Movement for Social Justice - Lenka

Movement for Social Justice – Lenka (Движење за социјална правда – Ленка) is a broad leftist anti-authoritarian organization which unites people who oppose growing neoliberalism, nationalism, militarism, clericalism, and conservatism in Republic of Macedonia, and who work to improve and promote the basic principles which they advocate: Social Justice, Solidarity, Freedom, Equality and Care for the Environment. The beginnings of Lenka date from June 2007 when several progressive individuals started the initiative for withdrawal of Macedonian soldiers from Iraq, called “We Don’t Drink Oil”, and it was constituted as formal organization on July 28th, 2008.

Lenka is mainly active on the fields of social justice, antimilitarism and antinationalism, raising its voice through protests, public discussions, and by publishing pamphlets. It has organized May Day protests in 2009 and 2010, and it has published a study on reduction of workers’ rights in Republic of Macedonia, in cooperation with Rosa Luxemburg Foundation. On the field of antimilitarism, Lenka opposes NATO and Iraq and Afghanistan wars and has organized several protests against NATO and Macedonian participation in Afghanistan and, previously, Iraq war. On the field of antinationalism, Lenka has organized several events with its Greek counterparts to weaken nationalism in both countries and to strengthen the links between the two peoples. Also, Lenka supports the right of free education and, before the autonomous student movement was formed, was paying big attention on the issue of abolishing student fees on the public universities.

The notion of Social Justice in the name of the organization is expression of the common orientation of its members to build society based on social justice, and with "Lenka" the organization wants to pay tribute to Kočo Racin as one of the greatest Macedonian leftists. Racin’s poem "Lenka" was chosen not only because it is a poem in which the consequences of the inexistence of social justice are presented, but also to emphasize the orientation of the group to fight machoism, which is widespread not only in the Balkans, but in many leftist circles as well.