http://www.rferl.org Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty is an international news and broadcast organization serving Central and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, Central Asia, Russia, the Middle East and Balkan countries http://www.rferl.org/img/rssLogo.gif http://www.rferl.org en-US Copyright 2009 - RFE/RL, Inc. 60 Mon, 23 Nov 2009 09:30:57 +0000 Pangea CMS – RFE/RL A government plane was waiting to carry the released convict from prison to a hero’s welcome in Belgrade. Journalists clustered around her, eager for any statement. Not bad for a convicted war criminal returning home. http://www.rferl.org/content/A_Land_Where_War_Criminals_Are_Heroes/1865935.html http://www.rferl.org/content/A_Land_Where_War_Criminals_Are_Heroes/1865935.html Sat, 31 Oct 2009 13:26:14 +0000 Commentary http://www.rferl.org/content/A_Land_Where_War_Criminals_Are_Heroes/1865935.html#relatedInfoContainer Clearly, Brussels needs to devote much more energy to the problems of the Balkans and it needs to be prepared to bring sticks to the table as well as carrots. The EU already has the instruments it needs -- it has a legal framework for making decisions and a police/military force to implement them. But over the years, EU action in Bosnia has consistently been too little and too late. http://www.rferl.org/content/A_New_Strategy_For_The_Balkans/1846673.html http://www.rferl.org/content/A_New_Strategy_For_The_Balkans/1846673.html Thu, 08 Oct 2009 10:51:06 +0000 Commentary http://www.rferl.org/content/A_New_Strategy_For_The_Balkans/1846673.html#relatedInfoContainer An intellectual in Sarajevo told me last week that Bosnia is like a sick patient who needs hospital treatment but who is told he must recover before he can be admitted. The world -- particularly the EU -- has been slow to respond to developments in Bosnia, usually reacting slowly rather than acting decisively. http://www.rferl.org/content/Bosnia_On_The_Verge_Of_Dissolution/1825101.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Bosnia_On_The_Verge_Of_Dissolution/1825101.html Thu, 17 Sep 2009 12:53:36 +0000 Commentary http://www.rferl.org/content/Bosnia_On_The_Verge_Of_Dissolution/1825101.html#relatedInfoContainer In effect, Bosnia has once again been divided along ethnic lines. This time, by the European Union. At a time when most analysts are warning that the fragile country is on the verge of collapse, the EU -- by lifting visa requirements for visitors from Serbia, Macedonia, and Montenegro -- is acting to intensify the ethnic fault lines there and to make Bosnia weaker. http://www.rferl.org/content/Tearing_Bosnia_Apart_One_Decision_At_A_Time/1779090.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Tearing_Bosnia_Apart_One_Decision_At_A_Time/1779090.html Fri, 17 Jul 2009 08:37:47 +0000 Commentary http://www.rferl.org/content/Tearing_Bosnia_Apart_One_Decision_At_A_Time/1779090.html#relatedInfoContainer The phones were ringing off the hook with angry Croats accusing Sarajevo state television of being "anti-Croatian television." It was late October 1991 and I was the station's program director. There was a war going on in Croatia and our evening news cast that day included a story about an Orthodox priest who had been beaten up by Croatian forces. http://www.rferl.org/content/In_The_Balkans_The_Headlines_Preceded_The_War/1757912.html http://www.rferl.org/content/In_The_Balkans_The_Headlines_Preceded_The_War/1757912.html Fri, 19 Jun 2009 09:17:01 +0000 Commentary http://www.rferl.org/content/In_The_Balkans_The_Headlines_Preceded_The_War/1757912.html#relatedInfoContainer Some would argue that the best the EU can hope for in the Balkans is maintaining a dissatisfying status quo. So the arrival of U.S. Vice President Joe Biden in the region seems like a bid to push yet another "reset" button and an acknowledgement that Washington has unfinished business in the Balkans. http://www.rferl.org/content/Unfinished_Business_In_The_Balkans/1734909.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Unfinished_Business_In_The_Balkans/1734909.html Tue, 19 May 2009 12:05:44 +0000 Commentary http://www.rferl.org/content/Unfinished_Business_In_The_Balkans/1734909.html#relatedInfoContainer It would be too much to expect Belgrade to recognize Kosovo's independence, just as it would be too much to expect Kosovo to seek closer ties with Serbia. But if their leaders could somehow create a chink in the wall separating their nations, they would find ample evidence that the mutual interests of ethnic Serbs and ethnic Albanians remain strong. http://www.rferl.org/content/Serbias_Decade_Of_Denial/1515731.