All the news

Scorpio Ltd, a company committed to the community

30/11/2010 -  Kaela Venuto

It is not an NGO nor an association, but, developing from the grass roots with great enthusiasm, it has both rare entrepreneurial spirit and strong civic commitment. Scorpio is a private firm, a so-called Limited Company, but it is strongly community minded

Vukovar, 19 years later

29/11/2010 -  Nicole Corritore Vukovar

On 18 November 1991, the siege of Vukovar, Croatia, ended with an agreement between besiegers and besieged to evacuate civilians and respect the Third Geneva Convention on treatment of prisoners of war. Neither promise would be kept. Our report on the memorial day

A modern Odyssey: On the trail of Mussa Khan

26/11/2010 -  Paolo Martino Van

Months, years, constantly moving. Rejected, invisible, on the margins. This is the destiny of the Afghan muhajirins, on a tenacious search for the dream called “Europe”. Starting from today, with the episodes of the “Mussa Khan” blog, we are going to tell their odyssey through Turkey, Greece and Italy, until the Ostiense Station in Rome

Constructing the Other

25/11/2010 -  Azra Nuhefendić

Azra Nuhefendić, writer, journalist and correspondent for Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso won the journalistic prize "Writing for Central and Eastern Europe". We publish her speech for the ceremony held in Vienna on 22 November 2010

The Hague: ex-Bosniak Politician Speaks of 1992 Prijedor Takeover

24/11/2010 -  Velma Saric

Giving evidence in the trial against former senior police officials Stojan Zupljanin and Mico Stanisic, accused of crimes like extermination, persecution and cruel treatment of non-Serb civilians, Mevludin Sejmenovic, an ex-Bosniak politician, testified this week about the 1992 takeover of power in Prijedor by the Serbian Democratic Party. From IWPR

Čaršijas/çarshijas, ancient markets at the heart of the Balkans

23/11/2010 -  Marjola Rukaj

Traditional meeting points – commercial and trade neighbourhoods of Ottoman origin – have remained much as they were throughout history in many Balkan towns. Now, they represent an authentic barometer for gauging recent social changes and for understanding the Balkans' place in an enlarged Europe

Raspberries, Serbia’s Red Gold

22/11/2010 -  Risto Karajkov Belgrade

Although not exactly famous for it, Serbia is one of the biggest world producers and exporters of raspberries. This trade, which held out even during the Nato bombings now faces the new challenges of globalisation

Macedonia, lustration strikes high

17/11/2010 -  Risto Karajkov Skopje

Macedonia's law on the lustration of public figures compromised by the communist regime has come late. As elsewhere in Eastern Europe it has been used for high-level acts of political revenge. Now it's the Albanian 'hero', and leader of the DUI, Ali Ahmenti's turn

Balkan based organized crime activities gaining ground

11/11/2010 -  Ioannis Michaletos

According to several reports, the criminal organizations in the Balkans are strenghtening their positions and diversifying their activities. The "Balkan routes", traditionally used to smuggle heroin towards Western Europe, are increasingly used to smuggle cocaine and for human trafficking operations. From Bright magazine

The Chechen rebels: portrait of a generation

09/11/2010 -  Majnat Kurbanova

Eleven years after the second war with Russia, a series of violent attacks by the Chechen rebels reminds us that war is raging in the northern Caucasus

Azerbaijan: "Come, vote, elect"

05/11/2010 -  Arzu Geybullayeva Baku

On 7 November Azerbaijan will hold its parliamentary elections, but international observers with the OSCE election observation mission have expressed concerns about a number of issues. Nonetheless, amid a low-key electoral campaign, there are opposition candidates among the choices

Albania and the EU. A European dream?

04/11/2010 -  Marjola Rukaj Tirana

The European dream is strongly rooted in the imagination of Albanian young generations. Tirana's twenty-somethings, who grew up during the identity crisis of the nineties, are sure: Albania's future is in Europe. The European Union (EU) is seen as the solution to every problem, while few question the possible impact of integration in a country that, so far, remains isolated

Bosnia-Herzegovina, the American Friend

04/11/2010 -  Azra Nuhefendić Trieste

My father, Tito and the Americans. The construction of a new, enormous American Embassy in Sarajevo takes the author back on a journey into the past, from the Socialist period to a night in 1995 in Grbavica

Kosovo: Europe Returning Roma to Face Hardship

04/11/2010 -  Human Rights Watch Pristina

According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), Roma and related minority groups deported from Western Europe to Kosovo face discrimination and severe deprivation amounting to human rights abuse. In a report published at end October 2010, HRW asks for an immediate moratorium on forced returns

Tensions Rise After Armenian Dies in Azeri Custody

03/11/2010 -  Jasur Sumerinli - Sara Khojoyan

While Azerbaijan says it captured a spy who committed suicide, Armenians say he was a shepherd and was deliberately killed. From IWPR

Myths of founding and martyrdom: Sabrina Ramet's Dead Kings

02/11/2010 -  Irene Dioli Cervia

Last September, OBC had the chance to hear Sabrina Ramet introduce her paper, “Dead Kings and National Myths: Why Myths of Founding and Martyrdom are Important”, set to be published at the end of 2010 at the CEI International Summer School in Cervia (Ravenna, Italy). Here is what she told us

Serbia: Tourism with an 'eco' mission

02/11/2010 -  Risto Karajkov Belgrado

In times of economic crisis environmental priorities are at risk, threatened by the forces of production. But a young and very active association in Serbia, Ecotourism, is trying to invert this trend by contributing to the country's economy through actions aimed at environmental protection. Our interview to its director

Azerbaijan: Baku Embarks on Military Spending Surge, Seeking Karabakh Peace

29/10/2010 -  Shahin Abbasov Baku

Azerbaijan’s parliament on October 22 approved a military budget of 2.5 billion manats, or about $3.12 billion. That figure is higher than the entire state budget of Baku’s neighbor and longtime foe, Armenia. From EurasiaNet.org

Miljenko Jergovic's Balkans

28/10/2010 -  Azra Nuhefendić

Freedom, politics and wrongs of the past. The Balkans of today and their inheritance from the 90s, an interview with Miljenko Jergovic

Organic agriculture in Albania

26/10/2010 -  Matteo Vittuari

A unique combination of national laws and regional and international cooperation projects have created the conditions for developing organic agriculture in Albania. A further contribution to our report on organic agriculture in South East Europe