tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70978452012-01-30T19:10:35.506-05:00Analysis, opinions, and a running record of efforts to arrest former Bosnian Serb President Radovan Karadzic.Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2301100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-48248305535776198692008-08-13T11:37:00.002-04:002008-08-13T11:55:46.471-04:00

I am happy to report that since the purpose of this website was fulfilled, I will stop writing here.It has been an interesting journey on this site since 2004. Although I am thrilled with Karadzic's capture, I will miss writing on this site. At some point soon I would like to post again and tell you more about myself and who I am, but first I need to scrub the site to see if anything is on here

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com32tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-26860745573560712592008-08-13T11:33:00.002-04:002008-08-13T11:37:49.041-04:00

One fundamental misunderstanding among recent press reports is why NATO forces did not actively hunt Karadzic from 1995 through 1999. The reason was not because they wanted to honor a deal between Karadzic and Holbrooke. Instead, they did not hunt any ICTY war criminals because of an overly cautious approach that emphasized maintaining order. IFOR / SFOR were worried that an active pursuit would

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-30610470942052092362008-07-31T17:34:00.004-04:002008-07-31T18:14:46.151-04:00

Karadzic made his first appearance today for an arraignment. He deferred entry of his pleas, and indicated that he would represent himself. He is expected to plead not guilty to all charges.Karadzic's statements before the court forshadow his litigation strategy:"According to (the offer from Richard Holbrooke) I had to withdraw from public life, I had to make certain gestures, and in return the

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-46716659998397032432008-07-31T09:09:00.003-04:002008-07-31T09:11:40.693-04:00

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-36472608163285506662008-07-29T12:15:00.002-04:002008-07-29T12:26:56.355-04:00

I worry about the possibility of a major assassination in the next few days. This could target Serbian President Boris Tadic, Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Svetkovic, or even Radovan Karadzic himself. An assassination is most likely to be orchestrated by former Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica and the former Yugoslav Army, intelligence services, and radical Belgrade football hooligan groups who

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-72547902304936471662008-07-25T17:33:00.005-04:002008-07-25T17:48:44.317-04:00

Karadzic as "Dragan Dabic" had a passport and could presumably travel freely by train, car, or air to common destinations from Belgrade. German weekly Der Spiegel (Newsweek equivalent) has new evidence of Karadzic in Vienna. Last year after a murder of a Serb in Vienna, several apartments were raided. In one, the police found a person very similar to Karadzic's current appearance, but failed to

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-29937047153895681592008-07-24T11:09:00.002-04:002008-07-24T11:13:56.132-04:00

About Karadzic's new girlfriend? Here's a pic scanned from a German daily.

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-81908861247752710202008-07-23T20:13:00.001-04:002008-07-23T20:27:24.589-04:00

From British FrictionTV.

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-15161614179995697252008-07-23T19:42:00.002-04:002008-07-23T20:09:05.760-04:00

Wow, the public life really caught me by surprise!When you've written about a subject as often as I have about Karadzic, it's easy to play Nostradamus and pick through past predictions in a way that makes it seem like you knew it all along. Here's the no-bull bottom line:Not surprising - the long grey beard, glasses, long hairSurprising - living in Belgrade, being a minor public figure, losing a

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-19518894908403897372008-07-23T09:20:00.000-04:002008-07-23T09:21:15.520-04:00

http://www.psy-help-energy.com/

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-82330286916127800422008-07-22T17:53:00.005-04:002008-07-22T18:31:34.147-04:00

from Karadzic's newly-discovered website, http://dragandabic.com/:"Dr. Dragan "David" Dabic was born some 60 years ago in a small Serbian village of Kovaci, near Kraljevo. As a young boy he liked to explore nearby forests and mountains, spending a lot of time on Kopaonik mountain where he tended to pick the omnipresent natural and potent medicinal herbs that grew there. As a young man he moved to

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-42217872486095156122008-07-22T16:04:00.005-04:002008-07-22T17:31:11.216-04:00

Karadzic's arrest happened with a tip from an unknown foreign intelligence source to Serbian authorities, who then began to monitor and eventually arrest Karadzic.There are others who, while not directly responsible for his arrest, indirectly contributed so much to his capture. I want to mention three, in no particular order:1) Carla del Ponte. The Swiss former chief prosecutor of the ICTY was

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-55863902095310164532008-07-22T09:20:00.003-04:002008-07-22T09:23:51.177-04:00

He was hiding as a Doctor of alternative medicine, going by the name Dragan Dabic. His appearance is different from the Presidential pictures with his thin frame, long beard, long white hair, and glasses to hide his face. This picture was shown at a Serbian press conference. No indication that Karadzic is ailed by a bad knee or hip. More to come.

