Balkans

On Migrants, Slovakia Is Stuck Between a Rock (Czechia) and a Hard Place (Hungary)

Thousands of migrants are trapped in Slovakia as the Czechs prevent them from crossing into their territory, while Hungary refuses to take back those that crossed from there into Slovakia. The government is struggling to come up with a solution.

On the balcony of one of several blocks of flats in the Slovak town of Kúty, a major transport hub near the Czech border, a lady waters her potted plants. A calm day, yet what worries her and other residents are their new neighbours – unsettled migrants, mostly from Syria.

The Scorpions: Paramilitaries Or Serbian State-Controlled Unit? – Analysis

Witnesses told the Hague Tribunal that the notorious Scorpions unit was controlled by the Serbian Interior Ministry during the Yugoslav wars. Can an in-depth analysis of the court’s archives establish the truth?

Material in the archives of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, ICTY indicates that the Scorpions unit, whose members committed war crimes during the 1990s wars, were part of the Serbian Interior Ministry.

Row over militarization of Greek islands peaks with Turkish warning

Mevlut Cavusoglu has stepped up rhetoric over Aegean islands that Ankara says should be free of Greek arms.

Turkey’s feud with neighbor and fellow NATO member Greece resurfaced Tuesday as Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu threatened to “do whatever is necessary” unless Athens reverses the militarization of its islands off the Turkish coastline. 

Dishonourable Consul: When Albanian Diplomatic Tool Becomes Cover for Crime

Honorary consuls are supposed to foster cooperation between two countries. In several cases involving Albania, they have dabbled in crime too.

On February 27, 2013, the then Sheraton hotel in Tirana was illuminated in the colours of the Mexican and Albanian flags. Inside, a band played mariachi music, women wore traditional ‘huipil’ dresses and waiters sported sombreros.

Kurdistan and Kosovo

A recent blast hit the center of Istanbul resulting in several casualties. The Turkish authorities were very quick to announce the identity of the suicide person: A Kurdish woman in close relation with the Kurdistan Workers Party. Nevertheless, this terror act in Istanbul, followed by a new Turkish military intervention (aggression) in North Syria, once again opened the “Kurdish Question” which is in direct connection with the question of Kurdistan’s independence and terrorism as the political instrument in the realization of the national projects and ultimate goals.

2021 Report on International Religious Freedom: North Macedonia

Executive Summary

The constitution prohibits religious discrimination and provides for freedom of religion and religious expression. It grants equality before the law for all individuals regardless of religious belief. The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) and other government ministries discussed amendments to the 2007 law governing religion that would enable larger religious communities to acquire the status of “legal entities,” but the MOJ again postponed consultations with religious groups on the amendments. On February 18, the Islamic Religious Community in North Macedonia (IRC) publicly condemned the government’s official registration of the Islamic Salafi community in December 2020, saying it would be detrimental to Muslim unity. IRC leaders said relations with the government improved following a meeting in January between IRC leader Reis Shaqir Fetahu and President Stevo Pendarovski, but that some government ministries and the judiciary continued to treat the organization unfavorably. The Skopje Appellate Court upheld a lower court’s rejection of the registration application of the Orthodox Archbishopric of Ohrid (OAO) because the application had not been submitted by the deadline.