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Serbias_Decade_Of_Denial/1515731.html Tue, 24 Mar 2009 10:11:28 +0000 Commentary http://www.rferl.org/content/Serbias_Decade_Of_Denial/1515731.html#relatedInfoContainer The global economic crisis, the lack of democratic habits and institutions, and the complete absence of a plan for future development have created fertile ground for nationalism and renewed ethnic conflict across the Balkans. The wars have been put on hold. But new flags of nationalism are again waving in the region -- how long before people begin digging out their weapons as well? http://www.rferl.org/content/Why_Is_No_One_Watching_The_Balkans/1508820.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Why_Is_No_One_Watching_The_Balkans/1508820.html Thu, 12 Mar 2009 12:46:22 +0000 Commentary http://www.rferl.org/content/Why_Is_No_One_Watching_The_Balkans/1508820.html#relatedInfoContainer The soon-to-be-appointed international high representative to Bosnia-Herzegovina is not much more likely to be successful than his worthy predecessors. The new envoy will certainly take office on a wave of positive rhetoric and verbal commitments, but that wave will soon crash against the hard realities on the ground in Bosnia-Herzegovina. http://www.rferl.org/content/Dont_Envy_The_Next_High_Representative_In_Bosnia/1499791.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Dont_Envy_The_Next_High_Representative_In_Bosnia/1499791.html Thu, 26 Feb 2009 11:56:26 +0000 Commentary http://www.rferl.org/content/Dont_Envy_The_Next_High_Representative_In_Bosnia/1499791.html#relatedInfoContainer Croatia accuses Slovenia of using its EU and NATO membership to "blackmail" its neighbor. Is mild-mannered Slovenia the next bully of the Balkans? http://www.rferl.org/content/Slovenia_Risks_Becoming_Another_Bump_In_Road/1497948.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Slovenia_Risks_Becoming_Another_Bump_In_Road/1497948.html Mon, 23 Feb 2009 15:10:11 +0000 Commentary http://www.rferl.org/content/Slovenia_Risks_Becoming_Another_Bump_In_Road/1497948.html#relatedInfoContainer In 1984, Bosnians could visit European countries without visas. Today, they need documents to go anywhere. Twenty-five years ago, Yugoslavia was 20 years ahead of the rest of Eastern Europe in terms of development, and now Bosnia is 20 years behind. That's a long way to fall in just 25 years. http://www.rferl.org/content/Bosnia_25_Years_Of_Going_Downhill/1491332.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Bosnia_25_Years_Of_Going_Downhill/1491332.html Wed, 11 Feb 2009 12:27:11 +0000 Commentary http://www.rferl.org/content/Bosnia_25_Years_Of_Going_Downhill/1491332.html#relatedInfoContainer On the Internet, at sports events, and in person, insults and ethnic enmity continue to fly between the residents of the Balkans. It seems that their political leaders have neglected to tell them that the wars are over. http://www.rferl.org/content/No_Cease_Fire_In_The_Balkans_War_Of_Words/1375250.html http://www.rferl.org/content/No_Cease_Fire_In_The_Balkans_War_Of_Words/1375250.html Tue, 27 Jan 2009 11:11:03 +0000 Commentary http://www.rferl.org/content/No_Cease_Fire_In_The_Balkans_War_Of_Words/1375250.html#relatedInfoContainer In May 1992, Muhamed Becirovic lost his family when his village was taken by Serbian forces. But his baby daughter Senida was found and raised by a Serbian familyin Belgrade. When Mila, as she's now known, found her father in Germany, she was faced with a fundamental choice -- who is she? http://www.rferl.org/content/Missing_Bosnian_Baby_Now_Serbian_Teenager_Searches_For_Identity/1369950.