tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-312276372024-03-28T22:29:59.659-05:00Bosnia VaultA blog on Bosnia, the Balkans, and other random thoughts.Shainahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04254890410995215990noreply@blogger.comBlogger499125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31227637.post-5906586369416548622009-02-02T00:01:00.003-06:002009-02-02T00:21:26.362-06:00Moved!Haven't posted anything on blogger for a week because I was busy working on my new blog: <a href="http://bloggingbalkanistan.wordpress.com">Blogging Balkanistan</a>. <br />Which I hope will become a more comprehensive blog focusing on the Balkans and related issues. <br /><br />I have four articles up already, on Bulgarian economic and political realities, the Gay and Lesbian scene in Belgrade, commemoration of the Srebrenica genocide by the EU and the possibility of the US joining the ICC (in addition to the Balkans, I also hope to occassionally write articles on world wide issues of human rights, genocide/crimes against humanity, other war crimes, etc.) Which hopefully will give a good indication of the diversity of topics I hope on covering. <br /><br />If you have followed the Bosnia Vault-thank you! I really hope you will also continue to read/comment at Blogging Balkanistan as well. <br /><br />I will keep the Bosnia Vault up as an archive. In the meantime, please update all links to<strong> http://bloggingbalkanistan.wordpress.com</strong><br /><br /><br />Tomorrow I will go on my shameless self-promotional tour. <br /><br />Until then-see you at the new blog!Shainahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04254890410995215990noreply@blogger.com162tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31227637.post-28384900842795972092009-01-14T22:51:00.003-06:002009-01-14T23:09:44.971-06:00ArticleAn <a href="http://www.rferl.org/content/Missing_Bosnian_Baby_Now_Serbian_Teenager_Searches_For_Identity/1369950.html">update</a> on the story of <a href="http://amilabosnae.com/2009/01/07/reunited-after-16-years/">Senida Becirovic</a>.Shainahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04254890410995215990noreply@blogger.com128tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31227637.post-58414817218822651332009-01-12T22:54:00.005-06:002009-01-13T23:54:13.181-06:00Night And FogAlain Resnais' "Night and Fog" begins with colored shots of Auschwitz and the surrounding the landscape. Many Holocaust documentaries also include a similar shot, perhaps because there is such a contrast between the natural beauty-the rich yellows, greens and browns of the Polish countryside and the grainy black and white images of starving prisoners and mass graves. But Resnais' documentary was filmed in 1955, only 10 years after the camp was liberated, and some of the landscape and images that Renais filmed, probably greeted the victims of the camp.<br /><br />Night and Fog is one of the first major documentaries on the Holocaust, and has received numerous awards since its first release. The film is in French with English subtitles. There were some technical problems with the subtitles, they went by too fast, and the white lettering against gray background made it almost impossible to read. <br /><br />But, the narration is of secondary importance. It is the images that endure long after the film ends. Besides the tranquil shots of the post-war Auschwitz countryside, there are the images of the dirty prison barracks and the pale blue latrines. The stillness of those images contrast in tenure and tone with the black and white war time footage. There is the famous shot of the family with the <a href="http://www.holocaustresearchproject.org/nazioccupation/boy.html">little boy </a>being deported from Warsaw; and the video clip of the half starving <a href="http://www.chgs.umn.edu/histories/victims/romaSinti/images/UnidentifiedGirlm.jpg">Roma girl</a> arriving at the camp. There are the films of the trains arriving at Auschwitz, of the rooms full of hair, of the starving half-dead naked prisoners humiliated, the mass graves; and a woman-who looking at her face I could not tell if she was dead or alive, before the camera panned to her limp corpse. These images are both familiar and startling. Holocaust awareness was a major part of my school curriculum, we had entire units on the Holocaust in the 5th and 8th grade, I've visited the Holocaust Museum in D.C., read "Night" and "The Diary of Anne Frank" in school. But these images still have the power to shock and sicken. And more than once I found myself adverting my gaze from the screen. <br /><br /><br />Even when I could make the narration out, they faded in comparison to the images on the film. But two things stood out to me. The first is, unless I missed it, there are almost no mention of the Jews as the primary (although by no means only) target of the genocide; and