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A blog on Bosnia, the Balkans, and other random thoughts.
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Posts
8 comments:
Allan Little's broadcast report on Newsnight (BBC2) is at http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00dk77f/
(may be at that link for about a week from yesterday 17 September)
I think a longer version is due to be shown on the BBC News Channel, it may have been broadcast already.
A couple of other things you might find interesting on the subject of peace, justice and reconciliation:
a sad but excellent programme in the BBC Radio 4 Crossing Continents series by Callum Macrae about Joseph Kony and the LRA at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/crossing_continents/7609324.stm
(click on Listen to Latest Programme - it should be there until 25 September)
and an article at New Kosova Report on a conference on "Truth Telling in Kosovo" by Kreshnik Hoxha about an Integra / IKV Pax Christi initiative.
http://www.newkosovareport.com/200809161223/Kreshnik-Hoxha/Which-way-now-for-Kosovo.html
Alan Little is an excellent journalist but I did think that his report (which I heard on the UK's Radio Four) was overly negative.
The two statelets remain and many refugees have not returned but in the Federation and the RS there has been progress. I was always doubful about Dayton as an imperfect peace tainted by injustice, yet it has achieved more than I thought was possible.
Shaina, check this out, I just updated it:
http://srebrenica-genocide.blogspot.com/2008/08/can-genocide-be-committed-by-letting.html
Bob said, quote: "I was always doubful about Dayton as an imperfect peace tainted by injustice, yet it has achieved more than I thought was possible."
I would have to agree with Bob. There have been positive improvements, however, the reality is still hard to accept. We have two entities without a real national unity, and we have Serbia still waiting for its time to cause problems. Serbia still dreams about "Greater Serbia" and that is a genuine problem that is difficult to deal with. Whether one wants to accept it or not, but half of Serbia's population voted for extremist radical ideologies. This means that half of Serbs support extremist ideologies and see nothing wrong in killing neighbours and stealing their territory.
I'm not sure that Allan Little is overly pessimistic, particularly given Paddy Ashdown's "wake-up" call in the Observer. Dodik may be a smarter dresser and smoother operator than some of his fellows but he is still ensuring that war criminals remain unprosecuted and often in public office across RS. Human rights activists like Branko Todorovic still face serious death threats. Expulsees are still unwilling to return. Bodies are still missing. But perhaps most importantly RS is still undermining and destroying the unity of the Republic and holding it back from developing into a properly functioning state. As long as that situation continues Bosnia remains vulnerable and injustice continues, and there are still plenty of people wanting to see a closer relationship between RS and Serbia consolidated.
The full version of the report hasn't been shown yet, it's being broadcast on BBC News Channel and globally on BBC World. I'll post details when I know them.
nice blog :)
Thanks Fajridil!
I also don't think the Little is overly negative in his report. Of course, I'm not in Bosnia-so I don't have a first hand account on how things are really happening on the ground, and how inter-ethnic relations are compared to 5 years ago. But from what I've read there does seem to be an increasing distance b/t the federation & the r.s.
Of course, if there are any articles that counter what Little, Ashdown and others have said-I'd be more than happy to read them.
I'm willing to be persuaded that Little is being overly pessimistic, but anyone who has read his work on the region knows enough to take his word seriously.
The continuation of the Dayton constitutional order is going to be an impediment to genuine reconciliation and the construction of a viable nation-state, as well as the development of a healthy Bosnian society.
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