Otpor!

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Otpor! ( Serbian - Cyrillic ОТПОР!, dt. resistance! ) was a Serbian organization , since 2000 also a party , which provided active support for opposition parties and groups during the political upheavals caused by so-called " color revolutions " in Eastern Europe ( Ukraine ) and in the Transcaucasus ( Georgia ) . The youth movement of April 6 , one of the initiators of the Egyptian revolution of 2011 , had contact with Otpor and was inspired by her.

Otpor was u in the 1990s. a. founded by Srđa Popović in Serbia. Until the change of government in Serbia in 2000, the number of Otpor members rose sharply. Support sank after Slobodan Milošević was overthrown in 2001. Otpor won 1.6 percent of the vote in the 2003 elections. Then Otpor joined the Demokratska Stranka party in 2004 .

idea

The “clenched fist” on a building at the University of Novi Sad (Serbia), 2001

Otpor's symbol is the clenched fist , which is seen “as a symbol of the movement to identify the democratically oriented youth in Serbia”. Gene Sharp's theories had an important influence on its development .

The basic idea of ​​Otpor is to enable free elections through well-organized, peaceful revolutions in a country whose political leadership is governed by authoritarian or dictatorial means from a Western government perspective and thus to install democratically legitimized governments. Particular emphasis is placed on partially covert and also open financial support from Western organizations of a state and private character. The following phases can be identified:

  • Establishment and support of organizations in the country , followed by spectacular "resistance actions" in the media, which are reported in western countries.
  • Creation of symbols with recognition value : Here the roses in Georgia and the color orange in Ukraine are mentioned.
  • Questioning a fair election process : It is generally assumed that the opposition is hindered in the election campaign and this is pointed out. At the same time, on this basis, possible and real manipulations in the run-up to the election - z. B. unilateral occupation of the electoral commission with government-loyal officials or exclusive media presence of the government candidate - reported and sensitized in Western foreign countries in this interpretative sovereignty. At this point in time, media coverage abroad was expanded with a one-sided focus on the obstacles of the opposition and a negative assessment of the respective governments.
  • Peaceful protests from election evening onwards start the decisive phase. This is where the citizens' protests of the opposition are organized in the form of demonstrations and rallies that are effective in the media.
  • New elections : Depending on the support of the movement in the population, the economic condition of the country and the political pressure from abroad, the protests after the elections lead in the best case to new elections in which the former opposition takes over the government.

financing

Otpor is financed by a network of western organizations. The funding is an official part of the reporting of these Western organizations. These include:

  • National Endowment for Democracy (NED): The NED was founded in 1983, is based in Washington and is funded primarily by the US State Department. In the 2006 budget year, $ 80 million was earmarked from the state budget for NED alone. The NED operates internationally through the party institutes NDI and IRI, through the branches of the trade union federation AFL / CIO operating abroad and the branches of the employers' association "American Center for International Labor Society" (ACILS) and the "Center for International Private Enterprise" (CIPE) ).
  • National Democratic Institute (NDI): The NDI has been the party foundation of the Democratic Party, headquartered in Washington, since 1984. The chair is former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright .
  • International Republican Institute (IRI): the foundation of the Republican Party founded in 1983, also based in Washington. IRI has been supporting Otpor since June 1997.
  • Freedom House : Freedom House is an American GONGO founded in 1941and, like the CPD, is currently under the direction of the former CIA director James Woolsey . It is headquartered in Washington, but has offices around the world.
  • Open Society Institute International Renaissance Foundation : The organizations of the multimillionaire George Soros are among the most important sources of money for the opposition movements. Soros assigns its institutions the task of "supporting civil society and all democratic approaches in the former Soviet republics".
  • Committee on the Present Danger (CPD): In the summer of 2004, the "Committee against the Present Danger" was founded for the third time in the USA. The renewed initiative to found the CPD came from the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, one of the US institutions for financing, preparing and directing overthrowing actions in the former Soviet sphere of influence and in other regions of the world. The CPD is chaired by former CIA director James Woolsey. To make these actions more effective, CPD set up a department called CPD International. The former Czech President Vaclav Havel , the former Spanish Prime Minister José María Aznar and the former US Secretary of State George Shultz were co-chairs of the CPD-International .

