Serbia: Current Issues and Future Direction
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The Srebrenica Genocide and the Denial Narrative
DISCUSSION PAPER The Srebrenica Genocide and the Denial Narrative H. N. Keskin DISCUSSION PAPER The Srebrenica Genocide and the Denial Narrative H. N. Keskin The Srebrenica Genocide and the Denial Narrative © TRT WORLD RESEARCH CENTRE ALL RIGHTS RESERVED WRITTEN BY H. N. Keskin PUBLISHER TRT WORLD RESEARCH CENTRE July 2021 TRT WORLD İSTANBUL AHMET ADNAN SAYGUN STREET NO:83 34347 ULUS, BEŞİKTAŞ İSTANBUL / TURKEY TRT WORLD LONDON PORTLAND HOUSE 4 GREAT PORTLAND STREET NO:4 LONDON / UNITED KINGDOM TRT WORLD WASHINGTON D.C. 1819 L STREET NW SUITE 700 20036 WASHINGTON DC www.trtworld.com researchcentre.trtworld.com The opinions expressed in this discussion paper represent the views of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the TRT World Research Centre. 4 The Srebrenica Genocide and the Denial Narrative Introduction he Srebrenica Genocide (also attribute genocidal intent to a particular official referred to as the Srebrenica within the Main Staff may have been motivated Massacre), in which Serbian by a desire not to assign individual culpability soldiers massacred more than to persons not on trial here. This, however, does eight thousand Bosniak civilians not undermine the conclusion that Bosnian Serb Tduring the Bosnian war (1992-1995), has been forces carried out genocide against the Bosnian affirmed as the worst incident of mass murder in Muslims. (United Nations, 2004:12) Europe since World War II. Furthermore, despite the UN’s “safe area” declaration prior to the Further prosecutions were pursued against the genocide in the region, the Bosnian Serb Army of Dutch state in the Dutch Supreme Court for not Republika Srpska (VRS) under the command of preventing the deaths of Bosniak men, women and Ratko Mladić executed more than 8,000 Bosniak children that took refuge in their zone located in 2 (Bosnian Muslims) men and boys and deported Potocari. -
Bosnia-Herzegovina Social Briefing: Bosnian Genocide Denial Ivica Bakota
ISSN: 2560-1601 Vol. 17, No. 3 (BH) April 2019 Bosnia-Herzegovina social briefing: Bosnian genocide denial Ivica Bakota 1052 Budapest Petőfi Sándor utca 11. +36 1 5858 690 Kiadó: Kína-KKE Intézet Nonprofit Kft. [email protected] Szerkesztésért felelős személy: Chen Xin Kiadásért felelős személy: Huang Ping china-cee.eu 2017/01 Bosnian genocide denial Bosnian Genocide denial is believed to be intentional act of Republika Srpska and (to a certain extent) Serbian authorities of denying the planned systematic genocide of 6000 to 7000 Bosniaks from Eastern Bosnia following the siege and capture of Srebrenica by the Srpska Army in July 1995. Serb politicians generally deny the genocide perpetrated against Bosniaks during the Bosnian war, refute claims that Srebrenica massacre constitutes a genocide, revise a number of soldiers and civilians killed during and in the aftermath of the 1995 Srebrenica siege (arguing that the total number of killed did not exceed a half of the number claimed by Bosniak side) and even claim that the genocide is perpetrated against the Serbs during the course of the Bosnian war. As a form of denialism, it can be compared to similar non-mainstream historical revisionisms such as Armenian Genocide denial and Holocaust denial. In generally accepted view shared among foreign experts and historians, however, the Srebrenica massacre is considered as the biggest genocide that occurred in Europe after WWII. A fact exacerbating the controversy of the Bosnian genocide is that it happened relatively soon, only 24 years ago, hence is not (yet) unanimously acknowledged as a historical fact by historians and genocide scholars alike. -
UNDER ORDERS: War Crimes in Kosovo Order Online