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-12569887533073931872008-07-21T20:04:00.004-04:002008-07-21T20:17:17.754-04:00

Experienced broadcasters in news agencies around the world are announcing Radovan Karadžić's arrest, but mumble when it comes time to pronunciate his last name.It is a tough name to pronounce, even as Serbian names go.The correct pronunciation is: "CAR-ah-djits."The most popular pronunciation by Americans and Brits is: "kuh-ROD-itch."The worst pronunciation I've ever heard (from a former Special

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-59957448574481042902008-07-21T19:58:00.002-04:002008-07-21T20:04:46.059-04:00

I began searching for Radovan Karadzic over six years ago. The day we've all been waiting for came today with the news of Karadzic's arrest in Serbia. The world is a better place today than it was yesterday. Those of us interested in international criminal justice sometimes grow weary at the unfairness and impunity that are often the end results of the worst misconduct in the world by some of

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com69tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-71846434910578670062007-10-27T10:32:00.000-04:002007-10-27T11:12:06.749-04:00

My Italian friend found this article in L'Espresso and translated it for me. For whatever reason, Karadzic remains in the public fascination of Europe, while the United States has all but forgotten about him. In case you are wondering about L'Espresso's point of view on Karadzic, the title of this article is "Where Karadzic the Beast is Hiding!" It is from the September 7th 2007 issue of

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-41153098819406397132007-09-30T21:33:00.000-04:002007-09-30T22:07:06.530-04:00

40%, in my opinion. If he is in Russia, he is probably comfortable under the sponsorship of Eduard Limonov and the National Bolshevik Party.After being imprisoned in 2002 for smuggling arms, Limonov in Russia now enjoys greater power and a surge of support as what will be the principle Communist opposition to whoever ends up as Vladimir Putin's handpicked successor. Limonov has comfortable

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-67754712014007357592007-07-20T18:45:00.001-04:002007-07-20T18:53:31.251-04:00

Greetings everyone, it's good to be back with you. In the five months since I've last posted, the blog has turned three years old, the hunt for Karadzic remains mired as a backdrop to other regional issues, and the trailer to the new Karadzic movie has been released.Originally called "Spring Break in Bosnia," the new film by visionary director Richard Shepherd is now called "The Hunting Party."

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-51278490226780480342007-07-20T18:30:00.000-04:002007-07-20T18:33:29.897-04:00

Thanks to Finding Karadzic reader Graeme for passing this interesting article along.SFOR fears Karadžic’s bodyguardsAuthor: Monitor (Podgorica)Uploaded: Monday, 09 July, 2007Commenting on the recent arrest of Vlastimir Ðordevic wanted by The Hague, the independent Montenegrin weekly Monitor points out that the same police force on a number of occasions held in its grasp also Radovan Karadžic and

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-15845178557041580542007-02-20T22:00:00.000-05:002007-02-20T23:19:48.270-05:00

They raided the Karadzic house and interrogated Sasha and Sonja...And Karadzic supporter Radomir Kojic's house.Good to see NATO pressing the Karadzic family, who remain the center of the Karadzic support network. The fact of the raid shows NATO in Bosnia still has a pulse and is still on the PIFWC mission. No word yet on how productive they were.

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1171904224831670292007-02-19T11:52:00.000-05:002007-02-19T11:57:04.853-05:00

Raffi Gregorian is the current Deputy High Representatives in Bosnia. An experience American diplomat, he has been the singular diving force of international pressure against Karadzic so far this year.Here is an excerpt of a Dnevni Avaz interview with Mr. Gregorian about Karadzic:"I am glad that action has been taken – both by the international and the domestic structures – against those accused

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1171903831075781242007-02-19T11:46:00.000-05:002007-02-19T11:50:31.076-05:00

The RS MUP (Interior Ministry) forwarded to SIPA (State Investigation and Protection Agency) and the DGS (State Border Service) a list of 95 persons suspected of being part of the network of helpers of Radovan Karadzic, Ratko Mladic, and Stojan Zupljanin.No surprises; everyone on the list has already been linked to Hague tribunal fugitives or interrogated by NATO or EUFOR.The list includes all

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1171903417862128192007-02-19T11:24:00.000-05:002007-02-19T11:43:37.886-05:00

... possibly.The rumor started when Oslobodjenje reported from an unnamed official of the Bosnian State Investigation and Protection Agency (GROZD): "We got this information by wiretapping a telephone conversation abroad."The Russian embassy in Sarajevo has denied that Karadzic could be in Russia now. But the last couple years have shown that Russian territory can be a relatively comfortable and

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1171902274981420232007-02-19T11:23:00.000-05:002007-02-19T11:24:34.983-05:00

Deputy High Representative Raffi Gregorian said Karadzic family assets should be seized, and believes Bonn powers should remain in place beyond 30 June.

