Bosnia's War Babies

photo credit

OK, OK, I know I don't live in Bosnia, but hey, it's not that far. So I've been interested in the comings and goings of Serbian war criminals from the Hague.

If you are not clear about what went on down there, I highly recommend this painful but informative BBC Radio piece called "Bosnia's War Babies". They've only presented Part 1 (so far), but it gives you a good insight into some of the horrors that were perpetuated there not so very long ago* and how difficult it will be to pursue justice when there are thousands of perpetrators walking free.

*In fact, near enough ago, that I don't understand how anyone could get out on "good behaviour".

August 31st - International Day of the Disappeared

photo info

(via B92 blog) SARAJEVO -- The International Committee of the Red Cross data shows that 15,655 people are still listed as missing from the Yugoslav wars in the 1990s.

The International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP), based in Bosnia, said on the occasion of International Day of Disappeared marked this Sunday, that 40,000 people are estimated to have disappeared in the wars in former Yugoslavia, 30,000 of those in Bosnia.

This organization also said that its data showed there are between 8,000 and 10,000 unsolved cases there, and 12,000-14,000 in the region.

"On International Day of Disappeared it is important to stress that the problem of the missing, and the human suffering accompanying, it is a universal problem of human rights," said ICMP chief Catherine Bomberger.

My Dad The Socialist...or The Communist

In the true spirit of Donald Rumsfeld, I am always discovering "unknown unknowns" (things I didn't know that I didn't know) about Slovenia. Last night I got to watch this fantastic classic Slovenian film "My Dad, The Socialist Kulak" in Slovenian: Moj Ata, Socialisticni Kulak).

This film is a quirky little comedy about a Slovenian guy who fought in the army alongside the Russian Red Army, comes home to communism, and does his best to embrace it (farming his plot of land with the other loyal socialist farmers) while not really fully understanding how the system works and where his loyalties should lie. The characters are all pretty over the top, spouting off ideology, while not quite sure what they are talking about, and information is frequently misinterpreted which makes it a funny story above and beyond all the history...but the history lesson was also much appreciated. For example, I'd no idea that Yugoslavia was strongly allied with Stalin until 1948 when he and Tito had a major falling out (apparently over a Soviet film about the war which didn't give the Tito character a big enough role) and Yugoslavia turned towards a form of market socialism that was informally known as "Titoism" (ahhh, gotta admire the guy's ego).

A quick Google search shows that this film is sort of tough to get one's hands one, so I really lucked out on finding it on television. If I ever get a copy of the film, I'll see what I can do to put up a clip or two on the Youtube. It really is worth a look.

naš zemo, moj izbor

As I am a resident of this fine land mass known as Europe, it is only appropriate that I "do as Romans do" and weigh in on the Eurovision Song Contest while at the same time claiming that I have nothing but disdain for the whole affair.

While I am a resident of Slovenia, I have no loyalty to this country with regard to music and frankly even if I did, the Slovene candidate has already been (rightly) eliminated. So, this year I have thrown my full support behind the very awesome Laka (Elvir Laković) from Bosna in Hergovinia. He is like this very special Balkan Manu Chao-type character, and I really like his song.


Check him out:

Old Friends

The Initiative of Five at a meeting in New York, 1960

Gregor and other people kept mentioning this "thing"to me, a "thing" in which Yugoslavia used to be a part of with a bunch of other countries including many African nations. As a result of said "thing" there were a lot of Africans coming to work and study in Yugoslavia and a lot of Yugoslavians going to work in Africa (and other places). I was never quite sure was this "thing" was so I finally sat down and Google'd it.

It turns out it was the Non-Aligned Movement. A group of nations whose purpose, according to the Wiki, is/was to ensure "the national independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and security of non-aligned countries" in their "struggle against imperialism, colonialism, neo-colonialism, racism, Zionism, and all forms of foreign aggression, occupation, domination, interference or hegemony as well as against great power and bloc politics." Wow! People used to have big ideas 50 years ago! I guess all that just sounds like crazy talk now. The picture at the heading of this entry features the founding members AKA "The Initiative of Five" (Jawaharlal Nehru of India, Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt, Sukarno of Indonesia and Josip Broz Tito of Yugoslavia). This picture is a great find, and I am most excited to see Nkrumah and Tito together since my family is from Ghana!