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Missing_Bosnian_Baby_Now_Serbian_Teenager_Searches_For_Identity/1369950.html Wed, 14 Jan 2009 12:27:52 +0000 Features http://www.rferl.org/content/Missing_Bosnian_Baby_Now_Serbian_Teenager_Searches_For_Identity/1369950.html#relatedInfoContainer Just a glance at the titles of some of the main newspapers in the Balkans is enough to demonstrate why these countries remain divided even as they search for their true identities. http://www.rferl.org/content/In_The_Balkans_The_Newspapers_Tell_The_Story/1365796.html http://www.rferl.org/content/In_The_Balkans_The_Newspapers_Tell_The_Story/1365796.html Fri, 02 Jan 2009 11:35:13 +0000 Commentary http://www.rferl.org/content/In_The_Balkans_The_Newspapers_Tell_The_Story/1365796.html#relatedInfoContainer It might seem that 1,000 people signing up to a call for hatred on a social-networking website isn't that many, especially considering the torrent of hate propaganda that people in Serbia are exposed to. After all, every country has racist haters. The key in Serbia is how the authorities are reacting and will react. http://www.rferl.org/content/Facebook_Row_Exposes_Fragility_Of_Balkans_CeaseFire/1360334.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Facebook_Row_Exposes_Fragility_Of_Balkans_CeaseFire/1360334.html Tue, 16 Dec 2008 11:34:53 +0000 Commentary http://www.rferl.org/content/Facebook_Row_Exposes_Fragility_Of_Balkans_CeaseFire/1360334.html#relatedInfoContainer There are seven educational systems in Bosnia today, each with its own curriculum and textbooks. Some children learn that separatist aspirations are a legitimate expression of the right of independence, while others are taught such movements are treason bent on dismantling the country. Everyone studies the history of the country and each ethnic group graduates from school with an entirely different worldview. http://www.rferl.org/content/Bosnian_Schools_Teach_Reading_Writing__And_Division/1359057.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Bosnian_Schools_Teach_Reading_Writing__And_Division/1359057.html Fri, 12 Dec 2008 10:51:42 +0000 Commentary http://www.rferl.org/content/Bosnian_Schools_Teach_Reading_Writing__And_Division/1359057.html#relatedInfoContainer I imagine that after the Balkans passes through this phase of legalistic confrontation, it will move on -- finally -- to direct talks that can move its countries toward European integration. For this to happen, though, leaders must be willing to face historical truths in their entirety, rather than simply citing by rote the bits of it that suit their purposes. http://www.rferl.org/content/Balkans_Needs_Army_Of_Lawyers/1351571.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Balkans_Needs_Army_Of_Lawyers/1351571.html Fri, 21 Nov 2008 12:07:38 +0000 Commentary http://www.rferl.org/content/Balkans_Needs_Army_Of_Lawyers/1351571.html#relatedInfoContainer Before the 1990s, there was one site in Sarajevo that every visitor to the city had to see. It wasn't a monument, a plaque, or a museum. It was a set of footprints in the pavement that marked the spot where Gavrilo Princip stood on June 28, 1914, when he pulled the trigger and assassinated Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand. That shot set off the chain of events that plunged Europe into World War I. http://www.rferl.org/content/The_Balkans_Where_History_Lives_And_People_Die/1347451.html http://www.rferl.org/content/The_Balkans_Where_History_Lives_And_People_Die/1347451.html Tue, 11 Nov 2008 11:23:35 +0000 Commentary http://www.rferl.org/content/The_Balkans_Where_History_Lives_And_People_Die/1347451.html#relatedInfoContainer Was anyone on November 5 talking about anything other than the victory of Barack Obama in the U.S. presidential election? Certainly all of my colleagues were sharing their impressions and, in doing so, were revealing bits of the cultures and countries where they grew up and which they now spend their days covering as journalists. http://www.rferl.org/content/Obama_Victory_Inspires_Hope_Envy_In_Postcommunist_World/1339143.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Obama_Victory_Inspires_Hope_Envy_In_Postcommunist_World/1339143.html Thu, 06 Nov 2008 15:56:46 +0000 Commentary http://www.rferl.org/content/Obama_Victory_Inspires_Hope_Envy_In_Postcommunist_World/1339143.html#relatedInfoContainer Organized crime and radical nationalism have always gone hand in hand in the Balkans. Under the cover of "patriotism," war crimes and more banal crimes thrived. The assassination last week in Zagreb of journalist Ivo Pukanic is just the latest example of this lamentable pattern, says Nenad Pejic. http://www.rferl.org/content/Balkans_Remain_In_Grip_Of_Crime/1335425.