Balkans

Karadzic demands compensation for “kidnapping”

THE HAGUE, Netherlands Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic says he was kidnapped by Serb authorities and held without any communication for several days after he was detained in July 2008, according to a document released Wednesday (August 5th) by the UN war crimes tribunal. Karadzic, 64, insists on receiving …

Read More »

Inzko warns BiH officials on state property issue

SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) High Representative Valentin Inzko is warning BiH officials that he will consider alternative measures to guarantee the inventory of state property unless the working group responsible for this does its job and collects the necessary documents. Inzko said in a letter published Wednesday (August 5th) …

Read More »

Palic remains ID-ed

SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina Forensic experts announced Wednesday (August 5th) that they have identified the remains of Colonel Avdo Palic, former commander of Bosniak forces in the Zepa “safe” area. Palic went missing in July 1995, at the end of the Bosnian conflict, after Bosnian Serb forces over-ran the enclave.

Read More »

Moderate earthquake hits southern Greece

ATHENS, Greece An earthquake measuring 4.5 on the Richter scale rocked southern Greece early Thursday (August 6th). The epicentre was about 50km north of Kalamata on the Peloponnese island and about 165km southeast of Athens. No injuries or damage was reported.

Read More »

Identification of Palic’s Remains Raises Questions

It took the International Commission for Missing Persons, ICMP, eight years to identify the remains of Avdo Palic, a Bosnian Army colonel from Zepa. Interviews which BIRN’s-Justice Report held with Palic’s wife Esma, ICMP and other officials, shed more light on the controversy.

Read More »

Macedonian court sentence sparks row with Bulgaria

Skopje/Sofia – A diplomatic row over a prison sentence Macedonia handed to a Bulgarian national could signal growing ethnic tensions and further burden Skopje’s already stalled bid to join the EU and NATO, media said Thursday in both countries. Macedonia recently sentenced 23-year-old mother-of-two Spaska Mitrova to three months in …

Read More »

Sejdiu calls on Serbs to participate in Kosovo elections

During a visit to two villages in the Leposavich municipality on August 5, Kosovo president Fatmir Sejdiu called on Serbs to participate in local elections, Bulgarian news agency quoted Tanyug agency as saying. Serb participation would contribute to a better future for the republic, Sejdiu was quoted as saying.

Read More »

Islamic Leader’s Kosovo Visit Sparks Controversy

A three-day visit to Kosovo by the influential leader of the Islamic Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mustafa Ceric, is proving controversial Describing the visit as promoting the “destabilisation of the region”, Milorad Dodik, the premier of Bosnia’s Republika Srpska entity, stressed that Bosnia has not recognised Kosovo’s independence.

Read More »