CIVIL - Center for Freedom Maksim Gorki 31/1 1000 Skopje, RM www.civil.org.

mk

VIOLENC E FREE ELECTION S

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Project for awarenessraising, community action and prevention from violence and gun violence during the electoral process in the Republic of Macedonia

[This project consists of two components: (A) Nationwide awareness-raising campaign, and (B) field activities to facilitate community prevention action on violence and gun violence in 21 project locations and/or wider, through strengthening of community resources to prevent electoral violence and gun violence.]

VIOLENCE FREE ELECTIONS 2011

Awareness-raising, community prevention action project on violence and gun violence in the electoral process in the Republic of Macedonia Basic Project Information Title Area VIOLENCE FREE ELECTIONS 2011 Awareness-raising, community prevention action project on violence and gun violence in the electoral process in the Republic of Macedonia 13 weeks (A) Nationwide awareness-raising campaign, and (B) field activities to facilitate community prevention action on violence and gun violence in 21 project locations and/or wider Violence and use of weapons in the community, political pressure, various forms of intimidation that derive from them, including extreme violence during elections processes are quite common in the country. Numerous shooting incidents, assassination attempts, many beaten up and several wounded and fatalities are the toll in the past election cycles. The project tackles violence and gun violence during the whole elections process, including pre-electoral campaigning and field activities of political parties. Civil conducted a similar project supported by the SDC in 2009 (presidential and local elections). This project consists of: (A) Nationwide awareness-raising campaign, and (B) field activities to facilitate community prevention action on violence and gun violence in 21 project locations and/or wider, through strengthening of community resources to prevent electoral violence and gun violence. Both components of the project are interconnected, promote and support democratic values and processes, free from violence and gun violence, intimidation and political pressure in any form. The project is set to last at least four weeks before the elections, and as long as it is needed in the areas where elections will be ruled out due to irregularities and violence. About 180 elections polls were to re-run the process in 2009. After the process is over, Civil will provide analysis and public report. Civil has an extensive experience in mobilizing local/community support, relevant civil society organizations, governmental institutions (signed Memorandum of partnership with the Ministry of Interior in 2009), state bodies (such as the Broadcasting Council of Macedonia, signed MoU in 2009), and

Duratio n Setting

Summa ry

municipalities (signed MoUs with several municipalities across the country). We have close cooperation with local and national media, prevention departments in police stations, and other factors and stakeholders.

Civil in brief Established Mission Civil Center for Freedom is established in Skopje, November 25, 1999. Defend and promote human rights, contribute to sustainable peace and stability, reconciliation, conflict prevention, integration, and democracy in the Republic of Macedonia and the region. Civil constructively joins and facilitates efforts to improve safety, security and arms control, improve cooperation between civil society and decision making structures, and overcoming gun culture, through public awareness, education, lobbying and advocacy. Through membership to international associations, Civil supports global peace and stabilization processes, non-violent conflict resolution, human rights and democracy. Structure President Executive Board Advisory Board Board of Founders Organizational units: Contacts Civil Media Civil Art Eco Civil

www.civil.org.mk civil.mk@gmail.com CIVIL, Maksim Gorki 31/1, 1000 Skopje, RM T: 02 520 91 76 M: 075 389 697 Person responsible: Xhabir Memedi Deralla, President of Civil Center for Freedom +389 75 329 070 xhabir.deralla@gmail.com

