On the occasion of last week's events in Zagreb related to Varšavska Street, during which around 150 citizens were arrested and detained due to non-violent resistance to the continuation of construction in Varšavska Street with the assistance of the police to the City Spatial Planning Office, we hereby, as members of the Council for the Development of Civil Society of the Government of the Republic of Croatia, express our strong disagreement with the police procedure of preventing the expression of civil protest at a registered and fully legal and legitimate gathering.
By arresting and imposing a restraining order on the protestors on Varšavska Street, the police have violated fundamental civil rights and freedoms, the primary right to public expression of opinion and the right to assemble, and accordingly the right to public protest. In addition, the police are derogating from the meaning and purpose of the restraining order, which was introduced into the Misdemeanor Act solely to protect victims of domestic violence. We believe that the police have exceeded their authority by this action.
As members of the Council for the Development of Civil Society, we would like to express our displeasure with the police procedure of arresting organized citizens and thereby further legitimize the existing low trust of citizens in the functioning of democracy, democratic institutions and belief in the possibility of their own influence. This is a real obstacle to the creation of a stimulating institutional and social environment for the active participation of citizens in political processes, and thus for the democratization of Croatian society.
We express concern about the increasingly frequent occurrence of destruction or reduction of public spaces due to the implementation of private projects that do not have a social component in the form of increasing the common good in society, in connection with which we advocate the development of sustainable and implementable public policies that serve to meet the needs of citizens and resolve open issues and problems, and that they must be developed and implemented on the principles of participation, openness and joint decision-making in cooperation with citizens. The role of civil society is realized in open dialogue, interaction, cooperation, and even partnership with public and state institutions. Adopting such an active role of citizens, openness and publicity as fundamental values, also means the obligation of state and public institutions to ensure public insight into political measures and decisions even during the preparation process, i.e. while representatives of civil society organizations can still influence their final form.
As members of the Council for the Development of Civil Society, we strongly support the creation of an enabling environment for the development of civil society and the promotion of the highest values from Article 3 of the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia, and we believe that active and responsible citizens and an active civil society are essential for effective democracy, stronger protection of human rights, and more responsible functioning of government. We believe in building socially just relationships in which each actor bears full responsibility towards himself and others. We strongly support the constant fight for the public interest, the fight against the exploitation of space, management of space to the detriment of the public interest, and unsustainable spatial policies. We believe it is necessary and indispensable to include citizens in decision-making at all levels, including those concerning the spatial development of Zagreb or other cities and towns.
We believe that it is necessary to make positive changes within the social context and political system in order to enable quality citizen participation at all levels and civil disobedience as a form of active expression of one's own opinion. We believe that citizen participation is the best indicator of the success of democratization and the performance of pluralism in Croatian society. In addition, civic engagement should be taken seriously in the development of institutional mechanisms for civilian oversight of police activities, as well as in the democratization of institutions at all levels.
No particular interest or value can justify the suppression of others, whether by the state or other civil society actors. The state, therefore, should ensure not only the independence of civil society from the state, but also the independence and freedom of civil society actors from each other.
We invite all those responsible in the process of arresting citizens, as well as all those responsible for preventing the expression of civil protest and the implementation of decisions that violate the public interest and public good, to minimize the harm of their actions and enable unhindered civil action in order to satisfy the common good.
Members and deputy members of the Council for Civil Society Development:
Slađana Novota (president) and Zvjezdana Schulz Vugrin, SMART - area - Democratization, rule of law and education development
Katarina Pavić and Emina Bužinkić, Croatian Youth Network - area - Youth Action
Suzana Kunac and Lana Vego, BaBe and the Center for Peace Studies - area - Protection and Promotion of Human Rights
Željka Leljak Gracin and Irma Popović, Green Action - area - Environmental protection and sustainable development
Ljiljana Canjuga, Association of Volunteers and Veterans of the Homeland War of the Republic of Croatia - UDVDR RH - area - Activities of associations arising from the Homeland War
Jany Hansal, DEŠA - Dubrovnik/Society of Dystrophians, Disabled People with Cerebral Palsy and Infantile Paralysis and Other Physically Disabled People of Dubrovnik-Neretva County - area - Social Care
Snježana Ivčić and Ružica Lah, Coalition of Healthcare Associations - area - Health protection and improvement of quality of life
Dejan Buvač, Association of Associations - Croatian Cultural Council - area - Culture
Jasna Malus Gorišek, Croatian Association of Technical Culture (HZTK) - area - Technical Culture