UNDER ORDERS: War Crimes in Kosovo Order online Table of Contents Acknowledgments Introduction Glossary 1. Executive Summary The 1999 Offensive The Chain of Command The War Crimes Tribunal Abuses by the KLA Role of the International Community 2. Background Introduction Brief History of the Kosovo Conflict Kosovo in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Kosovo in the 1990s The 1998 Armed Conflict Conclusion 3. Forces of the Conflict Forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Yugoslav Army Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs Paramilitaries Chain of Command and Superior Responsibility Stucture and Strategy of the KLA Appendix: Post-War Promotions of Serbian Police and Yugoslav Army Members 4. march–june 1999: An Overview The Geography of Abuses The Killings Death Toll,the Missing and Body Removal Targeted Killings Rape and Sexual Assault Forced Expulsions Arbitrary Arrests and Detentions Destruction of Civilian Property and Mosques Contamination of Water Wells Robbery and Extortion Detentions and Compulsory Labor 1 Human Shields Landmines 5. Drenica Region Izbica Rezala Poklek Staro Cikatovo The April 30 Offensive Vrbovac Stutica Baks The Cirez Mosque The Shavarina Mine Detention and Interrogation in Glogovac Detention and Compusory Labor Glogovac Town Killing of Civilians Detention and Abuse Forced Expulsion 6. Djakovica Municipality Djakovica City Phase One—March 24 to April 2 Phase Two—March 7 to March 13 The Withdrawal Meja Motives: Five Policeman Killed Perpetrators Korenica 7. Istok Municipality Dubrava Prison The Prison The NATO Bombing The Massacre The Exhumations Perpetrators 8. Lipljan Municipality Slovinje Perpetrators 9. Orahovac Municipality Pusto Selo 10. Pec Municipality Pec City The “Cleansing” Looting and Burning A Final Killing Rape Cuska Background The Killings The Attacks in Pavljan and Zahac The Perpetrators Ljubenic 11. -
Yugoslav Destruction After the Cold War
STASIS AMONG POWERS: YUGOSLAV DESTRUCTION AFTER THE COLD WAR A dissertation presented by Mladen Stevan Mrdalj to The Department of Political Science In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the field of Political Science Northeastern University Boston, Massachusetts December 2015 STASIS AMONG POWERS: YUGOSLAV DESTRUCTION AFTER THE COLD WAR by Mladen Stevan Mrdalj ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science in the College of Social Sciences and Humanities of Northeastern University December 2015 2 Abstract This research investigates the causes of Yugoslavia’s violent destruction in the 1990’s. It builds its argument on the interaction of international and domestic factors. In doing so, it details the origins of Yugoslav ideology as a fluid concept rooted in the early 19th century Croatian national movement. Tracing the evolving nationalist competition among Serbs and Croats, it demonstrates inherent contradictions of the Yugoslav project. These contradictions resulted in ethnic outbidding among Croatian nationalists and communists against the perceived Serbian hegemony. This dynamic drove the gradual erosion of Yugoslav state capacity during Cold War. The end of Cold War coincided with the height of internal Yugoslav conflict. Managing the collapse of Soviet Union and communism imposed both strategic and normative imperatives on the Western allies. These imperatives largely determined external policy toward Yugoslavia. They incentivized and inhibited domestic actors in pursuit of their goals. The result was the collapse of the country with varying degrees of violence. The findings support further research on international causes of civil wars. -
Annex 4: Mechanisms in Europe
ANNEX 4: MECHANISMS IN EUROPE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL TRIBUNAL FOR THE FORMER YUGOSLAVIA Conflict Background and Political Context The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) emerged from World War II as a communist country under the rule of President Josip Broz Tito. The new state brought Serbs, Croats, Bosnian Muslims, Albanians, Macedonians, Montenegrins, and Slovenes into a federation of six separate republics (Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia) and two autonomous provinces of Serbia (Kosovo and Vojvodina). Ten years after Tito’s death in 1980, the country was in economic crisis and the mechanisms he had designed to both repress and balance ethnic demands in the SFRY were under severe strain. Slobodan Milošević had harnessed the power of nationalism to consolidate his power as president of Serbia. The League of Communists of Yugoslavia dissolved in January 1990, and the first multiparty elections were held in all Yugoslav republics, carrying nationalist parties to power in Bosnia, Croatia, Slovenia, and Macedonia.1763 Meanwhile, Milošević and his political allies asserted control in Kosovo, Vojvodina, and Montenegro, giving Serbia’s president de facto control over four of the eight votes in the federal state’s collective presidency. This and the consolidation of Serbian control over the Yugoslav People’s Army (YPA) heightened fears and played into ascendant nationalist feelings in other parts of the country. Declarations of independence by Croatia and Slovenia on June 25, 1991, brought matters to a head. Largely homogenous Slovenia succeeded in defending itself through a 10-day conflict that year against the Serb-dominated federal army, but Milošević was more determined to contest the independence of republics with sizeable ethnic Serb populations. -
