It isn’t enough that Mladić’s arrest was one of the international conditions for Serbia. Belgrade will still have to wait a long while before it can enter the European Union. What’s important is that Mladić’s arrest opens the path towards reconciliation and that it’s possible to look into each other’s eyes again. A comment
Mladić's arrest opens a new page for Serbia and for the whole region. On the XXth anniversary since the start of the dissolution of Yugoslavia, a sign that the ex-socialist country's long transition has come to an end. After thousands of victims. Our comment
In Serbia the issue of domestic violence is rarely discussed in public, despite statistics and surveys showing that at least one half of all women in Serbia are subjected to some form of violence. The prevailing traditional patriarchal society considers it a taboo and tends to avoid it. Our analysis
Six years ago, the Queer Beograd collective organised the first Queer Beograd Festival. Its story is a good chance to talk about LGBT and queer movements in Serbia – their goals, their fortune, and their imaginary
The "pirotski kačkavalj" is much more than a mere cheese, it is the symbol of ancient traditions and an integrated economy that has shaped the Pirot region, in South Serbia, for centuries. A symbol currently at risk, due to emigration from the area and economic difficulties, but one which the students of the local "Mlekarska Škola" are trying to preserve
Twenty years ago, in Belgrade, the first huge demonstration against Milošević’s regime. This date is the start of our dossier on the 20 years since the beginning of the war in Yugoslavia. The story of who was still a little girl then but who, for the first time on the 9th of March of 1991, demonstrated for a different Serbia
Former Serbian police chief Vlastimir Djordjevic was convicted of all five counts against him at the Hague, including responsibility for the murder of more than 700 ethnic Albanian civilians during the late Nineties conflict in Kosovo. From IWPR
After the European Commission recently included Albania and Bosnia-Herzegovina in the so-called “white list” of Schengen, Kosovo remains the last territory in the Balkans whose citizens must get a visa to travel to countries in the Schengen Area
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
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
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
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
Quality, rigour, information – these are the key factors in the development of organic agriculture. OBC's overview of organic agriculture in the Balkans starts in Serbia: an interview with Nikola Damljanović, independent expert and inspector for BioAgricert
Violence at the Gay Pride in Belgrade and then the dramatic events at the Italy-Serbia football game. “Who gave you the right to define yourselves as the defenders of my Serbia? Who are you, anyway?” A commentary from our correspondent in Belgrade
Memories, many. Regrets, none. The desire not to give up and a great will to look to the future. Ten years after October 5, 2000, historical date that marks the fall of Slobodan Milošević’s regime, reflections from our correspondent in Belgrade
There are 911 Unesco heritage sites in the world. 18 of these in the Western Balkans. From the open plains on the island of Hvar to the Mostar Bridge, archaelogical sites in Albania and the Durmitor glaciers in Montenegro: a review
On 9 September, the UN General Assembly adopted a compromise resolution on Kosovo submitted by Serbia and supported by the EU. Kosovo Serbs seem to be confused over what Belgrade’s move actually means, and if this is going to change something in their everyday life
“I always tell my students that, when sitting an exam, they have to answer the question that has been set rather than one that they feel comfortable with.” Stefan Wolff comments on the main conclusions of the International Court of Justice's Advisory Opinion on Kosovo’s Declaration of Independence
A party in which everything (and nothing) has changed. It is the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), today the pillar of a pro-European government, yesterday Milošević’s political creature. At its helm is Ivica Dačić, the man who succeeded in bringing the socialists back to the center of the Serbian political system without explicitly disowning the legacy of the 90s
Milosevic, war, the Kosovo issue: Strongly negative images associated with Serbia since the 1990s. Now, an unavoidable task is (re)branding the country. Sport and culture slowly change some things, but institutions still struggle to elaborate a consistent strategy
The New Wave in the former Yugoslavia: the social, cultural, and political coordinates of an underground phenomenon transcending the former republics.An interview with Dragica Vukadinović, curator of the exhibition "New Wave at the Skc (Student Cultural Centre) 1977-1989". The Belgrade Scene
Wrongdoings by the former secretary of the Kosovo Eparchy Archbishop Artemije are at the root of a scandal that dates back years and is bringing political hostility and conflicts of interest to the surface inside the local hierarchy of the Serbian Orthodox Church
After 13 hours of heated debate, the Serbian Parliament approved (127 yes votes from 250 deputies) a resolution condemning the Srebrenica massacre. The document contains apologies to the victims' families, but does not use the word “genocide”. A commentary
Serbia is rich in geothermal fluids, a source of clean energy that could be tapped with additional knowledge and better tools. A consortium of Tuscan municipalities and Serbian local institutions are working together to make some progress
Serbia's law on the confiscation of property deriving from crime, outlined in collaboration with the Italian anti-mafia Department and in force for about a year, has started to produce some results. But what does the term “organized crime” mean in Serbia? Here's what the experts say
The leak in January of the International Civilian Office (ICO) draft strategy for northern Kosovo stirred intense reactions. The plan, which foresees a complex net of new bodies and the "closure" of the Mitrovica office of UNMIK, has been rejected by Serbs as a new try to implement the 2007 Ahtisaari plan
After an 18-year interruption of service, the Belgrade-Sarajevo train line was recently re-opened for the first time since the beginning of the war. The first train to travel on the line was an engine pulling three carriages: one belonging to Republika Srpska Railroads, one from the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the third from Serbia. There were 15 passengers on board
''Yug'', the biggest military base in Serbia, was officially inaugurated in the Municipality of Bujanovac last November. The huge, well-equipped base was built to facilitate the training of Serbian army units, even though the local Albanian community fiercely criticized its construction
The work of the Office of the War Crimes Prosecutor in Belgrade, public opinion, and the initiative of a group of NGOs to create a regional truth commission. An interview with Bogdan Ivanisevic, consultant of the International Center for Transitional Justice
A journey to Kragujevac, the home town of Zastava - the “Made in Yugoslavia” car. The expectations of citizens and workers in the “Yugoslav Turin” in the wake of the recent agreement between Belgrade and the Fiat Group to establish the new Fiat Automobili Serbia in that city
