Communist party leader expelled from the university

Bosnia and Herzegovina could hardly be recognized as a democratic state
 
Violence of basic human rights of nations, religions and trade unionists has been known for many years. Until now, however, violence of right to have own political opinion has been less known, although not recognized by many human rights activists and organizations. The newest example of such violence is expulsion of the Communist Party leader from the university where he has worked. Namely, Goran Markovic, President of the Main Board of the Workers' Communist Party of Bosnia and Herzegovina, yesterday was fired out from the private university where he worked as a teaching assistant for sociology.

The problems occurred six months ago, during electoral campaign in Bosnia  and Herzegovina, when comrade Markovic headed list of his party for municipal elections. After his speeches have been delivered on TV,  university authorities attended secret meetings where they decided to expel him from the university. Considering the fact that the Labor Act abandoned possibility of violence of right to work on basis of political conviction or membership of an employee, university authorities had to find formal excuse to fire out comrade Markovic.

Knowing that there is no possibility for expelling him without great danger for the university to be sued, university authorities proposed to comrade Markovic signing of agreement on rupture of employment relationship, which he rejected. After that he was invited on two interviews with the owner of the university. The owner is a Serb who left Yugoslavia thirty years ago and went to the United States.

There he established contacts with Serbian fascist emigration around chetnik organizations and made great capital. At the beginning of the war in Yugoslavia he came back and started with investments. After the process of privatization started, he used good connections with political elite to earn more capital buying state owned enterprises cheaply. One of his greatest successes on this plan was buying of “Semberska Bank” (now “Pavlovic International Bank”) from Bijeljina for three times less price. After this “successful” buying he fired many workers and cut off salaries to those who reserved working places.

The owner of the university Slobodan Pavlovic wanted to know reasons why comrade Markovic became a communist and whether it would be possible for him to retreat from the party. Even few professors earlier talked with comrade Markovic and told him that real reason for his expulsion from the university is his communist conviction. They advised him to write a letter in which he would admit his mistake of being a communist with promise that he would quit political activity. After comrade Markovic refused to “admit a mistake” and condemn his own party and himself, the owner of the university said it would not be possible for comrade Markovic to stay on the university anymore because “as a communist he could not educate children” and that if communism wins he would lose his capital. Considering the fact that all activities taken by university authorities as well as by the owner of the university have been illegal and anti-constitutional, that they are flagrant violence of human rights and expression of tyranny, comrade Markovic decided to continue his struggle against these illegal acts and to try to achieve his rights through legal process in front of the court.

Worker Communist Party
Bosnia Herzegovina