certainly no mention of the fact that the Jews were singled out for complete annihilation. There is however a brief mention of political prisoners at the beginning of the film (the title of the film comes from a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nacht_und_Nebel">Nazi pogrom against political rivals</a>). This omission is perhaps better understood within a larger context. Early reporting of the Holocaust was unfortunately influenced by institutional Anti-Semitism. In U.S. newsreels for example, the suffering of the Jews was often downplayed. In France the story is much more complex, and it is really only since the 1990s that there has been an acknowledgment of the role of the French collaborationists in the Final Solution. <br /><br /><br />What also sticks in my mind is the ending, a haunting warning and prophesy of things to come. It is easy to confine the Holocaust to one time and one place. But, if it took place at this one time and place, how can it not happen again?Shainahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04254890410995215990noreply@blogger.com42tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31227637.post-77690638485049939182009-01-07T21:23:00.002-06:002009-01-07T21:27:08.595-06:00A Dialogue<blockquote>A rare <a href="http://www.bosnia.org.uk/news/news_body.cfm?newsid=2533">dialogue</a> between a Serbian writer and an Albanian one from Kosova, organized by Radio Free Europe's Most (Bridge) programme and showing a large degree of agreement on the present situation - and also on the future<br /><br /></blockquote><br /><br /><br />Also, <a href="http://www.bosnia.org.uk/news/news_body.cfm?newsid=2534">here is an article</a> by Vladimir Arsenijevic, one of the participants in the dialogue.Shainahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04254890410995215990noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31227637.post-23259719502310671022008-12-29T22:17:00.003-06:002008-12-29T22:23:06.773-06:00Year in Review<a href="http://www.rferl.org/content/Year_In_Review_2008_Kosovo_Karadzic_Dominate_Restive_Year_In_Balkans/1364186.html">Kosovo and Karadzic dominated</a>. Although I don't think anyone needs an article to tell them that.<br /><br /><br />A <a href="http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/main/analysis/15763/">year of progress </a>over war crimes in Bosnia's courts.Shainahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04254890410995215990noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31227637.post-78752678953350159892008-12-29T22:14:00.002-06:002008-12-29T22:24:27.343-06:00Hague and Arusha Courts Work OvertimeFrom <a href="http://www.radionetherlands.nl/currentaffairs/region/europe/081228-tribunals-mc">Radio Netherlands Worldwide</a>:<br /><br /><blockquote>Never before were so many cases being processed simultaneously at the Yugoslavia Tribunal in The Hague and the Rwanda Tribunal in Arusha. Speed has been increased in order to have as many cases as possible finished by 2010. Both the Arusha and the Hague tribunal will have to close by then. Only appeal cases can continue until 2012. <br /><br /></blockquote>Shainahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04254890410995215990noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31227637.post-13046655571732840752008-12-29T22:09:00.002-06:002008-12-29T22:13:38.885-06:00Bosnian Serb PM offered part of RS for BrckoA <a href="http://listserv.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0812&L=JUSTWATCH-L&T=0&O=D&P=242891">summary</a> of a report from Slobodna Bosna, allegedly, Dodik offered 8% of the RS (Bosanska Posavina and some "unproductive" municipalities in eastern Bosnia) in exchange for integration of Brcko into the RS.Shainahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04254890410995215990noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31227637.post-28103584999139883752008-12-29T22:00:00.004-06:002008-12-29T22:09:12.490-06:00The Santaland DiariesProtesting in favor of Santa in <a href="http://www.sarajevo-x.com/clanak/081228029">Sarajevo</a>. While Christmas is <a href="http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/main/features/15775/">celebrated in Kosovo</a>. <br /><br />Some background information to the "Santa ban" in the pre-schools can be found in this <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/27/world/europe/27islam.html?_r=1&pagewanted">New York Times article</a>.Shainahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04254890410995215990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31227637.post-2286328227370529012008-12-22T16:52:00.003-06:002008-12-22T19:12:53.394-06:00Bosnia's Main Parties Agree to Change Const.Excerpt:<br /><br /><blockquote>Leaders of Bosnia's biggest Muslim,<br />Croat, and Serb parties have called for parliament to begin revising <br />the constitution, a key condition for joining the European Union.