"Results are very worrisome, since they show that citizens are extremely apathetic and passive even though they are aware that as workers they are in a very difficult situation," said the coordinator of this survey, sociologist Jovan Zivkovic. He specified that the poll showed that 53 percent of citizens believe that they "have no rights and lack protection of any kind", and as many as 21 percent that their position is equivalent to that of "modern slaves". Also, none of the participants stated that he or she had "rights and protection equivalent to European standards". According to Zivkovic, almost 90 percent of workers believe that they are bring mistreated by their directors, about 45 percent of them claim that all means of protest with goal of protecting worker's rights are "strictly controlled", and 34 percent that participation in such protests is "always punished by dismissals".
Zivkovic added that in spite of such attitude almost a half of poll participants believe that their position can only be improved by total social rebellion through which "everyone must rebel at the same time against the present situation". According to him, more than 20 percent of surveyed individuals believe that individual activism cannot produce changes, and almost as many that they personally shouldn't be active since "there is no need to risk a job and the fate of one's family".
Almost 80 percent of participants in the poll do not recognize any of the existing trade unions, and only 3.5 percent trust "majority independent trade union" [pro-regime trade union]. Trade union "Independent trade union" [anti-regime trade union] enjoys the trust of 7 percent of participants while UGS "Nezavisnost" [Independence] enjoys support of 5.5 poll participants.
"To the question 'Why are workers not demonstrating in the streets?' almost a third of participants replied that they are apathetic, scared, tired of everything, and do not trust anyone. More than 20 percent of citizens replied that workers are inclined to forbearance and self-sacrifice, while 20 percent that the workers are 'silent' because they are 'half-breeds' [i.e. work both on their farms and as blue-collar workers in industry], while 15 percent that they are 'preoccupied with their part-time jobs in order to survive'," said Zivkovic.
He added that the survey indicated that workers have a negative attitude or are disinterested with respect to privatization. Almost 73 percent of poll participants said that they do not know the essence and rules for privatization, while only five percent of poll participants were aware of these rules.
Beer and Schterzing emphasize that the number of KFOR troops in Kosovo should not be reduced, but that the number of policemen must quickly be increased in order to "slowly unburden" KFOR troops. They believe that the situation in Kosovo is "unstable". Beer gave an example of an 86-year-old Serb woman, whose house must be guarded by two KFOR tanks, while Schterzing concluded that the disarmament of Albanians was not successful since "only obsolete and broken weapons were turned over" to KFOR. However, both of them believe that "the inclination towards violence will decrease in proportion to the inflow of assistance to the destroyed region".
This sudden awakening of the rule of law in the case of one of numerous private investigative agencies in Serbia surprised the public in Sumadija [central Serbia], since it was assumed by many that Ozna was doing what it was doing with tacit approval of, if not in close collaboration with the competent state institutions. Let us recall that the Ozna agency became known in the domestic public and even abroad when it announced that it was looking for and working on the exchange of the missing participants in the most recent "Kosovo battle". The said agency, and its founder, owner and director, former inspector of the Kragujevac Police Zivorad Jovanovic, respectively, were those days approached by many Serbs and Albanians (both from the country and from abroad) requesting assistance in search for the missing sons, brothers, fathers...
A part of the public in Sumadija believed then that all of this was merely a good marketing move of a private investigative agency, especially since for weeks after that nothing was heard about this particular Ozna activity. However, a few days ago, Ozna managed to exchange three Albanians (taken over between Podujevo and Medrare) for three Serbs (turned over in Rozaje) and the news made a huge impact all over the country. Since, despite huge media attention this exchange was covered with an impenetrable veil of secrecy, the district public prosecutor in Kragujevac requested that it be checked whether Ozna has a permit for this type of activity, then whether a crime was committed and finally that the identity of exchanged Serbs be established.
We could not find anyone in Ozna's offices yesterday to comment on this request by the district public prosecutor. The owner and director of the agency was away on a business trip and was supposed to return "late". In Kragujevac, the public assumes that the district prosecutor's office reacted because of a negative reaction by a part of the domestic public to the exchange of Serbs and Albanians. At least a few opposition political parties and politicians demanded these days from competent institutions to answer: why are prisoners of war exchanged via private agencies? What, if anything, is the state doing in such cases?
The state has been disgraced and now, apparently, it is time to sweep everything under the carpet. Again, it seems that the judiciary will be used for that.