Local elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Citizens vote against corruption and nationalism Criminal ethno-clans have dominated the political scene in Bosnia and Herzegovina for three decades, and the destructive ideologies of the 1990s have never been placed ad acta. Many voters discovered the power of their vote at the local elections, in order to reject the ruling parties in urban centres. In Sarajevo, an alternative block won. The Serbian secessionists surrounding the obstructive member of the BiH Presidency Milorad Dodik suffered a defeat in their stronghold Banja Luka. The voting was accompanied by massive electoral fraud. By Marion Kraske
Attacks on Bosnia and Herzegovina „Croatia and Serbia are putting peace at risk“ Interview with Prof. Christian Schwarz-Schilling, Former Federal Minister and former EU High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina The interview was conducted by Marion Kraske, Head of the Office of the Heinrich Böll Foundation in Sarajevo
25 Years Since the Srebrenica Genocide Don’t deny! Remember! They talk about that time, about the summer of 1995, when they were children, when they had to pack their toys hastily in order to get themselves into safety from the Serbian troops. The attacks, the fears – the world seemed to stand still for them then. They talk about how it felt at that time when the then so-called UN safe area no longer provided any protection. How it felt when the hopes to get protection from the internationals from the hatred of the advancing Serbs, dissolved into thin air. At that time, when the international community folded in face of the violence overrunning the whole of Bosnia since 1992 and ultimately culminating in Srebrenica. At some point, as reported by one of the survivors, she understood that she did not have a father anymore. By Marion Kraske
Crimes and Their Trivialisation. Why the Denial of Genocide is Destroying Our Democracies The awarding of the Nobel Prize to Peter Handke has far-reaching consequences: His denial of the greatest atrocities which were committed after World War Two on European soil, is likely to disrupt the foundation of our democracies. Values and standards of a civilisational coexistence have been weakened. Thus, anything seems possible again: Human dignity is once more violable. By Marion Kraske
Karađorđevo and the territorial-ethnic division of Bosnia and Herzegovina Analysis It has been difficult up until today to convey in the Croatian public that Croats and Serbs were at war in Croatia, and at the same time supposedly collaborated in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The legitimation of the “Homeland War“ was endangered. Thus, it is no wonder that nationalist ideologists in Croatia strictly reject agreements between Tuđman and Serbia. But, the atmosphere of that time in Croatia and Serbia is documented in the press. By Erich Rathfelder