<br /><br /> Efforts to change the constitution enshrined in the Dayton peace treaty <br />that ended the Bosnia's 1992-95 civil war have been in the works for<br /> two years.<br /><br /> But, interethnic squabbling has hampered progress to reform the<br />charter to take away power from Bosnia's two autonomous entities,<br />the Serb Republic and Muslim-Croat Federation, which have coexisted<br />in an uneasy alliance since the end of the war.</blockquote><br /><br /><a href="http://listserv.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0812&L=JUSTWATCH-L&T=0&O=D&P=214530">Full Article</a>Shainahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04254890410995215990noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31227637.post-12572276242779626812008-12-15T22:06:00.001-06:002008-12-15T23:05:51.198-06:00The (Really) Moderate Muslims of KosovoAn <a href="http://www.city-journal.org/2008/18_4_kosovo_muslims.html">article</a> by Michael Totten. Although there is nothing really new in the article for anyone who has some knowledge of the region; the article is well written. On a side note, I'm also glad to see that the very liberal and inclusive form of Islam practiced in Kosovo is given positive attention as well.<br /><br />Michael at PoliGazette add his own thoughts on the article: <a href="http://www.poligazette.com/2008/12/15/the-moderate-muslims-of-kosovo/">here</a>.Shainahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04254890410995215990noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31227637.post-74791500058975781462008-12-14T15:28:00.000-06:002008-12-14T15:30:57.780-06:00Fears of New Ethnic Conflict in BosniaFrom the New York Times:<br /><br /><blockquote> SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina -- Thirteen years after the United States<br />brokered the Dayton peace agreement to end the ferocious ethnic war in the<br />former Yugoslavia, fears are mounting that Bosnia, poor and divided, is again<br />teetering toward crisis.<br /><br /> On the surface, this haunted capital, its ancient mosques and Orthodox churches<br />still pocked by mortar fire, appears to be enjoying a renaissance. Young<br />professionals throng to stylish cafes and gleaming new shopping malls while the<br />muezzin heralds the morning prayer. The ghosts of Srebrenica linger -ecalling<br />the worst massacre in Europe since World War II - but Sarajevans prefer to talk<br />about President-elect Barack Obama or the global financial crisis.<br /><br /> Yet for the first time in years, talk of the prospect of another war is<br />creeping into conversations across the ethnic divide in Bosnia, a former<br />Yugoslav republic that the Dayton agreement divided into two entities, a<br />Muslim-Croat Federation and a Serb Republic.</blockquote><br /><br /><a href="http://listserv.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0812&L=JUSTWATCH-L&T=0&O=D&P=141892">Full Article</a>Shainahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04254890410995215990noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31227637.post-51194426097918402072008-12-09T22:41:00.000-06:002008-12-09T22:43:48.434-06:0060 years on, Genocide Convention Still Prompts Debate<a href="http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,3858014,00.html">Sixty years ago, the UN adopted the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. This week, historians, lawyers and politicians discussed the convention's future at a conference in The Hague.</a>Shainahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04254890410995215990noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31227637.post-2846589079834811642008-12-09T22:33:00.001-06:002008-12-09T22:47:00.648-06:00Faziagica Kula Mosque<a href="http://cafeturco.wordpress.com/2008/12/09/mosque-arsoned-in-republika-srpska/">Sarah </a>and <a href="http://jasmin-morehard.blogspot.com/">Jasmin </a>write on the burning of a mosque in the village of Faziagica Kula in the RS on the first day of Bajram.Shainahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04254890410995215990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31227637.post-72596097703850293992008-12-09T22:17:00.000-06:002008-12-09T22:33:35.940-06:00Bosnian Election Results (better late than never)Better late than never; <a href="http://www.izbori.ba/Mandati27102008/index.asp">local election results</a> from this fall.