Remember Bosnia? Sure, it is far overshadowed by Iraq and Afghanistan, and even health care reform and our struggling economy. But tensions continue on there, and with the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina expressing a strong interest in constitutional reforms--reforms many Serbs find polarizing--the ethnic divide could grow.
"The need to respect national sensitivities has left the Bosnian system susceptible to gridlock, which is why the United States and EU have pushed for the creation of a more centralized state. Now decisions are made by the two respective political entities--the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Republika Srpska--rather than a national parliament.
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Nationalism is still rife, but not in terms of a unifying Bosnian identity. The Croats and Serbs, if given the chance, would almost certainly vote to secede and dissolve the flailing entity. Publicly, the Serbs and Croats have refuted allegations that they are slowly seeking to dismember Bosnia to construct 'Greater' variations of these existing states. But both have and will continue to stoically defend their interests in ways that are counterproductive to building a united nation."Remember Bosnia? Sure, it is far overshadowed by Iraq and Afghanistan, and even health... more
War by war, again after again, Can we change the human condition??
Yes we can... we have.
Every April 7th, Zvornik neighbouhrs bury those identified during the year. 1.555 Bosnian Muslins were killed in that municipally between April and June 1992, and 45.000 were driven out. 3 years later, a genocide took place in Srebrenica. Republika Prpska was chraged guilty for that crime that has overshadowed all the rest. That entity administrates today both Srebrenika and Zvornik. In this context, the return of the Bosnian Muslims is slow and difficult, truth and historic memory are blurring, those responsible are not facing justice, and peace is trembling.War by war, again after again, Can we change the human condition??
Yes we can... we... more
Responsabile per la strage di Srebrenica (in cui furono uccise ottomila persone) e per la creazione di alcuni campi di concentramento, Biljana Plavsic sarà liberata il 27 ottobre.
Ancora una volta la Corte Penale Internazionale non riesce a dare vera giustizia.Responsabile per la strage di Srebrenica (in cui furono uccise ottomila persone) e per... more
Press freedom is always in danger around the world including Europe, as demonstrate unfortunately the sad Italian case, where the press is attacked by the government because criticize it. But today the most controversial decision is that of the International Criminal Court in The Hague that condemned the French journalist Florence Hartmann with a 7000 euro fine, for publishing confidential documents about war crimes committed in Bosnia.Press freedom is always in danger around the world including Europe, as demonstrate... more
La libertà di stampa è sempre in pericolo, in tutto il mondo e anche in Europa, come dimostra purtroppo il triste caso italiano, dove la stampa viene attaccata dal governo perché colpevole di criticarlo. Ma oggi la decisione più controversa è quella della Corte Penale Internazionale dell'Aia che ha condannato la giornalista francese Florence Hartmann a 7000 euro di multa, per aver pubblicato documenti confidenziali sui crimini di guerra commessi in Bosnia.La libertà di stampa è sempre in pericolo, in tutto il mondo e anche in Europa, come... more
The world's "great powers" orchestrated the Bosnian war for their own geopolitical ends, Bosnian Serb wartime leader Radovan Karadzic, awaiting trial for war crimes, told AFP on Wednesday.
"The world can see from what was done in Bosnia the pattern of how some countries used and abused a small nation for their own ends, such as to enforce their own military alliances and to achieve imperial goals," said Karadzic in a written reply to questions submitted to him in detention in The Hague.
"The breakup of Yugoslavia and the war in Bosnia was envisaged by the great powers well before I came into political life," he added.
"They then set those events in motion through the use of their intelligence services and military."
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Karadzic said he hoped his trial, which a judge has said should start in September, would expose the "truth" of what happened in Bosnia at the time of the breakup of Yugoslavia.
His innocence would be proven if prosecution witnesses told the truth, he added.
"The world deserves to know the truth and what was done by the international community on its behalf," he said.
Karadzic did not name the countries he claimed were behind the Bosnia war. But he has applied through the tribunal for documents from several nations including France, Germany and the United States, which he says would help prove his innocence.
"I express my sympathy to the victims of the war in Bosnia -- Serbs, Croats and Muslims -- for their suffering," he wrote to AFP. "I hope that my trial will show who is truly responsible for that.
"Some of those people will find out that those responsible were that part of their own leadership who rejected all of the opportunities that existed to avoid the war, and some of their foreign friends who used them for their own purposes."
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In his answers, he repeated his claim that he had made an agreement in July 1995 with US diplomat Richard Holbrooke that granted him indemnity from prosecution in exchange for his withdrawal from public life.
"I am terribly disappointed that the tribunal has refused to even hold a hearing so that I may prove the existence of that agreement and its binding effect on the tribunal."
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"The truth is out there," he said.The world's "great powers" orchestrated the Bosnian war for their own geopolitical... more
Former Bosnian Serb president Radovan Karadzic in undergoing a trial at the Hague for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. He was arrested in Belgrade on July 21, 2008 after thirteen years of hiding, and was extradited for judgment at the Hague.
