Feral Saga Continues

More info (and quotes) on the Feral Tribune.

Feral Tribune

Via the always informative Yakima Gulag Literary Gazett, some bad news, one of the best independent news papers in the Balkans, The Feral Tribune, is shutting down.

Martic Verdict & "Storm"

The title and first paragraph of this article focuses on the reaction of the SRS to the Milan Martic verdict. However I think the more interesting & certainly more relevant point is made further down, as defense lawyers for Gotovina discuss the repercussions the Martic verdict may have on their own case.

A matter of enforcement

The Zagreb based "Human Rights Centre" presented their findings with regard to human rights in Croatia.
Their findings noted that

The general assessment is that Croatia has no major problems concerning the
laws on human rights protection. However, it has been pointed out continuously
that problems crop up in the enforcement of the existing laws, notably in the
field of the judiciary, corruption and minorities' rights...

Weekend Reading

The Tribunal weekly update; and the Balkans weekly update.
Meanwhile, I'll be out of town until Monday/possibly Tuesday. Take care!

Statues of Limitations

There is a new trend in monument buildings in the countries of former
Yugoslavia. After the wars that aimed to eradicate the multi-
cultural character of the former society, now the monuments are built
in celebration of that very character to globally recognized
imaginary heroes that fight for justice and protect the innocent:
Bruce Lee in Mostar (Bosnia), Rocky Balboa in Zitiste (Serbia),
Winettou in Plitvice (Croatia), Tarzan in Medja (Serbia) - birthplace
of Jonny Weismueller, and Samantha Fox (before breast-reduction) in
Cacak, the capital of Serbian country music...

Rest of synopsis and full article (in Croatian)

I'm not aware of the creation stories for the other statues; but I do know that the Mostar statue came about as an attempt to bring together the different communities in Mostar; in the words of one person involved :

Lee was chosen by organisers as a symbol of the fight against ethnic divisions.

"We will always be Muslims, Serbs or Croats," said Veselin Gatalo of the youth group Urban Movement Mostar.

"But one thing we all have in common is Bruce Lee."

Unfortunately, as this picture in the article attests to, someone didn't like that idea, or didn't like Bruce Lee, or perhaps was simply drunk and/or bored and vandalized the statue.

I can understand Jonny Weismueller for the regional connection; and I can even (although I've never made it through a "Rocky" film) understand the Rocky infatuation given "Rocky's" tough-guy, never give up message; but Samantha Fox? It isn't like turbofolk is lacking in similarly um, endowed women; is Fox especially popular in the Balkans?

The Thompson Hits The Fan

Marko Perkovic (Thompson) is hitting Sarajevo, and the covers of two Bosnian weeklies (Dani and Slobodna Bosna).

For more on Thompson, the controversy, and some great blogging on Balkan culture and politics check out the Illyrian Gazette

Sanader visits Bosnia

And discusses trade and other issues.

Balkan Love Story: Act I Scene II

It sounds a bit like a Balkan soap-opera: Some view the recent statements and actions of Montenegrin politicians towards Croatia to be "sychopantic". Meanwhile; like many a great soap-operas, this "love"; according to one commentator, is an "unrequited" one.

Article


A few questions; that are perhaps too generic and broad to receive a proper answer:
(But I'll throw them out anyways)

1. The article alludes to the economic rationale behind Montenegro's new "relationship" (for lack of a better term) with Croatia; and some economic benefits to Montenegro. What benefits are there for Croatia?

2. The article also alludes to the relationship between Montenegro and Serbia. In a nutshell, what is the relationship like between Montenegro and Serbia; on both a state-state level; and general public opinion?
(and I realize this is an unbelievably broad question; with perhaps many exceptions and nuances)

The ICJ Verdict: Trends, Consequences, and more

Croatian v. Serbia: As of yesterday, Croatia was still considering charging Serbia with genocide. The Croatian PM did note that they would study the recent ICJ judgment as well. IMO, in light of the ICJ judgment in the Bosnia case, I cannot possibly imagine Croatia even thinking it has a case that it can successfully prove. The JNA's involvement in Croatia however is more obvious than even in Bosnia; and I wouldn't be surprised if Croatia is able to negotiate an out of court settlement with Serbia to pay for damages as a result of JNA/Serbian Paramilitary actions. That would probably be the best result for everyone, because it would give (at least some) of the victims some compensation, without having to drag through a court case where they have no chance of proving genocide.


Bosnian Serbian Relations: A lot of common consensus I've read on other blogs have noted that the verdict was the best possible outcome for not inflaming the tepid/tense Bosnian-Serbian relations. Any more thoughts on possible outcomes this verdict could have on future state-to-state relations between Bosnia and Serbia? It is also my personal opinion that even though Serbia is certainly not legally obligated to pay anything to Bosnia re: the ICJ verdict; it would certainly be morally the right thing to do, imo, for Serbia to pay some compensation, even just a token compensation (and any form of compensation is going to have to be "token", because it cannot possibly pay for the full financial damages, let along personal and emotional damage suffered).


RS Status: In wake of the verdict, some Bosniak politicians, most notably President Haris Silajdzic have become much more vocal in their insistence that the RS be demolished. Former Ambassador Muhamed Sacirbey argues that Srebrenica and Zepa should be revoked from the RS.
Even Tomislav Nikolic realizes the verdict was damaging to the RS. Just a few days after the verdict, the RS government officially apologized for war crimes committed against non Serbs.

Serbian Politics: The LDP has urges a resolution condemning the genocide in Srebrenica. The move is supported by President Tadic; but the SRS, the Socialist Party of Serbia and Kostunica's Democratic Party of Serbia says that it would only support a resolution that condemns all war crimes.

Serbia and the EU: What effect will the ICJ verdict have on Serbia and the SAA? For some trends, see here here and here.


Darfur: Remember Darfur? Some time ago, Darfur was in the news quite a bit, as the United States made the argument that the crimes against humanity that was occuring in Darfur amounted to genocide. The UN concluded that there was no attempt to detroy the tribes as "such" therefore, massive crimes against humanity still occur, but now without much international interest or incentives for governments to stop the atrocities. For some pundits, the Bosnia verdict has shown just how tough it is to prove genocide; and how difficult it is to prove genocide in cases like Darfur. For some, this is based less on the lack of evidence pointing to genocide, but more towards the extreme rigidness, and narrow interpretation of the genocide convention; an interpretation that Raphael Lemkin, who created the word "genocide" never intended to be so rigid. A more positive flipside is that in the wake of the verdict, it is shown that legally states can be held accountable for genocide; which hopefully isn't lost on the Sudanese government. And hopefully even more, the fact that according to the UN, the atrocities that are committed against those in Darfur does not reach the threshold of "genocide" does not diminish their seriousness or brutality. In the words of a LA Times op-ed,

No matter what we call them, we know horrible atrocities when we see them. Such crimes, on their own, should be met with political, humanitarian and, when necessary, forceful responses.

Croatia Shelves Demand for War Damages from Montenegro

Article

This week’s ICJ judgment in the genocide suit that Bosnia and Herzegovina brought against Serbia is seen as a warning that the judicial route to compensation is unlikely to produce results.

On February 26, the court largely exonerated Serbia of responsibility for wartime genocidal acts in Bosnia and Herzegovina, ruining Sarajevo’s hopes of securing reparations from Belgrade.

Luka Brkic, a professor of international economic relations at Zagreb University, told Balkan Insight that the verdict had important implications for Croatia’s international lawsuits.

“Croatia won’t get a judgment [against Serbia at the ICJ], which would be the grounds for getting reparations out of Serbia,” he predicted.