Raid by the financial police accompanied by Special Forces, as well as the unlawful closing and locking FER offices, is the latest in a series of unconstitutional and unlawful raids on non-governmental organizations and political dissidents.

The fact that this attempt to intimidate took place when Forum associates were away from Belgrade speaks a lot about the perpetrators.

We are honored to learn our actions in finding peaceful and democratic solutions to ethnic relations, protecting human and minority rights and developing a culture of dialogue and tolerance are opposed by those groups within the establishment who have planned this action against the FER.

I want to use this opportunity to state the following:

no amount of repression can hide the consequences of policies of ethnic hatred and conflict, which have produced wars on the territory of the former Yugoslavia, with its tragic finale in Kosovo.

each participant in the public life must suffer the consequences for their political, and especially illegal actions.

Finally, we are publicly asking the Federal Public Prosecutor, the Republic Public Prosecutor and the Minister of the Interior whether they have gathered any intelligence related to the organization “Crna ruka II“(Black Hand II), which made life threats to the Director of the Forum for Ethnic Relations? Perhaps somewhere among your files you still keep a complaint filed against unknown persons for setting up a terrorist organization.

Do the prosecutors and the ministers think that the fight against terrorism is won by non-application of legally prescribed measures for the prevention of illegal activities, such as this forcible entry by the police into the premises of the Forum for Ethnic Relations?

In Podgorica, 06 June 2000

Coordinator of the Forum for Ethnic Relations

Dr. Dušan Janjić