The Politicization of Ethnicity As a Prelude to Ethnopolitical Conflict: Croatia and Serbia in Former Yugoslavia
Western Michigan University ScholarWorks at WMU Dissertations Graduate College 6-2001 The Politicization of Ethnicity as a Prelude to Ethnopolitical Conflict: Croatia and Serbia in Former Yugoslavia Agneza Bozic-Roberson Western Michigan University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/dissertations Part of the International Relations Commons, Political Theory Commons, and the Race and Ethnicity Commons Recommended Citation Bozic-Roberson, Agneza, "The Politicization of Ethnicity as a Prelude to Ethnopolitical Conflict: Croatia and Serbia in Former Yugoslavia" (2001). Dissertations. 1354. https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/dissertations/1354 This Dissertation-Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate College at ScholarWorks at WMU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at WMU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE POLITICIZATION OF ETHNICITY AS A PRELUDE TO ETHNOPOLITICAL CONFLICT: CROATIA AND SERBIA IN FORMER YUGOSLAVIA by Agneza Bozic-Roberson A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of The Graduate College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Political Science Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, Michigan June 2001 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. THE POLITICIZATION OF ETHNICITY AS A PRELUDE TO ETHNOPOLITICAL CONFLICT: CROATIA AND SERBIA IN FORMER YUGOSLAVIA Agneza Bozic-Roberson, Ph.D. Western Michigan University, 2001 This interdisciplinary research develops a framework or a model for the study of the politicization of ethnicity, a process that transforms peaceful ethnic conflict into violent inter-ethnic conflict. The hypothesis investigated in this study is that the ethnopolitical conflict that led to the break up of former Yugoslavia was the result of deliberate politicization of ethnicity. -
Scapegoating and the Simulation of Mechanical Solidarity in Former Yugoslavia: “Ethnic Cleansing” and the Serbian Orthodox
Scapegoating and the Simulation of Mechanical Solidarity in Former Yugoslavia: “Ethnic Cleansing” and the Serbian Orthodox Church Keith Doubt Wittenberg University This essay is published under the above title in Humanity and Society (Vol. 31, No. 1, February 2007), 65-82. I would like to express my appreciation to Ron Berger for his insightful comments and editorial suggestions, as well as Matthew Lynch for his research assistance in the early stages of this study. Direct address correspondence to Keith Doubt, Department of Sociology, Wittenberg University, Springfield, OH 45501-0720 ([email protected]). 2 ABSTRACT In this paper I use the concept of scapegoating to explain the ritualized character of “ethnic cleansing” after the break-up of Yugoslavia in the 1990s. I provide an overview of the political background behind these events, introduce the role and influence of the Serbian Orthodox Church, and analyze the collective violence known as ethnic cleansing through the concept of scapegoating. The Serbian Orthodox Church’s use of a scapegoat paradigm to incite violence created a pseudo-sense of solidarity among the Serbian people. Although this solidarity resembles Émile Durkheim’s concept of mechanical solidarity, I question the stability of this solidarity insofar as it is based on the negativity of war crimes and genocide. Implications for understanding collective violence in other areas such as the Middle East and Iraq are drawn by way of conclusion. REFLEXIVE STATEMENT My interest in the former Yugoslavia began in 1991. I was deeply disheartened by the disturbing reports of crimes against humanity. I started to organize sessions on Bosnia at sociology conferences in Canada and the United States. -
Human Rights Defenders in Serbia
