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Obraz Образ | |
|---|---|
| Leader | Mladen Obradović |
| Founder | Nebojša M. Krstić |
| Founded | 1993 |
| Headquarters | Belgrade |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Far-right[9][10] |
| Religion | Serbian Orthodox Church |
| Party flag | |
 | |
| Website | |
| obraz.rs (archived) | |
Obraz (Serbian:Образ; fully theFatherland Front "Obraz",Serbian:Отачаствени покрет "Образ",romanized: Otačastveni pokret "Obraz",lit. 'cheek') is afar-rightpolitical organization inSerbia.[11][12] TheConstitutional Court of Serbia banned Obraz in 2012, although it shortly after re-registered under a similar name.[13]
The organization is classified asclero-fascist by several organizations and government institutions, including the government of the Serbian province ofVojvodina and theSerbian Ministry of Interior.[14][15][16] On 12 June 2012 Obraz was officially banned by theConstitutional Court of Serbia.[17] While swearing allegiance to theSerbian nation and to theSerbian Orthodox religion, Obraz is committed to a struggle against those groups which it views as enemies of the OrthodoxSerbian people, such as "Zionists (which they also includeKabbalists,Manichaeists,Freemasons andIlluminati as part of the widerJudeo-Masonic conspiracy theory),Ustashe (mainlyCroatian nationalists),Muslim extremists (mainlyBosniak nationalists),Albanian terrorists (mainlyAlbanian nationalists), falsepacifists (mainlyhuman rights activists andNGOs in Serbia),political partisans,sectarians (religioussects),perverts (which they includepedophiles and theLGBT population),drug addicts andcriminals (mainlySerbian mafia)". The movement's ideology is mainly influenced byNikolaj Velimirović,Dimitrije Ljotić and theYugoslav National Movement Zbor.[18][19][20]
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Active organisations |
Historical organisations |
In late 2001 they staged the First Assembly of the Orthodox-National Youth at theBelgrade University after 1944. Participants in the Assembly were members of society "Sveti Justin Filozof", Serbian Assembly"Dveri"[citation needed], and the Serbian Orthodox priests. However, most emphasised was the "Spiritual vertical of theSerb history andSerb people". The rally underlined the spiritual authority ofJustin Popović andNikolaj Velimirović and urged creation of the Serb state in line with their ideas. There were many priests and also girls dressed inSerb folk-costumes. The Assembly also called on reconciliation between followers ofDraža Mihailović, and dissemination of their ideas in schools.
Obraz praised war criminal indicteesRatko Mladić andRadovan Karadžić: "We salute the last of Serb heroes! Gen. Ratko Mladić [...] and Dr. Radovan Karadžić [...] led Bosnian Serbs in their fight for survival; we thank the great men for their sacrifices with a hope that our pages will strike a spark of inspiration for future generations."[18]
According to Professor Dr. Ljubiša Rajić, the message on the Obraz' web site: "re-hashes old ideas ofsvetosavlje, which attach primary importance to assembly-making, monarchy, clericalism, conservatism, andpatriarchal culture. Moreover those ideas are currently openly espoused by contemporary ideologues ofSerb nationalism, the far-right parties and some Serbian Orthodox priests”.
But that anti-LGBT sentiment[22] is characteristic also of other organizations, like Fatherland Front "Obraz", which according toNebojša M. Krstić, president of movement "verbally fights against abuses of human rights committed for the sake of legalization of sexually deviant homosexuals and lesbians and numerous sects in our country"[citation needed] Members of the organization chanted "Death to faggots" (Serbian:Смрт педерима,romanized: Smrt pederima).[23]
In February 2008, Obraz symbols were displayed at a Kosovo Serb rally in the northern part of the city ofKosovska Mitrovica[24] and during theKosovo is Serbia rally in protest against theindependence of Kosovo.[25] And in September 2009, they issued open threats of violence throughpropaganda posters to the organizers and participants of theGay Pride Parade in Belgrade.[26]
On 11 July 2009, after the burial of 543 victims inSrebrenica, a group of men and women associated with Obraz "chanted insults directed towards the victims and in support of theChetnik movement, calling for eradication of Islam".[27]
On 28 February 2009, the Human and Minority Rights Ministry of Serbia sought to shut down Obraz and submitted an initiative to look into the legality of its work.[28][29]
In 2011, Obraz was submitted to the constitutional court of Serbia to be forbidden as an extremist organization and to prevent its registration under a different name.[30][31][32] The leader of this organization Mladen Obradović is accused for calls for lynch of theLGBT population in Serbia in 2009 and 2010.[22] He was convicted for 10 months sentence for threateningLGBT people at the pride parade in 2009.[33] He was also convicted for 2 years for the same crimes at the 2010 pride parade.[33][34]
On 12 June 2012, theConstitutional Court of Serbia declared Obraz illegal.[35]
