Balkans

PRISTINA, Kosovo EULEX has started exhuming bodies in 12 locations in a bid to identify about 2,000 people missing since the 1999 conflict, EULEX spokeswoman Kristiina Herodes said on Saturday (May 2nd). Ten bodies will undergo analysis at the Office of Missing Persons and Forensics. EULEX said it cannot reveal …

THE HAGUE, The Netherlands Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic asked The Hague war crimes tribunal (ICTY) on Friday (May 1st) to recall French Judge Michele Picard in his case for war crimes and genocide.

VIENNA Croatia could join the EU in 2011 or 2012, Austrian Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger said on Saturday (May 2nd) in an interview with Austrian newspaper Tiroler Tageszeitung.

Serbs continued their protests on Monday in Kosovo’s northern town of Mitrovica over the reconstruction of ethnic-Albanian houses. Kosovo’s Police has used tear gas as some 100 local Serbs were to approaching the neighborhood where Albanian houses are being reconstructed, said Kosovo’s Police spokesperson, Besim Hoti. The protest started at …

The Chief ICTY Prosecutor begins a three-day visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina on Monday. During his stay in Sarajevo Serge Brammertz will meet local and international officials and representatives of non-governmental organizations, as part of preparing a regular report to be submitted to the Security Council of the United Nations. …

Serbia’s Foreign Minister has suggested that Belgrade should host of the 50th anniversary of the Non-Aligned Movement, since the movement’s first summit was held in the then Yugoslav capital in September, 1961. Such a anniversary would be ”an occasion for bringing back the ideals and values of the Non-Alligned Movement …

Inter-parliamentary relations have been agreed between Kosovo and Croatia during a two-day visit to Zagreb by Kosovo’s speaker of parliament Jakup Krasniqi. Krasniqi met his counterpart, Croatian Parliament speaker Luka Bebic, on Wednesday. He thanked Croatia for its recognition of Kosovo’s independence and support for the country’s development.

Concern is growing among locals and international representatives over escalating Serb protests in Kosovo’s northern town of Mitrovica, which have now gone on for several days, and have forced the EU’s Rule of Law Mission, EULEX, and NATO troops to respond with tear gas and stun grenades. EULEX used tear …

The two largest religious communities in Macedonia are so powerful they could breach the state’s constitutional secularism, a UN official visiting Skopje said on Wednesday. The Macedonian Orthodox Church, MPC, and the Islamic community have a substantial influence over Macedonian politics, the special reporter on freedom of religion and belief …

An alleged secret Greek document, disclosing Greek plans for suppressing Macedonian identity in its territory was revealed on Wednesday, local media report. The detailed document dating back to February 1982, is said to be issued by the then Greek National Security Service chief Dimitris Kapelaris, and was unveiled by the …