Humanitarian Law Center Research, Documentation and Memory 67 Makenzijeva, 11110 Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro Tel/Fax: +381 11 3444 313 +381 11 3444 314 Email: [email protected] Home Page: http://www.hlc.org.yu 26 March 2006 Human Rights Defenders in Serbia Throughout the rule of Slobodan Milošević, Human Rights Organizations and Human Rights Defenders were treated as harmless marginal groups and individuals. Between 1991 and 1999 the regime of Slobodan Milošević did not ban a single anti-war demonstration by nongovernmental organizations because they served as proof to the international community of his ‘democratic’ attitude towards the ‘handful’ that did not support him. The regime and its media paid little attention to the reports of domestic human rights organizations on human rights and humanitarian law violations during the armed conflict because the regime felt secure and supported by the majority of citizens. The period of the NATO bombing campaign from 24 March until 9 June 1999 united the opposition, civil society and regime. Nongovernmental organizations led the way in criticizing the international community and urging the citizens to keep their differences with the government aside as long as bombs kept dropping on the country. It was in those circumstances that several Human Rights Defenders and human rights organizations became the target of government media and secret services above all for publicly pointing out that the regime was taking advantage of the NATO campaign to settle with the Albanians. Because of its attitude during the NATO campaign, the Humanitarian Law Centre (HLC) was twice visited by members of the military security service, who threatened to bring charges of espionage against the HLC Executive Director; also, financial police examined the organization’s accounts and financial records for three weeks. -
Sonja Biserko, Deyan Kiuranov, Ismail Tasholli, Robert Wilton, Fred Abrahams
H OST – ΓΕΦΥ M ΡA “ ” – – A R M O U – C T T O Ъ T T – C P O O M D U – L Ü – R M P O Ö K C T – THEthe magazine of BRIDGEAcademia Balkanica Europeana January 2020 (Number 5) Dossier: Human Rights in the Balkans Sonja Biserko, Deyan Kiuranov, Ismail Tasholli, Robert Wilton, Fred Abrahams EKPHRASIS: A WAY TO “EVERYTHING I TOUCH SPLIT SOCIETIES, CONNECT US WITH THE OTHER TURNS INTO WORDS” ILLIBERAL SALVATION By Gonca Özmen By Elizabeta Sheleva By Péter Krasztev ContentsEditorial Supported by a grant from the Foundation Open Society Institute in cooperation with the OSIFE of the Open Society Foundations CONTENTS Editorial I, YOU AND MAN By Ismail Tasholli 16 EARTH 3 Forum IGNORANCE KILLS EKPHRASIS: A WAY TO CONNECT US WITH By Robert Wilton 18 THE OTHER By Gonca Özmen 4 Interview, exclusively for “The Bridge”: FRED ABRAHAMS: THE COLLAPSE OF I AM ROMA AND I FEEL PRIVILEGED COMMUNISM AND THE TRAGEDY BECAUSE I HAVE WHITE SKIN 20 OF ETHNO-WARS By Georgiana Lincan 6 Visible Soul 8 Loc-alia IS THERE LITERATURE NOBEL PRIZE AFTER HANDKE? Ars Poetica By Amila Kahrović Posavljak 22 “EVERYTHING I TOUCH TURNS 10 INTO WORDS” BALKANOFILMOPHILIA 24 By Elizabeta Sheleva Dossier HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE BALKANS The Gaze of the Other HUMAN RIGHTS IN SERBIA: SPLIT SOCIETIES, ILLIBERAL SUBORDINATED TO GEOSTRATEGIC 12 SALVATION 25 DELIBERATIONS By Péter Krasztev By Sonja Biserko Our Essay BG TO EU, AND HUMAN RIGHTS: NEGATIVE ATTITUDES, NO ACTS 14 THE UNEATEN PAGES 27 By Deyan Kiuranov By Ardian-Christian Kyçyku 2 Editorial EARTH n November 26, an earthquake struck because of the latter sense of love for home or and knowledge. -
Slobodan Milošević's Balkan Legacy – the Texas Orator.Pdf
Slobodan Milošević’s Balkan Legacy – The Texas Orator ABOUT ARCHIVE IDEAS PODCAST MERCH CONTACT JOIN Arts Campus Culture Domestic Affairs Economy Education Environment Foreign Affairs Health Law Satire Tech HOME › FOREIGN AFFAIRS › SLOBODAN MILOŠEVIĆ’S BALKAN LEGACY Slobodan Milošević’s Balkan Legacy BY NAVEEN RAJAN on OCTOBER 22, 2018 • ( 0 ) Who We Are The Balkans have historically been regarded as a fiercely divided battleground for proxy wars carried out by The Texas Orator is a nonpartisan, other nations. Today, while the Balkan states have significantly greater sovereignty than they did during the peer-reviewed political publication Cold War, the effects of the 20th century’s legacy of violent ethnic divisions can still be seen today. These that was founded and is maintained tensions, coupled with irresponsible policy from the European Union, have led the Balkans to once again by University of Texas at Austin become a region of contention between Western Europe and Russia. To understand the current ethnic