Vesna Pesic

At a time when people throughout the world associate Serbia with the abhorrent policy of ethnic cleansing, Vesna Pesic represents "another Serbia" -- one composed of those who believe that democracy is incompatible with exclusive nationalism and are fighting every day for peace and human rights.

Long before she emerged as the leading critic of the militant policies of ex-Yugoslavia's ultra-nationalist leaders, she was an active human rights and pro-democracy dissident who in 1982 was jailed for her activism. She was a founder in 1985 of the Belgrade Helsinki Committee and in 1989 of the Yugoslav Democratic Initiative, the first independent political organization since World War II, which called for the democratic transformation of the former Yugoslav Federation on the principle of equal rights for all individuals. She constantly fostered dialogue among different ethnic groups, organizing three public discussions between Serbs and Kosovo Albanians in 1990.

When the war broke out in 1991, she founded the Center for AntiWar Action, which initiated a legislative proposal for an amnesty. Such proposals included: "The Peace Walk" in front of the Federal Parliament; a "Meeting of Solidarity with Dubrovnik"; "Peaceful Bosnia," a rock concert in Belgrade's largest public square; "Yellow Ribbon," a march protesting discrimination against non-Serb citizens of Serbia; daily protest discussions against the war called "Belgrade Anti-War Marathon"; and a peace demonstration on the anniversary of the Bosnian war at which aid for Sarajevo was collected and the war victims remembered.

In addition to her efforts within Serbia, Dr. Pesic has also initiated a number of international conferences, including a roundtable on violations of humanitarian law in San Remo, Italy.

Dr. Pesic has also initiated many projects aimed at the promotion of the culture of peace and human rights. These include the S.O.S. Hotline for victims of discrimination, an analysis of war propaganda and extreme nationalism in school textbooks; a project called "Hello, Neighbor!" in which psychologists help refugee children and their parents recover from war-related traumas and prepare for a life in peace, and a Committee for Human Rights which monitors public hate speech and human rights violations and publishes the bulletin The Voice for Peace and Human Rights.

Through these and other activities, Vesna Pesic has sought to counter the hatred and violence that is consuming her country and to defend human rights and values of tolerance, which are the foundation of democracy.