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1171902150054805842007-02-19T11:19:00.000-05:002007-02-19T11:22:30.056-05:00

Here.

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1171901945729697452007-02-19T11:10:00.000-05:002007-02-19T11:19:05.760-05:00

Over the past few months, Bosnia-Herzegovina's Intelligence and Security Agency (OSA), Serbia's Security and Information Agency (BIA), and the RS MUP have been meeting each week in Belgrade to exchange information and intelligence on the movement of war crimes indictees.However, in spite of a more intensive cooperation and search for Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic, there are no results. A

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1170390559212475312007-02-01T23:09:00.000-05:002007-02-01T23:29:19.260-05:00

The last month has brought news of renewed deportations of Bosnian Serb men from the US to Bosnia. The reason? In the last two years, a military intelligence analyst working at the Hague combed all ICTY testimony for names of Bosnian Serb men who may bear a connection to war crimes. The resulting list of 14,000 was handed off to US immigration officials, who have seized several of the men and

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1168987071487166012007-01-16T17:15:00.000-05:002007-01-16T17:37:51.550-05:00

Neretva River and others have posted on the comments made by US Ambassador-at-Large for war crimes Clint Williamson about the Balkan tribunals.Most of what was reported about Williamson's comments are that the ICTY will keep its doors open until 2010 for Karadzic and Mladic. We already knew that.Williamson's most astonishing comment, buried in the west but on front pages in Belgrade and

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1168011634023611832007-01-05T10:39:00.000-05:002007-01-05T10:40:34.040-05:00

I viewed this originally from the Genocide in Bosnia blog, linked at left. A feature video excellently narrated by Ben Anderson, it exposes some of the extreme nationalism that still permeates much of Bosnian-Serbian relations.

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1166999946986337282006-12-24T17:29:00.000-05:002006-12-24T17:39:07.013-05:00

Merry Christmas! Wishing you all the best in 2007. May you have the fortitude and courage to continue grappling with this problem we face.For excellent Balkans reporting, please visit the Neretva River blog, linked at left. The author, Observer, posts frequent and excellent analysis of trends and issues affecting social justice and the Balkans region. Though not newcomers, I would also like to

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com34tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1166485547775891372006-12-18T18:33:00.000-05:002006-12-19T07:03:04.930-05:00

Belgrade's Glas Javnosti has just outed the top 99 aiders and abettors of Karadzic and Mladic. Such a move will doubtlessly put more pressure on these cronies, most of whom are not well known public figures. I've published the list of 99 names and where they live below. Glas Javnosti has a leftist reputation and a big-headline reporting style. For my American readers, I'd say it is similar in

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com40tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1166484056698312162006-12-18T18:15:00.000-05:002006-12-18T18:20:56.720-05:00

Some commenters have chided me lately for failing to "think outside the box" as I maintained my best-guess that Karadzic was still in the border region of the eastern Republika Srpska area of Bosnia and western Montenegro.Turns out that Carla del Ponte agrees with my assessment. I still love you Carla - keep up the good fight!KARADZIC HIDING IN BOSNIA AND SERBIA - DEL PONTESARAJEVO, Dec 1 (

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1164768036042553522006-11-28T21:26:00.000-05:002006-11-28T21:40:36.076-05:00

The European Forces (EUFOR) have controlled the military mission in Bosnia for the past two years. Italian General Marco Chiarini, who is nearing the end of his year-long term as EUFOR commander, reveals his lack of hope towards the Karadzic mission in an interview with Lana Sinanovic of Sarajevo's Dnevni Avaz:[Sinanovic] Prior to leaving, your predecessor, Briton David Leakey, said that

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1164072038420989092006-11-20T20:11:00.000-05:002006-11-20T20:27:41.983-05:00

Belgrade's Politika yesterday ran an interview (in Serbian) with former Republika Srpska President Biljana Plavsic, currently jailed near the Hague.In the interview, she claims that Slobodan Milosevic told her that he knew where Karadzic was, and that he (Karadzic) "would never be caught."My thoughts:Plavsic does not claim that Milosevic told her where Karadzic was. I suspect that if she was in