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Balkans_Remain_In_Grip_Of_Crime/1335425.html Mon, 27 Oct 2008 15:22:42 +0000 Commentary http://www.rferl.org/content/Balkans_Remain_In_Grip_Of_Crime/1335425.html#relatedInfoContainer It seems only a matter of time before Belgrade follows Croatia's example and builds its relations with Bosnia-Herzegovina on ties with Sarajevo exclusively instead of maintaining links with Republika Srpska. That development would mark the beginning of Bosnia as a viable unitary state. http://www.rferl.org/content/commentary_Bosnia_Tweedledee_Tweedledum/1332195.html http://www.rferl.org/content/commentary_Bosnia_Tweedledee_Tweedledum/1332195.html Thu, 23 Oct 2008 10:48:13 +0000 Commentary http://www.rferl.org/content/commentary_Bosnia_Tweedledee_Tweedledum/1332195.html#relatedInfoContainer A person doesn't remain at the pinnacle of power in a country in a volatile region like the Balkans for two decades -- as Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic has done -- without knowing how to determine which way the wind is blowing and how to reinvent oneself. http://www.rferl.org/content/The_Smartest_Man_In_The_Balkans/1330606.html http://www.rferl.org/content/The_Smartest_Man_In_The_Balkans/1330606.html Fri, 17 Oct 2008 08:29:12 +0000 Commentary http://www.rferl.org/content/The_Smartest_Man_In_The_Balkans/1330606.html#relatedInfoContainer Late last night -- under cover of darkness, as it were -- the governments of Montenegro and Macedonia issued a joint statement on recognizing Kosovo's independence. It was a smart move, copying a similar tactic used by Hungary and Croatia in March. http://www.rferl.org/content/Montenegro_Macedonia_Take_The_Plunge_On_Kosovo/1328842.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Montenegro_Macedonia_Take_The_Plunge_On_Kosovo/1328842.html Fri, 10 Oct 2008 14:38:29 +0000 Commentary http://www.rferl.org/content/Montenegro_Macedonia_Take_The_Plunge_On_Kosovo/1328842.html#relatedInfoContainer Serbia's radical nationalists predicted that some 300,000 people would protest against the extradition of war crimes suspect Radovan Karadzic. In fact, just 10,000 showed up. Could it be that Serbian nationalism has exhausted itself? http://www.rferl.org/content/Serbia_Second_Chance/1187403.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Serbia_Second_Chance/1187403.html Wed, 30 Jul 2008 16:27:53 +0000 Commentary Macedonia is in a tough spot. Internal ethnic and political tensions and incomplete recognition by its neighbors leave the country insecure, while it is also being passed over by the other Balkan countries one by one in joining the EU. Are conditions right for another Balkan "perfect storm" of ethnic conflict? http://www.rferl.org/content/Macedonia_Moves_Closer_To_Abyss/1186188.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Macedonia_Moves_Closer_To_Abyss/1186188.html Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:03:46 +0000 Commentary In a country where a primary objective is to hide "our" war criminals and indict "theirs," a Karadzic trial would not contribute to reconciliation. http://www.rferl.org/content/Commentary_Bosnia_Host_Karadzic_Trial/1185919.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Commentary_Bosnia_Host_Karadzic_Trial/1185919.html Thu, 24 Jul 2008 11:56:11 +0000 Commentary In the end, Karadzic miscalculated. His dream of uniting all Serbs in a single state failed, and now they are scattered across five independent countries. His closest associates ended up in The Hague or as fugitives in hiding. Slowly but surely, his fellow Serbs are moving away from his radical nationalist ideology. http://www.rferl.org/content/Karadzic_Manipulator_Time_Passed/1185376.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Karadzic_Manipulator_Time_Passed/1185376.html Tue, 22 Jul 2008 11:20:32 +0000 Commentary As G8 leaders meet in Japan, the grouping is suffering from a malaise that could hardly come at a worse time. And that malaise is driven by the personalities around the table. http://www.rferl.org/content/Commentary_G8_Summit/1182351.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Commentary_G8_Summit/1182351.html Tue, 08 Jul 2008 10:09:01 +0000 Commentary