Otpor activities in different states

Worldwide (as of 2011)

In the report of the Austrian TV magazine Weltjournal on May 11, 2011 on ORF2, Popovic stated that Otpor was involved in 37 revolutions after the Serbian one, five of which were successful: Georgia, Lebanon, Ukraine, Maldives, and now in Egypt and Tunisia " (As of 2011 broadcast year) --- 12:13, Aug. 15, 2019 (CEST)

Serbia

Otpor was founded in October 1998 as an opposition organization by young people, mainly students from Belgrade University . The group received a lot of media attention, especially in youth media such as MTV and financial donations from the West, and the number of members rose to an estimated 100,000 people in the following years. Otpor presented itself as a grassroots and anti-party organization and thus addressed in particular many young people and young people who were previously not politically organized. She became an active mouthpiece for the opposition movement against Slobodan Milošević in Serbia. Otpor, whose motto was Gotov ever (He is finished), also played a decisive role in the fall of Slobodan Milošević on October 5, 2000, which had preceded mass protests involving Otpor.

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

Georgia

Otpor also passed on the experiences made in Serbia and Montenegro. In the run-up to the Rose Revolution in Georgia, there was cooperation between Otpor and the Georgian opposition. Georgian students founded the youth organization Kmara! and were trained by Otpor representatives in Tbilisi .

Ukraine

In the 2004 presidential elections in Ukraine , the pro-Russian Viktor Yanukovych and the pro-Western Viktor Yushchenko faced each other. Otpor provided support for Viktor Yushchenko, who won a new election and won his political movement through a mass protest in Kiev and western Ukraine. The analog organization there is called Pora! (Eng. It's time).

Belarus

In the run-up to the presidential elections in Belarus on March 19, 2006 Otpor also appeared as a supporter of the opposition group " Subr " (German bison). Their organizers went through the training courses for civil resistance of the "opposition trainers" from Serbia.

Although the social situation in Belarus, apart from non-compliance with democratic standards, is currently relatively stable, the typical elements of a peaceful revolution, directly or indirectly stimulated by Otpor, can also be seen here following a questioned election. The demonstrations and a tent camp that took place in the week after March 19, 2006 were reminiscent of Kiev, but the tent camp in Minsk was forcibly broken up by the police after a week. In May 2006, the Subr activists announced the end of their activities under the organization's banner in order to unite with the rest of the opposition.

Venezuela

The alleged student organization JAVU (Juventud activa Venezuela unida) is among the opposition that was organized against the ruling PSUV in Venezuela . JAVU has the fist of Otpor as its logo and operates a website with the title "Resistencia" (resistance). This group became known in the international press after the last presidential elections through a leaflet in which they warned against "maids, chauffeurs, janitors and mechanics" as government informers .

After the change of government in 2000

After the change of government in Serbia, Otpor received wide recognition in the Serbian media and leading representatives like Srđa Popović switched to politics for the party alliance " Democratic Opposition of Serbia " (DOS). After the collapse of the alliance in 2003, Otpor joined as a separate party. Support for Otpor among the population decreased significantly after the change of government due to politics in the DOS, the lack of a party program and the discovery of external financing from Otpor (which damaged the grassroots image). Otpor failed with 1.6 percent of the vote in the 2003 parliamentary election at the 5 percent hurdle and then officially joined the Democratska Stranka party in Serbia in 2004 .

The fact that the US was heavily involved in the NATO bombing of Operation Allied Force in 1999 had a negative impact on Otpor's popularity because of the fact that it was heavily involved in the NATO bombing of Operation Allied Force in 1999.

Awards, honors

  • Free Your Mind Award from MTV TV , 2000
  • In her function as a well-known actor on October 5, 2000, she received the Friedrich Ebert Foundation's Human Rights Prize on October 4, 2001.

Others

In the TV crime thriller Tatort: ​​Die Faust , the murder victims have in common that they were members of Otpor who lived in Vienna under a false name.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ David D. Kirkpatrick, David E. Sanger: A Tunisian-Egyptian Link That Shook Arab History . New York Times February 13, 2011
  2. ↑ Enver Robelli: The overthrow GmbH on sueddeutsche.de 17 February 2011
  3. ↑ The NED's support for Otpor has a long tradition NED Link ( Memento of the original from February 23, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Website of the NED with a description of the financing from the US budget ( memento of the original from April 26, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.ned.org @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.ned.org
  4. ↑ Radio Free Europe: Ukraine: Part Homegrown Uprising, Part Imported Production? (English) , website of the NDI ( Memento of the original from February 19, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.ndi.org
  5. ↑ IRI homepage (English) ( Memento of the original from February 18, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.iri.org
  6. ^ Freedom House website with links to annual reports
  7. ^ Soros list of the Open Society's sub-organizations
  8. ↑ Self-description of the CDP ( Memento of the original from October 9, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.committeeonthepresentdanger.org
  9. ↑ [1]
  10. ↑ Christophe Chiclet: Otpor: the youths who booted Milosevic
  11. ↑ a b Kais Harrabi: FAZ.NET-Tatortsicherung: Did the CIA steer revolutions in Eastern Europe? www.faz.net, January 14, 2018, accessed January 20, 2018 .