“Too Young to Remember Determined Not to Forget”

Abstract

This article examines memory activism among the young generation of activists in Serbia, born during or toward the end of the wars of the 1990s. By analyzing the actions of members of the Youth Initiative for Human Rights (YIHR), a Belgrade-based nongovernmental organization, as memory activism, this article aims to deepen the analysis of and discussions about current mnemonic processes in Serbia and to point at a dynamic space of action and engaged citizenship. I discuss the actions and positions of those young activists as related to the contested memories of the wars of the breakup of Yugoslavia and to the legacies of the 1990s. More specifically, I analyze their responses to, and interactions with, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) convicts who returned to Serbia and reclaimed their engagement in public life. The text is based on data collected in several stages of field research since 2010 that included observations of and in-depth interviews with YIHR activists in Serbia. It addresses the following main questions: What constitutes memory activism in Serbia? What new tactics do the young generation of memory activists employ and how innovative are their practices when engaging with the public on issues related to challenging silence and denial in their society? How do they articulate their claims and demands as related to the issue of returning ICTY convicts, and especially of those who are now public figures in Serbia? I conclude that at the heart of memory activism as examined in the case of Serbia stands a regional and even transnational network of mnemonic practices, revolving around similar mnemonic battles, taking place in some of the other successor states of the former Yugoslavia as well. As such, further analysis of memory activism in the postwar post-Yugoslav sphere will require additional empirical and analytical research of this region as a region of memory.

Scalability of Transitional Justice and Reconciliation Interventions: Moving Toward Wider Socio-political Change

“…NDC Sarajevo, for example, fostered a strong shared identity among youth in Jajce, who were able to successfully mobilise and protest against mono-ethnic schools, with positive outcomes (Belloni & Ramović, 2019). Research on youth memory activism in Serbia finds that while state officials have labelled returning ICTY convicts as heroes, activists have sought out alternative narratives and demanded that returning war criminals are not allowed to take part in electoral politics or other forms of public life (Fridman, 2018). The homecoming of war criminals represents a shared regional challenge and the potential for shared tactics of engaged citizenship (Fridman, 2018).…”

“…Youth activists, members of the Youth Initiative for Human Rights (YIHR) 4 , have been involved in activism related to contested memories in Serbia of the wars of the 1990s (Fridman, 2018). Memory activism has emerged as a continuation of the anti-war activism of the 1990s and post-2000 peace activism.…”

“…Memory activism has emerged as a continuation of the anti-war activism of the 1990s and post-2000 peace activism. Research on memory activism in Serbia finds that while state officials have labelled returning ICTY convicts as heroes, youth activists have sought out alternative production of knowledge and demanded that returning war criminals should not be taking part in public life (Fridman, 2018). They approach the knowledge produced in the ICTY trials as facts that cannot be denied but rather confronted and debated (Fridman, 2018).…”

“…Research on memory activism in Serbia finds that while state officials have labelled returning ICTY convicts as heroes, youth activists have sought out alternative production of knowledge and demanded that returning war criminals should not be taking part in public life (Fridman, 2018). They approach the knowledge produced in the ICTY trials as facts that cannot be denied but rather confronted and debated (Fridman, 2018). Their acts of memory activism can be interpreted as political, constituting forms of engaged citizenship (Fridman, 2018).…”

“…They approach the knowledge produced in the ICTY trials as facts that cannot be denied but rather confronted and debated (Fridman, 2018). Their acts of memory activism can be interpreted as political, constituting forms of engaged citizenship (Fridman, 2018).…”