<br />I was most interested in seeing how <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/newsMaps/idUSLG71840820080917">Our Party</a> would do in their first election.Shainahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04254890410995215990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31227637.post-32284578740692208762008-12-03T20:44:00.001-06:002008-12-03T21:14:52.112-06:00But wait, there's moreAt first I was going to publish a reminder about CNN's "<a href="http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2008/scream.bloody.murder/">Scream Bloody Murder</a>" special, airing tomorrow, about those who speak out against genocide. <br />Particulary since that was one of the main motivations for starting this blog in the first place; but alas, I've been beaten to the punch (certainly not for the first time) but the <a href="americansforbosnia.blogspot.com/">Americans For Bosnia Blog</a>. Which also has further information about the show.<br /><br />But as the title says...<br /><br />And while I'm sure no one's surprised, <a href="http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=525626">Samantha Power</a> is back working for the Obama administration (if she ever really was let go in the first place); as part of the "agency review team" for the State Department.<br /><br />EDIT: Power has a position with the transition, although as the linked article states, there is a strong possiblity that she will continue to have potentially substansive role in the incoming administration.Shainahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04254890410995215990noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31227637.post-89271733189989086802008-11-26T17:35:00.000-06:002008-11-26T17:39:54.885-06:00Mirsad Tokaca ArticleAn <a href="http://listserv.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0811&L=JUSTWATCH-L&T=0&O=D&P=176954">in-depth article</a> on Mirsad Tokaca, of the RDC about the "Bosnia's Book of the Dead" project. <br /><br />Direct Link to Article: http://www.rferl.org/Content/Bosnian_Researcher_Counts_The_Dead_And_Faces_Threats_For_His_Objectivity/1350799.htmlShainahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04254890410995215990noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31227637.post-54436377331329186242008-11-17T18:58:00.000-06:002008-11-17T19:01:24.815-06:00Yes we can! (Make a Profit)Since this Obamamania almost certainly won't last, I leave you with <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jpKUVXMEDl5mjuAMI7tcLnR2dmAA">this:</a><br /><br /><blockquote>Bosnia's oldest clothing company, Borac, has started making Obama suits and says they are selling well in the country and neighbouring Croatia.<br /><br />"It's a line of top quality business suits, and naming it Obama was an obvious choice because the president-elect is clearly a very elegant man and one of a few who knows how to wear a suit," Borac manager Ahmet Curic told AFP.<br /><br />Curic added that the company wanted to "pay respect" to the United States for giving the company funds to help restart production after Bosnia's 1992-1995 war. The US embassy in Sarajevo says it has no problem with the name.<br /><br /></blockquote>Shainahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04254890410995215990noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31227637.post-41458630979530996242008-09-25T21:56:00.000-05:002008-09-25T22:45:12.450-05:00A blog post where I don't talk about Krazy Karadzic and Maniac MladicIn what should have been a story about the first major <a href="http://www.queer.ba/">gay pride</a> event in Sarajevo, has turned into a <a href="http://listserv.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0809&L=JUSTWATCH-L&T=0&O=D&P=280158">depressingly familiar</a> story of a group of violent extremists (in this case some 70 Wahabbis) making complete asses of themselves, with some good old fashion violence thrown in for good measure. Although, I'm sure their signs had less misspellings that <a href="http://wonkette.com/402743/typical-florida-person-creates-years-best-campaign-sign">this one</a>. <br /><br /><br />Besides the event itself and the courage of those who attended the event, another upside is the reaction of some NGOS who released this <a href="http://balkaninsight.com/en/main/news/13431/">press release</a>:<br /><blockquote>The tolerance of violence by a religious movement which has nothing to do with the (traditional) Islam in Bosnia and Herzegovina, raises the question of whether Bosnia and Herzegovina is an Islamic or a secular country and whether Serbs, Croats, Jews and others are allowed to organise their cultural events during the holy month of Ramadan,” said a statement by the non-government organisation, Front. It also called on the Islamic community to openly denounce the vandals.</blockquote><br /><br /><br />Let's hope they do. <br /><br />H/T: Americans for Bosnia Blog.Shainahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04254890410995215990noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31227637.post-72134271121099085492008-09-25T21:55:00.000-05:002008-09-25T21:56:31.042-05:00Screw This!Ah, Screw this. <br /><br />Suspension is over. <br /><br /><br />Although your praise and accolades are still expected.Shainahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04254890410995215990noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31227637.post-38577257163205651072008-09-25T21:47:00.000-05:002008-09-25T21:54:57.125-05:00Due to the economic crisis I am temporarily suspending my blog.Dear readers:<br /><br />Yes, I know this a major sacrifice on my part. But, until a deal is agreed upon, I cannot in good conscious blog. I know I'm making an enormous self-sacrifice (no *thank you!