The group certainly seems to have had its ups and downs since the end of the Cold War, and the movement has weakened considerably, with most of the European countries have deserted the group to get (or vie for) EU membership. Nonetheless, my discovery of this group, has got me excited about the past and the future. It makes me feel like things are not so startling new here in Slovenia. It makes me feel like the world isn't so big and strange after all, and even though things have changed a lot in the last 50 years, maybe I'm just here to work with and live amongst long-lost old friends.

Tax Dollars at Work: Protest Sunday in Ljubljana

I guess I live closer than I thought...

Just got this nervous message from the US Embassy email list....I don't know the details of this protest (for or against or what?) and I'm kind of in the mood for some action, but I guess I better take heed this time.

Warden Message February 22, 2008: Kosovo Independence

Following Kosovo’s February 17, 2008, declaration of independence, street protesters caused damage to the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade, Serbia. A large, organized demonstration is scheduled for Sunday, February 24, at 12:45 p.m., near the U.S. Embassy in Ljubljana, which reiterates its longstanding guidance to American Citizens to avoid large crowds or demonstrations. American citizens are urged to maintain security awareness.

In the event further information is obtained regarding this or any other security or safety situation in Slovenia, the U.S. Embassy will provide updates via this same channel and on the Embassy's web site: http://slovenia.usembassy.gov.

More Kosovo

My fantastic dad sent me this the other day, for a number of obvious reasons (I'm still just learning Slovene, I aint going to Serbia no time soon) I won't be needing this for a while.

Yes, I'm blogging about Kosovo again even though I don't exactly live near there. It is just that it definitely does have some effect on this part of the world (we being the western Balkans and all), and frankly it is interesting for me as a young political scientist...though according to the accounts it is appearing to be a frightening case of history repeating.

Here are a few more great links I found today:

* Anegdote - Déjà vécu
Many people were injured in Belgrade today, and one person died. But that feels like nothing compared to knowing that lunatics are once again politicians and that people are capable of such hatred, again.

* B92 (Serbian radio station whose offices were attacked) blog - Vojo's viagra: same old, same old
It may be just me, but there seems to be something inherently wrong with so-called “people’s protests” which are in actual fact not organised by the people themselves, but by those working in state institutions.

Slobo used them to great effect in the late ‘80s, bussing in the confused, ignorant and fearful for the yoghurt revolution and similar managed pantomines that collapsed autonomous governments in Vojvodina and Kosovo presaging the years of misery that followed.

Then, as now, the “people’s protests” were orchestrated for internal political gain by conservative demagogues manoeuvring against domestic opponents in a bid to retain power in Belgrade.

****
Attacking US embassies is nothing new, but for a government to post no police to guard it on the most sensitive day in the past seven years, while providing, in effect, the looters with a holiday and free transportation to expedite their activities, must be a first in the annals of anti-Americanism.
I mean, if you want the US embassy sacked, you should have the balls to say so out loud to the crowd, and if you don’t, then this is a case of massive incompetence.


* A Fistful of Euros - The interesting smell of burning embassies

This came at the same time as a government-sponsored mass demonstration against Kosovo’s declaration of independence. (Yes, Serbia still does government sponsored mass demonstrations. It’s a bad old habit that they still haven’t shaken.) The official line is that the two events were completely unrelated, and indeed the US and Croatian embassies were a couple of kilometers away from the center of the demonstration. On the other hand, there’d already been embassy attacks earlier in the week — the Slovene embassy was broken into and looted on Monday — and the Americans, at least, had pre-emptively evacuated their embassy and asked for increased police protection.

In A Land Far Far Away

On this, the eve of Kosovo's "independence"*, I feel the need:

first, to post the map of former Yugoslavia so my family and friends can see how far away Slovenia is from the drama


Look Mom, look Pop, no danger!

AND
secondly, to post some educational links about the situation for your leisurely perusal:

• Kosovo on Wikipedia
• Doug's (only slightly dated) summary of Kosovo's current situation
• Recent brief thoughts from Doug on A Fistful of Euros
• Recent educational discussion on Pengovsky
• Dr. Filomena's poll
• New Kosovareport

Knowing is Growing, peoples!


*I am tempted to post a link to the Merriam-Webster definition of independence, but I don't want to have any fur fly. I'll stand here on the safe sidelines for now.