Balkanblog: current issues in the Balkans
Here is the latest news on the situation in the Balkans. Check the chronology for a complete overview of the conflict between 1991-2001.
Remains of Srebrenica victims exhumed
28 Aug 2010 - Forensic experts said they exhumed remains of 54 Srebrenica victims. Bosnia's Institute for Missing People said the remains were exhumed from three mass graves under a garbage dump site. Five more graves were found at the site.
Source: Associated Press.
Germany warned Serbia not to challenge EU over Kosovo
26 Aug 2010 - German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle urged Serbia to stop challenging Kosovo's independence and instead focus on a bid to join the European Union. Westerwelle said this during a visit to the Balkans. Germany disagrees with a resolution Serbia has presented to the UN General Assembly calling for further talks on Kosovo's status. Westerwelle also warned Serbia to avoid confrontation with the EU over Kosovo.
Serbia indicated they would not back down.
Source: Canadian Press.
Bosnia arrests former police officer for role in Srebrenica massacre
26 Aug 2010 - The state prosecutor's office in Bosnia Herzegovina said 37-year-old former Bosnian police officer Dragan Neskovic was arrested in the northeastern town of Bijeljina. He was arrested for his alleged role in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre.
Source: Voice of America.
KFOR hands over guarding monastery to Kosovo
25 Aug 2010 - KFOR officially transferred the task of guarding the Serb orthodox monastery in Gracanica to the Kosovo police. The Serb Orthodox Church opposed the decision. The Gracanica monastery is one of the most important Orthodox sites in Kosovo.
EULEX assigns judges to Mitrovica
23 Aug 2010 - EULEX deputy chief Roy Reeve said seven judges were assigned to the court in northern Kosovska Mitrovica. The judges were assigned in order to reduce the backlog in 20,000 unresolved cases. Reeve said that the EU is trying to form trial chambers made up of Serb, ethnic Albanian and EULEX judges. The court in Kosovska Mitrovica has not operated at full capacity for over two years.
Former UNPROFOR observer: Bosnian Serb Army shelled Sarajevo
18 Aug 2010 - A former senior UNPROFOR observer, British Lieutenant-Colonel Richard Mole, discussed the siege of Sarajevo. He said that during the fall of 1992, the army of the Bosnia Serb Army (BSA) shelled the city repeatedly and that about 15 people a day were killed.
Karadzic has repeatedly called the shelling of Sarajevo a "myth" designed to draw NATO into the conflict.
ICTY judges have granted Karadzic two weeks to study video and audio footage that was seized from Ratko Mladic. Originally, Karadzic had requested a three week break.
Croatia denied secret war crimes list
16 Aug 2010 - B92 reported that it is believed in Serbia that Croatia may have a secret list of war crimes suspects apart from the list that was made public July 17. Croatia denied the existence of a secret list.
The public list contains the names of 1,534 people. Of those, 538 have been convicted for war crimes, 563 charged, while 433 of them are under an investigation.
Bosnia charges four Serbs with genocide
14 Aug 2010 - In Bosnia, four former Serb soldiers were charged with genocide for their alleged role in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre. They are accused of killing 800 Bosnian Muslim men and boys outside Srebrenica. Three of the Serbs were arrested in February, and one was arrested in April.
No evidence yet of mass grave in Serbia
12 Aug 2010 - A suspected mass grave site near the town of Raska has not resulted in any forensic evidence. However, the investigation will continue as the sample may have been taken from the wrong location.
See:
Serbia: mass grave investigation ordered (May 18, 2010)
Mass grave discovered in Serbia (May 11, 2010)
Source: B92
Serbia's Kosovo resolution "an insult"
02 Aug 2010 - B92 reported that the daily Blic quoted sources with the EU saying that Serbia's draft resolution on Kosovo submitted July 28 was being considered "an insult". It also says that Serbia needs to be careful on how to proceed at the meeting of the UN General Assembly in New York next month. Blic was quoted as saying: "International law and diplomacy experts are warning that Belgrade has entered a critical zone by its speedy submission of the resolution, where it endangered the relations with strategic partners, the EU above all."
Serbia submitted Kosovo draft resolution to UN
28 Jul 2010 - Serbia submitted a draft resolution on Kosovo to the UN General Assembly. Serbia is not satisfied with the opinion by the International Court of Justice regarding Kosovo and argues that Kosovo's unilateral secession is not an acceptable manner of solving territorial disputes.
The UN court ruled that Kosovo declaration of independence was not in violation of international law because there is no international law prohibiting it. It did not touch on the subject of whether Kosovo had the right to secede. The court argued that it answered precisely what Serbia had asked for.
The UN General Assembly will meet in September in New York.
Kosovo central bank chief remains in custody
25 Jul 2010 - Koovo's central bank chief has been remanded into custody for one month, says EULEX. He was arrested July 21, 2010.
Source: B92.
Dodik: ICJ opinion opens road to RS secession
25 Jul 2010 - Republic of Srpska prime minister Milorad Dodik said that the ICJ opinion on Kosovo hypothetically opens the possibility for RS to secede from Bosnia-Herzegovina.
In an interview with daily Danas he said that ICJ's opinion also shows that there is a strong political front working against Serbia, especially the countries that have recognized Kosovo’s independence.
Italy FM: Serbia and Kosovo must continue dialog
25 Jul 2010 - Italian foreign minister Franco Frattini said that now that ICJ’s opinion has been given, Serbia and Kosovo must continue talks.
He added that ICJ’s decision clearly states that Kosovo must remain a unique case and that it cannot cause a domino effect, since such an event would lead to a crisis of international relations.
Kosovo to submit UN membership request
24 Jul 2010 - Kosovo president Fatmir Sejdiu said that Kosovo intends to submit a request for United Nations membership in 2011.
July 23, the Kosovo assembly adopted a declaration that says: "The ICJ has opened the road for new recognitions of the Republic of Kosovo and the decision has also opened Kosovo’s road towards regional and Euro-Atlantic integrations.” It "supports the call of the EU for the start of dialogue regarding practical questions between Kosovo and Serbia, but excludes all possibilities of negotiations regarding Kosovo’s status."
Source: B92.