Problem/needs assessment Violence and use of weapons in the community, political pressure, various forms of intimidation that derive from them, including extreme violence during elections processes are quite common in the country. Numerous shooting incidents, assassination attempts, many beaten up and several wounded and fatalities are the toll in the past election cycles. The general atmosphere in the country does not give a room for positive developments and democracy, due to domination of hate speech, political accusations and absence of political dialog. Intolerance, intimidation and violent behavior are on a rise, due to lack of rule of law and respect for human rights and freedoms. The combination of highly electrified political atmosphere, weak institutions, social insecurity, ethnic tensions, poverty, poor civic awareness, involvement of party soldiers at all levels of the society and the state, and high number of illicit weapons, put the coming pre-term elections at risk. Small arms possession in the society poses threats to the overall security and safety, democracy, human rights, and development of the country in general. The Macedonian society continually faces the problem related to gun violence, which derives from distrust, fragmentation and tensions along ethnic, political, and social lines. Threats from different aspects involving small arms and light weapons (SALW) are present on daily basis, resulting in tragic incidents, taking lives and increasing insecurity and fear, severely affecting development and democratic processes in the country, particularly in times of elections. According to relevant estimations (UNDP/SACIM, etc.), there are 110-170 thousand possessors of illegal SALW in the country, which may bring the number of possible 500 thousand pieces of illegal weapons. Even if not explicitly used, weapons pose a serious threat to the free elections indirectly, and in many ways. The damage has been done already in the previous elections. It will take time to convince voters that weapons are excluded from the process. During the elections in 2008 and earlier, there were incidents involving firearms (one dead, several injured, one assassination attempt). In the case of elections, it does not matter if weapons are legally registered or illegal, whether it is in the hands of civilians or (semi)official party (or other) personnel. Weapons must be removed from the process. The very idea of weapons presence must be removed, which will be even more difficult and requires long-term engagement of various stakeholders. There is a high risk of many other forms of violence that may be used in the process. There is a need for preventive activities against any form of violence at a community level. International and domestic organizations and missions usually cover regularity mostly on the elections day, which is essential to the elections process. Yet, attention needs to be increased during the whole process. Tackling violence and gun violence during the whole elections process, including pre-electoral campaigning and field activities of political parties is highly needed. Our work on the field particularly within the projects Cure Political Culture and Dialog and Arms Control, tells us that these elections bear a

high risk of violence and gun violence, this time not only within the ethnic Albanian community, but also within the Macedonian ethnic community, practically the whole country. It is important to know that incidents, regardless how harmless or low intensity they may seem, the damage is multiplied and affects the legitimacy of the elected governing structures long after the process is over. Moreover, a strong voice against violence and gun violence is much needed in this context. We need to build and install concepts and tools to prevent gun violence at all levels and in all communities. The Albanian ethnic community proved to be very vulnerable in terms of electoral gun violence, a situation derived from wrong policies in the last several years, particularly since 2006. Even if our society gets lucky in managing to prevent gun violence during the very process, it will remain deeply rooted in the communities and will pose further threats to the stability, safety and security, and overall functioning of democratic institutions. We strongly believe that our project and those similar to this will guarantee a successful revert of behavior on a long run. This project, as all other projects of CIVIL, has strong gender consideration elements, proven by careful formation of teams, as well as choice of partner and associating organizations. Project locations
1. City of Skopje 2. Cair 3. Saraj 4. Shuto Orizari 5. Centar 6. Aerodrom 7. Arachinovo 8. Studenichani 9. Kumanovo 10. Lipkovo 11. Tetovo 12. Tearce 13. Gostivar 14. Debar 15. Struga 16. Kichevo 17. Ohrid 18. Prilep 19. Bitola 20. Strumica 21. Shtip 22. Veles

Project Objectives Overall objectives:

Democratic, free and nonviolent completion of the electoral process Prevention from violence and gun violence during the pre-electoral campaigning and the elections Design, produce and disseminate various campaign materials to successfully raise awareness on violence and gun violence in the elections process Create a network of Working Groups against Violence in 21 and/or more project locations to help identifying and mobilizing local communities to plan and implement actions to prevent violence and gun violence Formation of the Mobile Prevention Group to provide swift support to areas at stake Provide in-depth analysis and report to the public, combined with media products

Specific objectives:

Target groups Voters Party leaders and activists Civil society Weapons possessors

Experience CIVIL already has a huge experience in conducting national awarenessraising campaigns and lots of projects that involve facilitation and field work with communities, particularly in the areas indicated in this project proposal. As a result, we have adopted various methodologies and patterns of implementation of our projects. We already have an extensive amount of contacts and cooperation in the field, which we maintain regularly. Practically, it is only a matter of few days that we need to activate all those contacts and start working on the issues elaborated here. Coordination; cooperation, association, partnership Civil has already developed good cooperation with several state and local level institutions, such as the Ministry of Interior, Broadcasting Council of Macedonia, and several municipalities in the country. We had preliminary talks with several civil society organizations that may take part in several segments of the project, such as the Youth Educational Forum, Womens Civic Initiative Antiko, and others. Civil is open to cooperation, association and partnership with all organizations included in the Civica Mobilitas Programme, and has good cooperation with local civil society organizations across the whole country. Preliminary coordinative contacts have been made with several organizations known for their expertise and regular involvement in the

electoral process, such as the Citizen Association Most, National Institute for Democracy, etc. Implementation phases Preparations Each segment of the campaign and the fieldwork is separately elaborated and planned (media and campaign materials dissemination plans, contacts lists, travel schedules, training seminars curricula, working agendas, etc.). The list of preparatory activities includes but is not limited to:

Campaign design Preliminary visit to selected municipalities to select local project personnel Low intensity awareness-raising amongst journalists, editors, NGOs Creation of training curricula and protocols for implementation of project activities Making partnerships, widening the network of contributors and supporters Awareness-raising campaign full mode Training seminar for local coordinators and project staff Formation of Working Groups against Violence in 21 project locations Training seminar for members of Working Groups against Violence Facilitation of community action against violence through round tables, town-hall meetings and dissemination Regular reports and briefings on anomalies and improvements Production of a video documentary Awareness-raising campaign limited mode (only in areas where process is not over) Public report/analysis on project results and its prospects for the future elections lessons learned and recommendations for the future Report to donor(s)

Implementation

Post-elections day phase

Awareness-raising campaign The campaign will be aimed at a wide range of beneficiaries, from general population, through those who might pose threats to the process, to those who need to take an action against violence and gun violence. We will design the campaign to:

Discourage potential offenders and Encourage people to react against gun violence during the elections

The awareness-raising campaign will focus on all media with intensity. National TV broadcasters will be addressed only information disseminated through our public addresses, press and conferences. Local TV and radio stations will broadcast video/audio messages designed by Civil.

different through briefings relevant

In the pre-elections period, TV advertising at national level will be extremely expensive. No matter how much money we spend on TV advertising, political parties will be more present. Therefore, it is going to be more practical if we use other ways to obtain presence on national TV and radio. We will lobby with TV management and editorial teams to broadcast messages to the public not to use violence in any form during elections process within their informative programs. We have established a longstanding cooperation with the Broadcasting Council which regularly issues recommendations/instructions to electronic media to be cooperative and open to our projects and campaigns. We will also appeal to the government to make a clear statement that any form of violence and intimidation is forbidden and unwelcomed in the society. Campaign design

o CIVIL will engage the whole creative human potential and will

additionally engage professionals to create as visible campaign as possible. We will have brainstorming sessions in CIVIL and will create a focus group of people with different profiles to initially create slogans and images that will be catchy, understandable for all groups in the society, and will work with various communities in order to instantly raise awareness on the need for free and nonviolent elections. Further on, we will pass the creation of the campaign to professionals. with precise timing and contents of the campaign. We are open to possibilities to engage professional media marketing agency to support us in this process. the images and slogans of the campaign. It is important to mention that the creative solutions will be always open and flexible towards the dynamic elections process and will always be ready to adjust, according to the circumstances in the field. (CIVIL is well known of very successful, innovative and close to people campaigns. The professional profile of our teams and leadership is from the field of media, arts, marketing and education, a fact that guarantees innovative and successful campaign.)

o Team of media experts and CIVIL will create a media plan

o Creative team of designers and producers will take care of

Local TV and radio

o Production of audio spots in Macedonian and Albanian

language, which will violence in any form. carry different messages against

Since national TV and radio stations are way too expensive and crammed with political advertising, we

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believe that, in certain ways, local TV and radio stations will be more efficient to carry out our message. Printed press

o We will publish messages in the daily newspapers. We will

target newspapers in Macedonian and Albanian that altogether have circulation of 100,000 copies per day and address a wide range of readers. The images and slogans will be in accordance to the other segments of the campaign (radio slogans, printed materials, etc.). Design, print and dissemination of: leaflets badges stickers large prints T-shirts

Printed campaign materials o

There will be one main, and several supporting slogans and images that will be printed and disseminated in precise intervals. The printed campaign materials will be primarily aimed at project locations where we will conduct the facilitation in communities. Still, a certain amount of the printed materials will be disseminated to the rest of the country. The large prints we will use for press conferences and other events organized in the process of implementation. Posters and leaflets will be in MK/AL languages, whilst a certain number of the badges will be also in English, to symbolically remind that these elections are important for the Macedonian integration processes, and the high standards required conducting them. In each community, we will recruit volunteers who will be given precise instructions how to disseminate the materials in order to reach as many people as possible. Various forms of PR (press conferences, briefings, meetings, public statements, reports and appeals)

o We will use a variety of ways to raise awareness through

media, but also amongst media (journalists and editors). We will report (on daily basis) on both anomalies and improvements in the elections process regarding the threat of violence in the communities. Press conferences will be held at least once a week, but also briefings for individuals or smaller groups of journalists, various meetings and participations to highly rated TV and radio programs. We will involve local media and will enable quick exchange of information between different project locations. All information will be available publicly on a national level.