Karadzic has assumed his own defense, and once again, requested the International Criminal Court to petition information from the United States and Sweden that he alleges will prove he was promised judiciary immunity. Radovan Karadzic continues to insist that Richard Holbrooke had promised him he would not have to face any legal ramifications if he were to retire from public life after peace had been restored to Bosnia.Former Bosnian Serb president Radovan Karadzic in undergoing a trial at the Hague for... more
On April 19th DC-area advocates for Darfur (and 3 buses of advocates from Pittsburgh!) joined over 450 communities across the United States to honor the past and act now for Darfur.
The event began with a moving memorial ceremony honoring the victims of the genocides and mass atrocities commemorated in the month of April, Genocide Prevention Month. Armenia, the Holocaust, Cambodia, Bosnia, Rwanda, South Sudan and Darfur were all remembered through personal stories, prayers and the building of a memorial in front of the White House.
Excerpt by Martha BixbyOn April 19th DC-area advocates for Darfur (and 3 buses of advocates from Pittsburgh!)... more
A husband who tired of his mother-in-law's nagging has been sentenced to six years in prison after he tried to kill her with an anti-tank missile launcher. When that somehow didn't work, he tried to finish her off with a machine gun. Unbelievably, she survived both "with barely a scratch".
What does a guy have to do to get some peace and quiet?A husband who tired of his mother-in-law's nagging has been sentenced to six years in... more
Bosnian Serbs are filing a lawsuit against the United Nations and the Netherlands saying they turned a blind eye to atrocities committed by Muslims against Serb civilians during the war in Bosnia in the early 90s.
World attention has focused on the massacre of thousands of Muslim men in Srebrenica, but Bosnian Serbs say their lawsuit is being brought to show they too were victims – at the hands of Muslims – in a brutal civil war.
According to them, both the UN and the Netherlands had forces inside Bosnia-Herzegovina during the war and were supposed to protect civilians. The Serb survivors insist they turned a blind eye and failed to protect civilians on both sides during the conflict.Bosnian Serbs are filing a lawsuit against the United Nations and the Netherlands... more
This video is dated 2005. It is about Bosnia, 10 years after the war.
In between, there is the river. A war-line turned into a ghostly space.
In between, there is Ademir, a 19-year-old disable guy.
The picture is from 2009 New Year’s Eve. I hadn’t seen Ademir in 3 years.
School is over. Most of his friends left the village. The disease is hitting hard.
In a month time, Ademir might undergo an operation at his legs, in Tuzla.
Up in his castle, as he calls his room, Ademir smokes, dreams about girls and listens to rap music. He occasionally writes rap songs about him going to Mars. Here girls run around naked with their boots on, they have 3 tits and 4 pussies. Drugs grow on medical plants and meteors cover the sky.
He now has his Internet connection. It means a lot in his case…This video is dated 2005. It is about Bosnia, 10 years after the war.
In between,... more
La locandina ufficiale dell'evento "Srebrenica 2009. Appunti su un genocidio" che si terrà il 24/25 gennaio 2009 a Olginate (LC).La locandina ufficiale dell'evento "Srebrenica 2009. Appunti su un genocidio" che si... more
DinamoCulturale organizza per il 25 gennaio 2009 a Olginate (Lecco) una giornata dedicata, in occasione della Giornata della Memoria 2009, al ricordo del genocidio di Srebrenica (luglio 1995) e delle guerre balcaniche degli anni ’90.
Con il patrocinio di “Osservatorio sui Balcani”, “Comune di Olginate” e “Provincia di Lecco” si terranno: una conferenza con storici dell'Osservatorio sui Balcani (Nardelli), lo spettacolo teatrale "A come Srebrenica" di Roberta Biagiarelli e la visione del film "Rata Neće Biti!" di Daniele Gaglianone.
E ancora una mostra fotografica visionabile in Villa Sirtori a Olginate fino al 7 febbraio 2009, concerto e aperitivo "balcanici".
Per maggiori info: www.srebrenica2009.orgDinamoCulturale organizza per il 25 gennaio 2009 a Olginate (Lecco) una giornata... more
Pristina oggi ha minacciato un blocco delle importazioni di prodotti provenienti dalla Serbia e dalla Bosnia come rappresaglia alle misure adottate da questi due paesi. Belgrado e Sarajevo, infatti, hanno interrotto l'importazione di merci dal Kosovo dal 3 dicembre perché i documenti necessari non erano più approvati dalle autorità della missione dell'Onu nel Kosovo (Unmik), sostituita dal 9 dicembre dalla missione europea di polizia e di giustizia Eulex.Pristina oggi ha minacciato un blocco delle importazioni di prodotti provenienti dalla... more
(CNN) -- Serbian police are conducting another search for war crimes suspect Ratko Mladic and another fugitive, the office of the war crimes prosecutor in Belgrade said Friday.
The search, launched at the request of Serbian war crimes prosecutor Vladimir Vukcevic, is being conducted around the town of Arandjelovac, 45 miles (75 kilometers) south of Belgrade, the prosecutor's office said.
Serbia is offering a reward of 1 million euros for information leading to the capture of Ratko Mladic, the Bosnian Serb general wanted by the United Nations' International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY, in the Hague. A reward of €250,000 is offered for information leading to the arrest of Serbia's other fugitive, Goran Hadzic.
