Balkans

THE HAGUE, The Netherlands The war crimes trial against former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic will not start before September, tribunal Judge Ian Bonomy said on Wednesday (July 1st). Karadzic, however, rejected and said the date is too soon because reviewing materials related to the case would take “several months”.

ATHENS, Greece A strong earthquake registering 5.9 on the Richter scale was registered south of the island of Crete on Wednesday (July 1st). The epicentre was 30km deep in the Mediterranean Sea, about 450km southeast of Athens. A second quake, registering 4.5, occurred several minutes later. No injuries or damage …

WASHINGTON, United State Democracy watchdog Freedom House said on Tuesday (June 30th) that democratic development in Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia and Albania is stable, while a drop is seen in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). In its 13th report on “Nations in Transit”, the organisation described 2008 as a generally …

BELGRADE, Serbia Though voting is more than four months away, President Boris Tadic said on Wednesday (July 1st) no protections are in place for the Serb minority to participate in Kosovo’s November local elections. Nor, he said, would there be any guarantee that Serbs would have any legitimacy in Kosovo …

THE HAGUE, The Netherlands Prosecutors from Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Croatia and Serbia arrived at the UN war crimes tribunal Wednesday (July 1st) for a six-month programme in which they will work alongside colleagues from The Hague. Welcoming them, tribunal chief prosecutor Serge Brammertz described it as a “new phase” …

Albania’s Democratic Party claimed victory in Sunday’s parliamentary elections with 99 per cent of the ballots counted. “Our coalition was certified by the people,” Prime Minister Sali Berisha, head of the party, told a cabinet meeting on Wednesday. “EU integration will be the most important issue in the next four …

The abrupt resignation of Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader, continued to draw praise but also much condemnation, both from Croatia and abroad. “Despite Mr. Sanader’s upbeat comments, he leaves the country in its worst economic state since the devastating 1991 war,” reported the Wall Street Journal on Thursday.

Pristina’s Municipal Assembly is to hand five hectares of prime real estate to the US for a new embassy building, according to an agreement signed between the two parties on Wednesday. The city decided to give this land to the US government as a sign of gratitude for the country’s …

Bosnia’s Federation government gets a new prime minister, but as the entity government faces economic crisis and protests over planned social benefits cuts that threaten to bring it down, the only options are bankruptcy or political suicide, Anes Alic comments for ISN Security Watch. The Bosniak- (Bosnian Muslim) and Bosnian …

Nations in Transit for 2008, a report published by the US-based rights watchdog Freedom House, has criticised Albania for failing to uphold the separation of powers between politics and the law. The report says the separation of powers between the legislature, executive, and judiciary remains fragile and is intermittently damaged …