COURAGE

connecting collections

The campaign for the legal recognition of the right of conscientious objection and the campaign for the constitutional commitment of Slovenia to peace policies (conscientious objection and adoption of Article 24 of the Constitution of Republic of Slovenia) concluded successfully. This is a symbolic recognition of the broad acceptance of the Peace Movement’s activities in society.

Patrice Lumumba was the first prime minister of independent Congo and was assassinated in 1961, only 67 days after taking office. This event triggered protests in Belgrade which fast grew into larger clashes between the demonstrators and police. The biggest riot took place at Tašmajdan Park. The police used water cannon against the protestors. Thirty-five protestors, 51 police officers and nine members of the fire brigade were hurt. The demonstrations were mainly organised in front of the Belgian embassy since it was believed that Belgium, the former colonial power in Congo, had orchestrated the murder. The demonstrators took over and ransacked the embassy. These events in front of the Belgian embassy in Belgrade were recorded and documented in the photographs of Tomislav Peternek, at that time a reporter with the newspaper ‘Borba’. The police used the opportunity to confiscate his films, but later returned them.   

A “Protest against the persistent imprisonment of civil activists,” for example against Vaslav Havel’s arrest, was held on 2 March by numerous alternative organizations and parties. Between 400 and 600 people protested on Vörösmarty Square. One of the photos, one can see a banner with the sentence “Silence is complicity.” This photo was probably taken by István Kurta.

The material belongs to the final stages of the ecological protests – in 1990 and 1991. The request for international assistance on resolving the environmental problem was one of the ways, sought by the citizens of Ruse in finding a solution to their predicament. Along with numerous petitions to international organizations and media that covered the issue, this bilingual black banner with white-paint letters was one of the most direct expressions of the desire for international help.

The banner was donated by Iskra Pencheva, a participant of the ecological protests, to the Rousse Regional Museum of History in 1991.