Mladic is the highest-ranking figure from the conflict to remain at large following the July arrest of former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic. Mladic commanded the Bosnian Serb military during the 1992-95 war in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
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click on link for more. Share your thoughts(CNN) -- Serbian police are conducting another search for war crimes suspect Ratko... more
La Dichiarazione universale dei diritti umani venne adottata dall'Assemblea Generale delle Nazioni Unite il 10 dicembre 1948. Non è giuridicamente vincolante per gli Stati membri ONU se non successivamente alla sua esplicita adozione...La Dichiarazione universale dei diritti umani venne adottata dall'Assemblea Generale... more
Vorrei segnalarvi un'iniziativa, promossa dall'associazione DinamoCulturale http://dinamoculturale.noblogs.org e che mi coinvolge in prima persona nella sua organizzazione, a memoria di ciò che successe a Srebrenica nel luglio del 1995. Per conoscere meglio i diversi appuntamenti (tra cui lo spettacolo teatrale "A come Srebrenica" con Roberta Biagiarelli) che si svolgeranno a Olginate (prov. di Lecco) il 25 gennaio 2009 vi lascio alcuni link:
Per aderire/divulgare/promuovere la partecipazione all'evento: aderite all'evento creato su Facebook.
Nella notizia riportata il "contesto" dell'iniziativa da me scritto e inserito all'interno del programma ufficiale.Vorrei segnalarvi un'iniziativa, promossa dall'associazione DinamoCulturale... more
LUKAVAC, Bosnia-Herzegovina (CNN) -- The man's remains lie on a table. Next to him are the bones of his 22-year-old son and the remains of another son. But no one yet knows which of the man's two missing boys the third set of remains could be.
Cheryl Katzmarzyk wants to be able to put a name to the remains, and to those of hundreds of other bodies stacked around her in a building in Lukavac, near Tuzla in the northeast of Bosnia.
The bones are from more than 8,000 men and boys slaughtered in 1995 during the Bosnian war at Srebrenica in the worst massacre in Europe since World War II.
The killers -- Serbs seeking to drive out Bosnian Muslims in a policy of "ethnic cleansing" -- executed the region's fighting-age males, then used bulldozers to dump them into mass graves.
What makes the work harder for the teams trying to put the bodies back together -- so they can be returned to their families for proper burial -- is that so many have been broken up over the years.
Mass graves were dug up and the bodies moved sometimes again and again, to hide evidence as the Serbs retreated amid the NATO bombing that followed Srebrenica and led to the end of the war. Those killed in a warehouse execution at Srebrenica are spread throughout 20 secondary grave sites, for instance.
Katzmarzyk said remains of one of the victims was found in eight different parts of one mass grave. Another man's shoulder was found where he and others were lined up and shot, one of his legs was found near a grave, a hip was found inside the grave, his upper jaw several miles away and his left arm in a secondary grave.
"What we do here is we sort them out," said Katzmarzyk, the head of anthropological examinations for the International Commission on Missing Persons.
Katzmarzyk's team from the ICMP -- a nongovernmental organization set up at the end of the Bosnian war to locate and identify victims of war and human rights abuses -- has pioneered quicker, simpler DNA tests to work out which bones go together. Watch an audio slideshow about the ICMP's work »
Then, a more extensive DNA test is done to see if there is a match with any of thousands of relatives who have donated their own samples in the hope of finding missing relatives.
But DNA can only go so far, and while it can show that the unidentified remains on Katzmarzyk's table are those of a man and his 22-year-old son, it cannot say whether the third set belongs to a missing 21-year-old or his 24-year-old brother -- because neither had children to act as an extra reference point.
It's a particular problem with identifying the Srebrenica dead because so many of the victims were related. Across the room, brothers lie next to each other, but as yet the scientists do not know who is who.
Click link for the rest of the article....LUKAVAC, Bosnia-Herzegovina (CNN) -- The man's remains lie on a table. Next to him are... more
A federal judge ordered that five Guantanamo Bay detainees must be released for lack of evidence that they were "enemy combatants." One detainee who brought his case to court will remain. The men are Algerians who were living in Bosnia when they were arrested in 2002.A federal judge ordered that five Guantanamo Bay detainees must be released for lack... more
"Resolution 819," a film about the Srebrenica massacre in the last months of Bosnia's 1992-1995 war, won the top prize at the Rome film festival Friday.
A French production directed by Italy's Giacomo Battiato, the film tells the true story of a policeman sent by the U.N.'s highest court to investigate the disappearance of 8,000 Muslim men and boys from the Bosnian town after it fell to Bosnian Serb forces.
The film spares the audience little of the harrowing evidence the policeman gathers over the years on the slaughter in what was supposed to be a U.N. safe area.
That evidence served as the basis for the indictment for genocide of Bosnian Serb President Radovan Karadzic, who was arrested in July. His wartime commander Ratko Mladic, also indicted by the U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague, is still at large.
The title refers to a 1993 U.N. Security Council resolution calling for an end to armed Serb attacks on Srebrenica.
"Resolution 819," a film about the Srebrenica massacre in the last months of Bosnia's... more
