Dveri

Dveri Movement
Покрет Двери
Pokret Dveri
Leadership Boško Obradović
Founders Boško Obradović
Branimir Nešić
Founded 27 January 1999
Headquarters Belgrade
Ideology Serbian nationalism
Social conservatism
Right-wing populism
Clericalism
Euroscepticism[1]
Political position Right-wing to Far-right
Colours Red and Blue
Website
www.dverisrpske.com
Politics of Serbia
Political parties
Elections

The Dveri Movement (Serbian: Покрет Двери / Pokret Dveri) is a far-right social conservative and clerical political movement in Serbia.[2][3]

Dveri was founded by Branimir Nešić in 1999 as an Christian right-wing youth organisation consisting mainly of students from the University of Belgrade which regularly arranged public debates devoted to the popularisation of clerical-nationalist philosophy of Nikolaj Velimirović,[4] a bishop of the Serbian Orthodox Church who was canonized in 2003 and is considered a major anti-Western thinker.[5]

The organisation promotes a pronounced Serbian nationalist ideology. It opposed a resolution passed by Serbian parliament in March 2010 which condemned the Srebrenica massacre committed by the Bosnian Serb Army in eastern Bosnia in 1995,[3] and is also fiercely opposed to the independence of Kosovo.[2] It is also well known for its anti-gay agenda.[2]

In October 2010 the very first Gay Pride parade was held in Belgrade, in which thousands of anti-gay protesters clashed violently with police units securing the parade participants. One of the far-right groups which organised the anti-gay protest were Dveri, and a member of the organisation was quoted by The Economist as saying that the protest was a form of "defence of the family and the future of the Serbian people".[6]

In August 2011, in the run up to the 2011 Pride Parade in Belgrade, the organisation warned that organising such an event could feed social unrest and provoke riots, and added that if the government allowed the march to go forward that "Belgrade will burn like London burned recently".[7] In fear of more violent clashes, the authorities eventually decided to cancel the event, a decision which was criticised by human rights groups such as Amnesty International, which specifically singled out Dveri and Obraz as the main right-wing nationalist groups responsible for "orchestrating opposition to the Pride".[8]

In March 2012 the movement collected 14,507 signatures to register as an electoral list for the May 2012 Serbian parliamentary election.[9] The Dveri Movement received 4.35% of the popular vote, failing to pass the 5% minimum threshold to enter parliament.

In September 2012 Dveri leader Vladan Glišić called for a "100-year ban" on pride parades in Belgrade, describing such an event as "promotion of a totalitarian and destructive ideology" and accused the ruling Socialist Party of Serbia of being influenced by a "gay lobby".[10]

In September 2013, in the run-up to another attempted gay pride march in Belgrade, Boško Obradović said that the event amounted to "the imposition of foreign and unsuitable values, laid out before minors - the most vulnerable section of society".[11]

In 2014 Dveri ran again in the March 2014 Serbian parliamentary election, winning 3.58% of the vote, failing again to pass the 5% minimum threshold to enter parliament.

Parliamentary elections

National Assembly of Serbia
Year Popular vote % of popular vote Overall seats won Seat change Government
2012 169,590 4.34%
0 / 250
 Steady opposition
2014 128,458 3.58%
0 / 250
 Steady opposition

See also

References

  1. ↑ Dveri Odgovaraju: Какав је ваш став према Космету и Европској Унији? (Translation:Dveri Answers: What is your stance towards Kosmet and the European Union?) Retrieved February 24, 2012.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Barlovac, Bojana (26 August 2011). "Serb Far-Right Group Prepares Poll Debut". Balkan Insight. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Right wing movement to take part in elections". B92. 23 August 2011. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  4. ↑ Byford, Jovan (2008). Denial and Repression of Antisemitism. Budapest, Hungary: Central European University Press. p. 17. ISBN 9789639776159.
  5. ↑ Buchenau, Klaus (2005). "From Hot War to Cold Integration? Serbian Orthodox Voices on Globalization and the European Union". Eastern Orthodoxy in a Global Age. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press. p. 64. ISBN 9780759105362.
  6. ↑ "Hate in Belgrade". The Economist. Retrieved 7 February 2014. |first1= missing |last1= in Authors list (help)
  7. ↑ "Belgrade gay pride parade planned for October 2". AFP. 26 August 2011. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  8. ↑ "Banning of Belgrade Pride is a dark day for human rights in Serbia". Amnesty International. 30 September 2011. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  9. ↑ "RIK proglasio izbornu listu Dveri" (in Serbian). B92. 28 March 2012. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
  10. ↑ "Socialists described as having "strong gay lobby”". B92. 27 September 2012. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  11. ↑ Vasovic, Aleksandar (26 September 2013). "Serbian gay rights activists say to march despite threats". Reuters. Retrieved 28 September 2014.

External links