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1161473564843788012006-10-21T19:16:00.000-04:002006-11-20T20:11:41.386-05:00

Zagreb's Vecernji List ran a featured interview last week about Amir Pleho, retired professor of the Sarajevo Medical School and a former member of the Commission of the Federal Executive Council of Yugoslavia that was in charge of supervising and distributing poison gases and weapons.Pleho was also Radovan Karadzic's professor at the Sarajevo Medical School. Pleho personally intervened and had

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1161471863546480502006-10-21T18:53:00.000-04:002006-10-21T19:04:23.570-04:00

Milan Lukic was arrested in Argentina last year based on an indictment for war crimes issued by the ICTY. I was optimistic at the time that stories of Lukic's break from the Karadzic network were exaggerated, and that his arrest would shed new light on Karadzic's whereabouts. However, an e-mail from Lukic was extracted from a Brazilian computer four months before his arrest in Argentina. The

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1161470674838800652006-10-21T18:44:00.000-04:002006-10-21T19:12:19.816-04:00

From Bosnian TV One News on Tuesday:Bosnian Serb Republic interior minister meets ICTY's Del Ponte, who expresses dissatisfaction with Bosnian Serb cooperation, says at least two fugitives - Zupljanin and Karadzic - continue to be connected to Bosnian Serb Republic.In response, RS Interior Minister Stanislav Cadjo (according to Banja Luka ONASA) claimed: "If the Hague Tribunal (ICTY)

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1161125986905598692006-10-17T18:59:00.000-04:002006-10-18T12:16:01.896-04:00

Some of the world in 2020 will look like it does today. For example, people will still get around in gasoline-powered automobiles, and terror will still be used as an intimidation tactic throughout the world. But much of the world in 2020 look drastically different from today due to a rate of change even more rapid than that experienced in the 20th century.Nanotechnology and its applications will

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1161100365794985382006-10-17T11:26:00.000-04:002006-10-17T11:57:51.036-04:00

Montenegrin national identity was forged upon resisting the Turks from their mountain enclaves. What a change, then, to see Montenegro allowing Turkish soldiers to drive through their country to return home from their EUFOR rotations. It seems Montenegro will do anything to stay in good graces with PFP - NATO - EUFOR accession directors... and thus keep away any investigation about their role in

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1159108504523017732006-09-24T10:00:00.000-04:002006-09-24T10:37:00.376-04:00

The story posted on this site in May about "Maia," the Sri Lankan-American Buddhist who was tortured by her Serb captors while on an aid mission during the Bosnian war, is fictional.At the time, I sought verification of her story as written by Trusted Friend, and we waited for weeks to publish while we both sought verification. We thought we had enough verification through Maia's "Curious

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1158353430391980762006-09-15T16:35:00.000-04:002006-09-15T16:50:30.436-04:00

From a Romanian newspaper last week:The United States and Serbia on Thursday signed an agreement aimed at helping the Balkan state bolster civilian control over the military, the US State Department said.US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Serbian President Boris Tadic signed the agreement in a ceremony in Washington. The two countries hope to establish greater military cooperation in the

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1158352262230780602006-09-15T16:26:00.000-04:002006-09-15T16:53:10.950-04:00

A brief article on the filming:Actor Richard Gere has arrived in Sarajevo to shoot a movie on Bosnian Serb war crimes suspect Radovan Karadzic, local media reports."I expect I will learn a lot about Bosnia," Gere told reporters on his arrival in Sarajevo. He refused to disclose whether the character he plays in "Spring Break in Bosnia" would find and arrest the former Bosnian Serb political

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1156773693113777662006-08-28T09:47:00.000-04:002006-08-28T14:18:17.306-04:00

Trebinje is often described as one of Bosnia's most beautiful cities. Just over a half hour's drive from Dubrovnik on the Croatian coast, this city of 30,000 in the Republika Srpska boasts a Mediterranean climate, shaded tree-lined streets, and a cafe culture reminiscent of Aix-en-Provence. The cushy living here, combined with a population that strongly supports Radovan Karadzic, has made it a

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1156107221299201372006-08-20T16:42:00.000-04:002006-08-28T09:44:46.866-04:00

I have been in Serbia and the Republika Srpska part of Bosnia in the past few days. Have much to report but can only write so much at this brief sitting.In Belgrade, I had several meetings and was able to talk with several people who work on the war crimes cooperations. I will write more about these soon, but my immediate observations of Belgrade are in the changes. Belgrade's educated middle

