News

Carla Del Ponte, former Head of the Prosecutor's Office of the International Criminal Tribunal of the Hague, comments on the position of the defendant and on the possible development of the case. Interview

Now that Ratko Mladić has been arrested and extradited to the Hague, Serbia needs to come to terms with a history the country has not yet dared to deal with. An interview with Nataša Kandić, director of Belgrade's Humanitarian Law Centre

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

In Skopje the construction of a church has increased hostility between the ethnic groups living in the Macedonian capital. Behind the clashes and protests hide the different political agendas of VMRO and DUI, the two ruling parties. An example of how the political leadership's behavior can contribute to the escalation of inter-ethnic tensions

After the violent riots on January 21^st, fear reigns in the streets of Tirana. Many fear a new 1997 and the return to a past that seemed gone. Meanwhile, premier Berisha and Edi Rama, leader of the main opposition party, do not seem intent upon negotiating a solution to the crisis. An article by our correspondent

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

Leader of the Turkish feminist movement, Fätmagül Berktay has defended the right to university even for those wearing the veil. “The Kemalist constitution let us move forward in society, but it had no effect on domestic violence, widespread in any class and ethnicity. The EU would make us stronger”. Our interview

Half of the migrants resident in Italy comes from Romania, Bulgaria, the Balkans, and non-EU Eastern Europe, not to mention those from Central Europe. But who lives where? Exclusively for Osservatorio sui Balcani e Caucaso, an analysis of the main communities by macro-region

As panic turned to anger following the last front line clash between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces in Nagorno Karabakh, more deaths reported in July rocked the nation. This time, however, Armenian soldiers were apparently killed by their fellow countrymen

In early July, a series of political incidents in Mitrovica resulted in a death and several injured people. After ten years of conflict over Serbian-controlled north Kosovo, the divided city of Mitrovica emerges again on the Kosovo and international political agenda

On 19 February, Ingushetia’s President Yunus-bek Yevkurov held a meeting with local university students. When responding to students’ questions, Yevkurov never tried to deny that this small republic in the Northern Caucasus is stricken with problems

The debacle of Bulgarian European Commissioner Rumyana Zheleva was the first blow to Prime Minister Boyko Borisov's government. Although it is still too early to assess the consequences of Zheleva’s defeat at the national and international levels, the governing party's criteria for choosing its highest-ranking officials should be called into question

Twelve months after the conflict in South Ossetia, tension in the border area is running high again. In reality, Tbilisi does not expect renewal of the hostilities, but there is concern about domestic politics. An article by our correspondent

Already notorious more for its political block voting than even its kitsch and glitzy musical entries, nothing could have prepared anyone for the controversy surrounding the three countries of the South Caucasus in this year's Eurovision Song Contest

The visit of Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan to Azerbaijan healed the wounds opened by the recent Turkish-Armenian rapprochement. Nagorno Karabakh and gas prices were the main issues discussed during the meetings

Young people were arrested while mourning for recently killed fellow students in a Baku university on 10 May, Flower Day in Azerbaijan, also remembered as the birthday of former president Heydar Aliyev

A few days before Easter, the Macedonian constitutional court cancelled a law enacted by the VMRO-DPMNE led government introducing optional religious education in public schools. This act marked the beginning of the fiercest dispute between the executive and highest judiciary institution

Two important Chechen politicians in exile, Bukhari Baraev and Akhmed Zakaev, have announced, one right after the other, their intentions to return to Chechnya soon

Assassinations and violence in the Russian republics of Ingushetia and Dagestan are on the rise. Victims also include two journalists who opposed corrupt politicians and militant Islamic radicals. These are their stories.

Financial markets in the Balkans are cracking under the pressure from the global financial crisis. Tuesday (October 7) was a bad day for the Macedonian stock market. Its index, the MBI 10, plunged by almost 8%. The crisis seems to be only now arriving in the region

On 17 July Mr. Zaev, vice president of the Macedonian social democrats (SDSM) was brought to the Court in Skopje, charged with abuse of office. SDSM and VMRO exchanged accusations: SDSM accused VMRO of dictatorship, VMRO in turn accused SDSM of interfering with the work of judiciary

In Macedonia, sending troops abroad has become business, or rather politics, since everybody understands the political imperative of pleasing Nato and the Eu. Yet, as the country learned recently, with the death of 11 peacekeepers on their way back home, some will never return

Six men were killed and 13 were arrested in action of the special forces of Macedonian police in the village of Brodec, Tetovo region, on the morning of 7 November. The operation, code name "Mountain Storm", which took place in the early morning hours, was completely unexpected

A woman MP was threatened by death, a journalist was battered by police, and parliament had its first fist fight. That is the outcome of the last few days of democracy in Macedonia.

Mr. Buckovski is the first ever former prime minister to appear before a judge and answer to charges, since the Macedonian parliament voted to strip his immunity after a heated debate between mayority and opposition parties