The following media round-up on international, legal and foreign policy issues from around the Balkans for the period from 12 January 2024 to 19 January 2024.
Guernica 37 will provide weekly media updates with a focus on Bosnia and Hercegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia. Should you wish to contribute or submit a media summary, opinion piece or blog, please send to Ned Vucijak at nenadv@guernica37.com for consideration.
Croatia - 18 January 2024
Journalists’ union and opposition slate government’s push for MPs to vote on controversial law at the same time as an uncontroversial law on femicide, calling it a 'cowardly' move; see here.
Bosnia - 18 January 2024
Former Security Minister Selmo Cikotic, who was a Bosnian Army officer during the war, is charged with failing to prevent the torture and murder of Croat military prisoners in Bugojno in 1993; see here.
Albania - 18 January 2024
Albania’s constitutional court is reviewing the asylum deal signed with Italy. Under the agreement, claims for asylum in the European Union will be processed externally on Albanian soil; see here.
Greece - 18 January 2024
Greek police have identified seven people suspected of involvement in the murders of leading members of the Greek mafia in what looks like a bloody inter-mafia feud; see here.
Kosovo - 18 January 2024
Two police investigators told the trial for the assassination of opposition politician Oliver Ivanovic that they didn’t see any evidence-tampering after they arrived at the crime scene in North Mitrovica in January 2018; see here.
Bosnia - 18 January 2024
After watching South Africa’s case against Israel at the UN court last week accusing the state of committing genocide in its military campaign in Gaza, Bosnian war survivor Arnesa Buljušmić-Kustura felt compelled to act; see here.
Bosnia - 18 January 2024
Secretary of State Blinken accuses Bosnian HDZ leader Dragan Covic of putting important natural gas pipeline with Croatia at risk – saying his 'obvious corruption and self-dealing could jeopardise Bosnia and Herzegovina's EU path'; see here.
Kosovo - 15 January 2024
In 1999, two UK forensics experts were asked to make a secret trip to examine the bodies of a Kosovo Albanian family allegedly killed by paramilitary boss Zeljko ‘Arkan’ Raznatovic. On the 24th anniversary of Arkan’s own murder, the crime remains unsolved; see here.
Bosnia - 15 January 2024
Marketing company Mania designated under the UK’s Bosnia and Herzegovina sanctions regime for activity which threatens peace and stability. Mania were awarded a lucrative contract to organise illegal celebrations for Republika Srpska Day in direct contravention of the country’s constitution and court rulings; see here.
Serbia - 12 January 2024
When Serbian opposition politician Nikola Sandulović posted a video apologising for his country’s war crimes in Kosovo, secret police arrested him and beat him up, according to his lawyers and family; see here.