Balkans

Belgium terrorism convict arrested in Bulgaria

A man convicted of terrorism in Belgium has been detained as he entered Bulgaria through its south-eastern border with Turkey, prosecutors announced on Thursday.

Border police and state security agents intercepted the man on Wednesday in a special operation, the prosecution said.

He is “sought in relation to a 20-year jail sentence for terrorism handed to him by a court in an EU country” and a terrorism sentence of nine years and five months in Turkey, it said.

Grappling with Bosnia’s Dual Crises

What is behind the current crisis in Bosnia?

Bosnia and Herzegovina (commonly referred to as Bosnia) is facing a dual challenge that threatens to undo the agreement that ended a war between Serbs, Croats and Bosnian Muslims (Bosniaks). The war was marked by the worst atrocities on European soil since World War II, with more than 100,000 people killed and more than two million displaced. By way of talks in Dayton, Ohio, the U.S. brokered peace agreements that brought the fighting to a close and established a Bosnian state composed of two self-governing regions: the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Republika Srpska. Republika Srpska is divided into eastern and western halves, which are joined at the centre by the Brčko autonomous region.

Mutiny in Serbia: How a State Security Unit’s Rebellion Went Unpunished

In November 2001, the Serbian State Security Service’s Special Operations Unit staged a mutiny and set up roadblocks. The failure to punish the instigators of the armed revolt would have deadly consequences for the country’s prime minister.

“The commander ordered that the Communication Centre will no longer receive calls,” said a note entered at 5.10pm on November 9, 2001 in the daily log of the Communication Centre in Kula, the headquarters of Serbia’s State Security Special Operations Unit, the JSO.

Bosniak Leader’s Sudden Death Creates Vacuum in Sandzak

The sudden death of Bosniak strongman Muamer Zukorlic has shocked the mainly Muslim region, which straddles Serbia and Montenegro, and where he left a unique mark.

One of the largest crowds that the town of Novi Pazar in southwest Serbia has ever seen gathered on Sunday to say farewell to Bosniak leader Muamer Zukorlic.

Viktor Orban’s Visit to Bosnian Serb Strongman Puzzles Observers

The Hungarian premier’s weekend meeting with Bosnian Serb political leader Milorad Dodik has triggered speculation about possible private business deals or secret negotiations about the fate of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Viktor Orban’s meeting with the Serb member of Bosnia’s tripartite presidency, Milorad Dodik, on Saturday has continued to puzzle experts and trigger speculation among Hungarian and Bosnian officials about the motives for the Hungarian Prime Minister’s visit to the Balkan country.

Gruevski’s Carefree Days in Hungary Perhaps Nearing an End

A change in government in Hungary could spell the end of a comfortable exile for North Macedonia’s fugitive ex-prime minister, but extraditing Nikola Gruevski would take more than political will alone.

Afugitive from justice in his home country of North Macedonia, and a political asylum seeker in Hungary under the protection of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban: for the past three years, that’s been the life of former authoritarian prime minister Nikola Gruevski, who fled a jail sentence in North Macedonia in 2018.

Turkey’s Pragmatic Policy in the Balkans has its Limits

The Recent crisis in Bosnia has highlighted the adaptability – and limitations – of Turkish policy in the Balkans.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently hosted in Ankara Milorad Dodik, the Serbian member of Bosnia’s tripartite presidency, to discuss the political crisis in Bosnia triggered by Dodik’s threat to abandon state institutions. At the beginning of November, Bosnia’s Bosniak leader, Bakir Izetbegovic, visited Erdogan in Istanbul to address the same issue.

Russia Establishes Its Modus Operandi In Bosnia and Herzegovina – Analysis

The latest session of the UN Security Council only reaffirmed once again the crisis caused in Bosnia and Herzegovina by the actions of the Serb Member of the BiH Presidency Milorad Dodik (SNSD) with the assistance of the Russian Federation. At the same time, no concrete solutions and conclusions were offered nor attempts made to prevent separatist actions aimed to annul the Dayton[2] peace agreement and destroy the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina. There is a silent generally accepted opinion that “an armed conflict of low intensity is possible in BiH”, which is an indication that the strongest global powers have already developed their military plans as well. Once again, aconflict in BiH would be an international conflict- this time with the assistance of NATO and the Russian Federation. In fact, the prolongation of introduction of concrete measures that would provide for political elimination and criminal processing of Milorad Dodik and several of his “executors” is a proof of the seriousness of the situation. Bosnia and Herzegovina could become a new hotspot, which could endanger the security of entire Europe.

Political Exhaustion Weighs on Voters in Third Bulgaria Poll

While the November 14 presidential election looks like a shoo-in for the incumbent Radev, the general election on the same day looks harder to call

Bulgaria is closing an unprecedented year: by the end of 2021, its citizens will have voted in no less than four elections: inconclusive general elections in April and in July, yet another general election on November 14 and, on the same day, presidential elections scheduled by default for 2021.

In Serbia, Justice Gets an Early Release

The release of the convicted war criminal Sreten Lukic and his return to Serbia highlights how the Belgrade authorities are still doing nothing to prosecute other high-ranking officials for wartime crimes in Kosovo and the subsequent cover-up.

Isaw him only once – in court. But I tracked the results of his work in bones and graves.

Sreten Lukic, Serbia’s head of police for Kosovo during the 1998-99 war, was granted early release from prison last month. He has returned to live in Serbia after serving two-thirds of a 20-year sentence for murder, persecution, deportation, and forcible transfer as crimes against humanity.