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1154782407010087322006-08-05T08:44:00.000-04:002006-08-05T08:53:27.013-04:00

Thanks to Yakima Gulag for the tip on this important arrest. The report:"During a joint operation the Croatian and Austrian police arrested Dzodze Skero – the No. 1 associate of the former Bosnian Serbs leader Radovan Karadzic, Macedonian newspaper Vecer reads today. Skero is considered to be one of Eastern Herzegovina’s mafia bosses. He was arrested together with two other men who had 1,9

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1154559258287841692006-08-02T18:42:00.000-04:002006-08-02T18:54:18.316-04:00

Of course not, we'd think. But as the Vienna negotiations over the future of Kosovo shape up, Kosovo's independence is now appearing more and more inevitable. In return, all that Serbia seems to be able to muster for herself is a little less pressure from the world about finding Karadzic and Mladic.Davor Butkovic wrote about this tradeoff in his column last week "Daily Commentary: What Will

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1154379591598504532006-07-31T16:38:00.000-04:002006-08-02T18:28:50.123-04:00

Imagine that you are a police detective. By blind luck one day, a bank robber in your town accidentally includes your e-mail address on the listserve to his fellow conspirators in the robbery. As the days go by, you receive more e-mails detailing the plans and timing of the upcoming heist.When you almost have enough information about the conspiracy and identity of the parties involved to make

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1154377058317833752006-07-31T16:13:00.000-04:002006-07-31T16:17:38.346-04:00

From July 17th, but worth noting because of Mandic's proximity to Karadzic.SARAJEVO (Reuters) - Bosnia's war crimes chamber on Monday charged former Bosnian Serb minister Momcilo Mandic with war crimes committed during the country's 1992-95 war.Mandic served as deputy interior minister and justice minister in the government of then Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, now a war crimes fugitive.

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1152208739072114062006-07-06T13:52:00.000-04:002006-07-06T13:58:59.103-04:00

A military person whose reliability I don't question has sent me some useful information on the French role in Pale.A French military intelligence officer named Lieutenant (now Captain) Pierre Perrier regularly informed Liljana Karadzic of pending anti-Karadzic operations and plans by NATO and EUFOR between 2002 and 2004. He reached her by cell phone and in person during French patrols in Pale

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1151262220427205412006-06-25T14:59:00.000-04:002006-06-25T15:08:29.713-04:00

Mr. Dervisbegovic published an article last week that few people in the media have been asking: why has attention on Karadzic suddenly seemed non-existent?I find it noteworthy that NATO thinks the last sighting of Karadzic was in the summer of 2003 in the Ostrog monastery. This indicates that NATO will deny news of any sightings in Bosnia (such as last spring in Trebinje) because it will reflect

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1150759288963036652006-06-19T18:51:00.000-04:002006-06-19T19:26:46.283-04:00

I previously posted about a new picture supposedly taken of Mladic taken at a Belgrade restaurant. That picture is below. Note the distinctive eyebrows and mole on the left side of his face.Some commenters dismissed the picture, saying that it did not looking like him. But now it seems that Slate magazine has added this picture of Mladic to the archived story by Christopher Hitchins written last

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1150235036894209172006-06-13T17:43:00.000-04:002006-06-13T17:43:56.940-04:00

Nothing about Karadzic today, but...My girlfriend and I are now engaged to be married!I am so excited and happy.

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1149875996337594932006-06-09T13:44:00.000-04:002006-06-09T13:59:56.493-04:00

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed in Baqoubah, a pretty hardcore town of resistance to Iraqi and American forces. It's been a big year for fugitive justice in 2006... Gotovina, Taylor, and Zarqawi were all captured or killed, and each was among the most notorious and high-profile fugitives in the world. What does Zarqawi's death add to what we're learning about Karadzic? I don't think the money

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1149781240395561892006-06-08T11:30:00.000-04:002006-06-09T13:44:11.706-04:00

This article is based on fragments of several reports filed by Adin Sadic, which originally appeared in TRIBUNAL UPDATE, produced by the Institute for War and Peace Reporting. It is complemented by additional reporting stemming from Vorarlberg Online.Momcilo Krajisnik was one of Karadzic’s closest co-workers. He also was the former president of the Bosnian Serb parliament, who has been testifying

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1149695549344144542006-06-07T11:38:00.000-04:002006-06-07T11:52:29.390-04:00