*); but in times like these-sacrifice is required. <br /><br />I await your praise and accolaids...Shainahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04254890410995215990noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31227637.post-39711521043674295862008-09-17T20:21:00.000-05:002008-09-17T20:23:33.279-05:00Karadzic's LegacySobering <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7621649.stm">article</a> from one of the best journalist on Bosnia.Shainahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04254890410995215990noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31227637.post-8806825819732944102008-09-10T22:47:00.000-05:002008-09-10T22:49:54.389-05:00Wow a new post!Since its been over a month since my last posting-here is something new (or at least new to me).<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://starerazglednice.blogger.ba/">Old Bosnian Postcards</a><br /><br />A blog featuring a huge archive of old postcards from Bosnia, mostly dating from the Austrian-Hungarian period.Shainahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04254890410995215990noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31227637.post-42977003638793807672008-08-05T22:29:00.000-05:002008-08-05T22:33:30.978-05:00First Regional Truth Commission Runs Into DoubtsFrom Balkan Insight via justwatch-l.<br /><br /><a href="http://listserv.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0808&L=JUSTWATCH-L&T=0&O=D&P=61328">NGOs mount bold initiative to form first regional truth commission<br />on war crimes, in spite of governments' indifference and scepticism<br />of experts</a>Shainahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04254890410995215990noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31227637.post-14860837717760599902008-08-02T19:47:00.001-05:002008-08-02T20:56:30.813-05:00Catch up timeOf course by now everyone and their second cousin knows that Karadzic was successfully <a href="http://www.sense-agency.com/en/stream.php?sta=3&pid=12453&kat=3">transferred to the Hague.</a><br /><br />At his initial appearance, Karadzic noted that while he doesn't have a defense counsel, he does plan on <a href="http://www.sense-agency.com/en/stream.php?sta=3&pid=12458&kat=3">defending himself with the help of an "invisible advisor."</a><br />As this Time Magazine article explains, representing oneself at the Hague has <a href="http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1827424,00.html?imw=Y">several tangible upsides for defendants. </a><br /><br />Karadzic's new advisor(?)<br /><a href="http://people.clarkson.edu/~johndan/datacloud/images/gazoo2.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://people.clarkson.edu/~johndan/datacloud/images/gazoo2.gif" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />And in related news...<br />Besides Karadzic's appearance, the other major news was the resurfacing of rumors that the U.S. government offered Karadzic immunity in exchange for staying out of public life, which the U.S. State Department denies (not exactly a shock there).<br />While as of yet, there is no "smoking gun." <a href="http://listserv.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0808&L=JUSTWATCH-L&T=0&O=D&P=24800">Evidence </a>pointing to a deal has gained <a href="http://listserv.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0808&L=JUSTWATCH-L&T=0&O=D&P=11312">more and more support</a>. <br />But, even without a specific deal, the extreme reluctance (to put in politely) of NATO forces to arrest alleged war criminals is well known by now.<br />For a good discussion on a possible deal, check out <a href="http://eastethnia.blogspot.com">East Ethnia</a> and Justwatch-l discussion group. <br /><br /><br />And on the subject of Karadzic's new home, an excellent <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2133918/entry/2133919/">two</a> <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2133918/entry/2133920/">part</a> article from Slate Magazine.Shainahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04254890410995215990noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31227637.post-2342669204619816752008-07-27T21:26:00.000-05:002008-07-27T21:30:01.966-05:00Paddy Ashdown: Bosnia on the edge again<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/jul/27/serbia.balkans">Op-ed</a> from Paddy Ashdown.Shainahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04254890410995215990noreply@blogger.com8