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Public statements and appeals will be issues as soon as events happen. We will try to anticipate events and react in time publicly. media and social networks to disseminate public messages.

o New media: Civil is increasingly successful in using new

Training seminar for local coordinators and project staff Training seminar for local coordinators and project staff will equip the project personnel with advanced knowledge of the topics relevant to the project, methodology, plans, and its subtleties. Curricula:

1. Detailed presentation of the project plan and methodology, program

and security protocols on implementation of project activities 2. Elections systems, specifics on Macedonian elections theory and practice 3. Violence and gun violence, and politics 4. Basic SALW issues training 5. The role of civil society in the elections process 6. Exercises Location: Skopje Duration: two days (6 sessions) Number of participants: 30 (21 local coordinators and 9 core project staff) Lecturers: 6 persons (they will be external experts, joined by top management of project) Interpretation in Albanian/Macedonian/English will be provided. Training seminar for members of Working Groups against Gun Violence Training seminar for members of Working Groups Against Gun Violence will provide information and instructions on how to implement project activities, maintain neutrality and safety. Curricula: 1. Detailed presentation of the project plan and methodology, program and security protocols on implementation of project activities 2. Violence and gun violence, and politics 3. Basic SALW issues training 4. Exercises Location: Skopje Duration: 5 days Number of participants: 126 persons (105 members of Working Groups and their 21 local coordinators), divided in 5 groups; each group (25-30 persons) will attend a full day of work alone plus half a day overlapping with one more group of the same size. Clarification: each participant will spend one day and a half at the training.

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Facilitation of community action against violence and gun violence The point of this project component is to be constantly present and visible in the field, anticipate problems and react immediately and decisively to incidents. Each stage of the project is subjected to a thorough and careful planning, taking specific conditions in each community into consideration. Working Groups against Violence Structure of the Working Groups against Violence: 1. Mayors office representative 2. Representatives of the main political parties active at local level (24 persons) 3. Representative of the civil society at local level (this person will be in charge of communication with other local NGOs) 4. Police prevention unit representative 5. Womens organization representative (a community leader representing women in the municipalities will be selected if womens NGO is not active in the municipality) 6. Local media representative After the initial training, local coordinators will have one week to form a Working Groups against Violence (WGs) in their municipality. The Mobile Prevention Group will be off assistance where necessary. All members of WGs will attend a training seminar in the week after their formation. After the training, local coordinators will have an obligation to frequently contact with the WGs according to a precisely defined agenda, and report back to Civil on a daily basis. This project component will include a number of tested methodological approaches in the past. Usually, these activities take much longer time to conduct, but we will rely on previous experience, cooperation and contacts that we have already in place in the selected project locations. The challenge is big, but we believe that we have the experience and capacity to face it and conduct activities successfully. WGs will be responsible of:

Monitoring the situation within the community and the municipality where he/she lives (political parties activities, public gatherings, municipal and electoral bodies, etc.) Selection and invitation of representatives of the stakeholders and citizens to take part in the town-hall meeting Communicate with local police to exchange information, learn or report on violence, intimidation, gun violence, other threats Dissemination of campaign materials WGs will have a meeting once a week

Town-hall meetings on prevention from violence and gun violence

The format of these events will be established as a standard at the second training. Modifications of the format will be possible upon local needs, whether they will be meetings to discuss issues, create plans and take actions, or will be combined with workshop elements to

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facilitate or give basic training on how to take an action in the specific area of electoral violence involving gun violence and intimidation.

Each town-hall meeting will invite representatives of all decision making structures and stakeholders at local level (mayors office, political parties, local police, heads of local institutions, local security agencies, NGOs, local media, community leaders, women, youth, ethnic minorities, etc.). Representative of Civil will have a representative at each meeting. The second meeting/workshop will take place up to 10-15 days after the first meeting to report and analyze on the situation. Each potential risk will be reported to Civil immediately. If needed, I.P.R.G. will be alerted to take public action, or CIVIL will require action from the authorities or the international missions.

Elections monitoring Two persons from each project location will be accredited as elections monitors with the task to monitor and report on the slightest violent behavior at the elections day. The monitors will be the local coordinator and one member of the WGs. They will patrol the area, including elections polls. Altogether, we will appoint 45 monitors. Documentation; production of a documentary film Local coordinators, the Mobile Prevention Group, and a team of two persons trained in journalism skills will carefully monitor and document as many activities as possible. This material will be used to produce a documentary film that will be offered to news web portals, NGOs, and other media. It will be launched on Civils website and blogs. End-products Civil will produce a final report and analysis, based on gathered project documentation, which will be made public, to serve as basis for further actions taken by the government, civil society, and citizens in general.

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