Youth activism in the Balkans

"Thank you for every second you spend dealing with this case. You have no idea how it feels looking at your children, crying and writing letters to their father. Letters which I am afraid to send him, as they are full of sorrow and pain. These pictures [of the workshop] are really beautiful and they show that together we can do a lot." Nadja Dizdarevic, wife of Guantánamo detainee Boudella al-Hajj, after the workshop

Young, energetic, and campaigning for human rights in the Balkans. Men and women who recently attended an activism workshop organized by Amnesty International in Ljubljana, Slovenia, had these three characteristics in common.

The objective of the meeting was to encourage and support activism in the Balkans against human rights abuses committed in the name of counter-terrorism. Some twenty attendees came from Albania; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Croatia; Macedonia; Serbia, including Kosovo; and Slovenia.

The activists were particularly inspired to campaign against detentions in Guantánamo – part of Amnesty International's global campaign against abuses in the US-led "war on terror".

They were also motivated by violations carried out closer to home. Balkan governments have been directly and indirectly involved in the transfer of terrorist suspects to secret detention centres as well as rendition flights. These cases include six Bosnian Algerians who were illegally transferred, despite a court ruling, to the US detention facility at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.

Nadja Dizdarevic, wife of Guantánamo detainee Boudella al-Hajj, also attended the workshop and spoke about her experience campaigning for the rights of Guantánamo detainees.

These young activists now form part of the world wide movement to Close Guantanamo. Since the workshop they have begun to organize Guantánamo campaigning activities in their own countries. Amnesty International will be working with them in the future to organize coordinated activities in the region and in the world.