Udruga “Protagora” je dana 7.12.2018 prijavila udrugu “Lijepa Naša” njihovoj krovnoj organizaciji FEE – Foundation for Environmental Education.
Razlog tome vidmo u sramotnom promicanj diskriminacije na religijskoj osnovi koju ta udruga sustavno provodi u hrvatskim školama.
O odgovoru ćemo obavijestiti javnost što prije.
Dear Sirs and Madams
As a civil society association that fights against discrimination of non religious persons and advocates preservation of secular character of the society and laic character of a country, we consider our responsibility to inform you about, by our judgement, unacceptable aspects of work of NGO “Lijepa Naša” in Republic of Croatia, which makes part of your network.
The mentioned NGO is now for years systematically religiously indoctrinating children under the mask of promotion of ecological awareness in education. That comes especially to plain site during “Bread Day” festival which “Lijepa Naša” promotes in Croatian elementary public schools with permission of Croatian education authorities.
This year again, that festival was marked with expressive elements of religious indoctrination which in many schools provoked scandals which may be characterised as discrimination towards children that don’t attend religious education and that represents violence against those children.
Catholic indoctrination in public education institutions is not being conducted only through religious education for which there are contracts between Republic of Croatia and Vatican. It is also conducted through agreements between Croatian Ministry of education and Croatian conference of bishops through which the religious education is integrated as a facultative subject in Croatian schools and it is requested that religious education must not be the cause of any form of discrimination in schools. But it is also conducted through the society “Lijepa naša”.
Keeping in mind that by that way of it’s acting, the mentioned NGO breaks also it’s own by-law, we suggest you to reevaluate if the mentioned society may continue to hold your license. The society, instead of working for public benefit, aggressively promotes catholic views through Croatian schools in republic of Croatia and in other countries where Croatian schools exist. One of examples is their manifestation/competition in ecology, in which are, between other questions also questions from religious education.
Therefore we think that it’s work in public schools is not welcome by any criteria, and we believe that by revoking their license you could stop further work of that association that results in serious discrimination and corrupts the basic idea on which ecological education is based on.
With regards, Vesna M. Puhovski, president of „Protagora“
