in Serbia. So had Otpor, whose motto gotov ever (he's done) was also a decisive role in the overthrow of Slobodan Milošević ' on 5 October 2000, the mass protests involving Otpor had preceded.

In 2004, the Centre for Applied Nonviolent Action and Strategies ( CANVAS ) was founded.

Otpor was the experience gained in Serbia and Montenegro continue. Before the Rose Revolution in Georgia, there was a collaboration between Otpor and the Georgian opposition. Georgian students founded the youth organization Kmara! and were trained by Otpor representatives in Tbilisi.

In the 2004 presidential election in Ukraine, the pro-Russian Viktor Yanukovych and the pro-Western Viktor Yushchenko faced each other. Otpor made ​​here support for Viktor Yushchenko, who reached through a mass protest in Kiev and western Ukraine, a new election and the victory of his political movement. The analog Organization says there Pora! (German It's time ).

In advance of the presidential elections in Belarus on 19 March 2006, Otpor appeared as supporters of the opposition group " Zubr " (Eng. bison ) in appearance. Their organizers went through the training courses for " civil resistance " of the " opposition coach " from Serbia.

Although the social situation in Belarus, apart from the non-compliance with democratic standards, currently is relatively stable, even here the typical elements of a directly or indirectly excited by Otpor ' peaceful ' revolution show in the wake of a doubted choice. Even with the color blue, this revolution has a typical sign of ' imported ' revolution given. The changes taking place in the week after the March 19, 2006 demonstrations and a tent camp reminiscent of Kiev, but the tent camp in Minsk was violently dispersed by the police after a week. In May 2006, the Zubr activists announced the end of its activities under the banner of the organization in order to unite with the rest of the opposition.

Under the opposition, which was organized in against the ruling PSUV in Venezuela, is the alleged student organization JAVU ( Juventud activa Venezuela unida ). JAVU leads as the fist logo of Otpor and operates a website entitled " Resistencia " (resistance). This group became known after the last presidential elections in the international press by a bizarre pamphlet in which it warns against " maids, chauffeurs, caretakers and mechanics " as a spy of the government.

After the change of government in 2000

After the change of government in Serbia, Otpor received in the Serbian media widely recognized and leading representatives as Srđa Popović switching over to politics for the party alliance " Democratic Opposition of Serbia " ( DOS). After the collapse of the alliance in 2003 Otpor approached as a separate party. The support for Otpor in the population increased after the change of government due to the policy in DOS, lack of party program and the reporting of the debt financing of Otpor ( what the grassroots Image damaged ) significantly. Otpor failed with 1.6 percent of the vote in the parliamentary election in 2003 at the 5 percent threshold and subsequently went in Serbia in 2004 officially joined the party Demokratska Stranka at.

Awards, honors

• Free Your Mind Award by the television channel MTV, 2000
• In her role as a renowned actor of the 5th October 2000, she received on October 4, 2001 Human Rights Prize of the Friedrich- Ebert -Stiftung.