students. We value thorough analysis tensions in the Balkans, the reasons for the aforementioned outbreak of violence must be examined. More in our articles and strive to protect the specifically, the Yugoslav wars stemmed from the concentration of power in Serbian president Slobodan ideals of free speech and unhindered Milošević following the Serbian anti-bureaucratic revolution. access to information on campus and nationwide. We seek to keep the The Serbian “anti-bureaucratic revolution” was a series of nationalist protests against the governments of student body informed of the Kosovo, Vojvodina, and Montenegro from 1986 to 1989 that resulted in the mass resignations of the implications of ever-changing political members of these governments. -
OSJI-Options for Justice-FR-11-14-2018.Indd
ANNEXE 4 : MÉCANISMES EN EUROPE TRIBUNAL PÉNAL INTERNATIONAL POUR L’EX-YOUGOSLAVIE Historique du conflit et contexte politique La République fédérative socialiste de Yougoslavie (RFSY) était au sortir de la Seconde Guerre mondiale un pays communiste dirigé par le président Josip Broz Tito. Le nouvel État réunissait les Serbes, les Croates, les musulmans bosniaques, les Albanais, les Macédoniens, les Monténégrins et les Slovènes dans une fédération de six républiques distinctes (Slovénie, Croatie, Bosnie-Herzégovine, Macédoine, Monténégro et Serbie) et deux provinces autonomes de Serbie (Kosovo et Vojvodine). Dix ans après la mort de Tito en 1980, le pays connut une crise économique, tandis que les mécanismes conçus par Tito pour à la fois réprimer et équilibrer les exigences des différentes ethnies en RFSY furent mis à rude épreuve. Slobodan Milošević avait profité de la force du nationalisme pour consolider son pouvoir à la présidence de la Serbie. La Ligue des communistes de Yougoslavie fut dissoute en janvier 1990, et les premières élections multipartites furent organisées dans toutes les républiques yougoslaves, amenant des partis nationalistes au pouvoir en Bosnie, en Croatie, en Slovénie et en Macédoine.1763 Entre-temps, Milošević et ses alliés politiques revendiquèrent le contrôle du Kosovo, de la Vojvodine et du Monténégro, donnant au président serbe un contrôle de facto sur quatre des huit droits de vote au sein de la présidence collective de l’État fédéral. Cet événement et la consolidation du pouvoir serbe sur l’Armée populaire yougoslave (APY) amplifièrent les craintes et contribuèrent à la montée du nationalisme dans d’autres régions du pays. Les déclarations d’indépendance de la Croatie et de la Slovénie le 25 juin 1991 précipitèrent les choses. -
The Milošević Switch from Communism to Nationalism As State Policy by Julija Bogoeva FICHL Policy Brief Series No
POLICY BRIEF SERIES From Lies to Crimes: The Milošević Switch from Communism to Nationalism as State Policy By Julija Bogoeva FICHL Policy Brief Series No. 19 (2014) Being 70 years old, with a world war in between, Yugo- always kills. That is why it is repeatedly used. So how slavia1 needed more historical time to develop political did Slobodan Milošević2 do it? pluralism, a rational and efficient economic system, sta- ble democratic institutions and a democratic culture. 1. Adopting the Nationalist Programme – Death to That could have opened up the full potential of its won- Yugoslavia derfully diverse people who, in the process, would, ide- The 1991–1995 fratricidal, genocidal war in Yugoslavia ally, mature from subjects to citizens, socially conscious, flew in the face of Europe’s conviction that something responsible and active for the common good. Represent- had been learned from its difficult, bloody past. Is com- ing the polar opposite, nationalists and hard-line com- munism to blame? Or nationalism? Or are they, paradox- munists could not let that happen. The deliberately ically, so related at their core that nationalism, with its whipped up nationalism of the largest nation, the Serbs, destructive nature, automatically replaces communism? brought to the fore the nationalism of the other nations, Does it lead to violence, and even to the commission of and tore the country apart in a brutal war for territorial crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide? expansion and domination. In Europe. At the end of the By the 1990s, Yugoslavia’s specific communist sys- th 20 century. To any person of today, educated, liberal- tem3 had also exhausted itself, no longer capable of gen- minded and brought up in the spirit of humanism, that erating growth.