Sorry guys, I have been in over my head lately. Hope I can make a proper post soon. I am hoping that my Trusted Friend, who is never short on reports or Balkan analysis, can report on this site as well. What a big mouth Momcilo has! Though I haven't read all his testimony yet, it seems like it should make for some good insight into Karadzic.Big problem in Kosovo last month has everyone talking

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1148425539212920232006-05-23T19:01:00.000-04:002006-05-23T19:05:39.230-04:00

In an editorial today, The Daily Telegraph becomes the first major western newspaper to question "Yes" coalition propaganda, and point out Montenegro's role in harboring Karadzic.From the article "Montenegro must clean up its act before it joins the EU":Brussels can also put pressure on Montenegro, which has a distinctly sleazyside, lately fuelled by Russian mafiosi money. Even the prime minister

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1148425028494664762006-05-23T18:49:00.000-04:002006-05-24T11:22:55.140-04:00

From Belgrade NIN (translated from Serbian):"In order to capture the former Bosnian Serb wartime commander, in addition to goodwill and carefully planned actions, breaking the conspiracy of silence among his relatives, his harborers, and accomplices is also required. And that will be slightly more difficult."Ratko Mladic (64) weighs eight kilograms more than we remember him and has a wrinkle here

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1148424259989155752006-05-23T18:33:00.000-04:002006-05-23T18:44:20.006-04:00

No, according to a law professor from the University of Mississippi Law School. Professor Timothy William Waters, who worked in the ICTY from 1999 to 2000, argues that war crimes goals may ultimately be better advanced by not further cutting off Serbia from the world.The article appears in today's New York Times and International Herald Tribune.A Serbian commenter in a recent thread below raised

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1148423575234615202006-05-23T18:08:00.000-04:002006-05-23T18:32:55.256-04:00

An excerpt from Reuters that adds to the demonstration of how Montenegrin politicians are passing the blame about Karadzic to Serbia:Pro-independence politicians say the path to Europe would be faster onceMontenegro stops being penalized for Serbia's lack of co-operation with theHague war crimes tribunal, which earned the union a suspension of EU talks thismonth.American dailies like NYT, LAT and

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1148340186336636172006-05-22T18:26:00.000-04:002006-05-23T15:19:11.830-04:00

Today, newly independent Montenegro is seen by the world as the "next Croatia," a country that will quickly become prosperous and European through its tourism industry and beaches. Though this newest country does have great beaches, world perception is undeservedly rosy. In reality, Montenegro remains a lawless smuggling cartel run by Russian biznizmen, and an uncontested safe haven for Radovan

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1147980537050839792006-05-18T15:10:00.000-04:002006-05-18T22:23:50.700-04:00

They're all a part of the "problem of the commons," where insular but vocal and energized minority interests shape an issue in the face of an overwhelming but non-vocal majority opinion.Pennies are worthless ($0.01) and burdensome in the United States. They would have been taken out of circulation years ago, but over $100,000 a year from the zinc lobby keeps the Congressional effort to abolish

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1147792568877976332006-05-16T11:15:00.000-04:002006-05-16T11:16:08.940-04:00

Bosnia? Montenegro? Some other country?Let's hear what you think.

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1147462705355110382006-05-12T14:28:00.000-04:002006-05-12T15:57:30.743-04:00

Jay Surdukowski is the lawyer, scholar, and poet I previously mentioned who has agreed to let me publish an excerpt of his research. Below are some excerpts from his excellent article "Is Poetry a War Crime? Reckoning for Radovan Karadzic the Warrior-Poet" which was published in the Winter 2005 issue of the Michigan Journal of International Law.What the article is about...This Note will suggest

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1147449880481817752006-05-12T11:59:00.000-04:002006-05-12T14:28:32.000-04:00

Translated from today's Agence France-PresseBELGRADE, May 12, 2006 -- Once supported and financed by a large network of shady accomplices, Bosnian Serb war crimes fugitive Ratko Mladic now lives alone and is close to destitute, a report said here Friday [12 May].As pressure mounts on Serbia to hand the former general over to the UN war crimes tribunal, Mladic's movements have been severely

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1147238343462554962006-05-10T00:54:00.000-04:002006-09-24T09:43:35.566-04:00

EDIT ON SEPT 24, 2006: AFTER FURTHER FACT-CHECKING, I NOW BELIEVE THE STORY BELOW IS NOT BE REAL, AND THAT MAIA IS THE FICTIONAL CREATION. READ SEPT 24 BLOG ENTRY FOR MORE ON THE RETRACTION NOTICE. ORIGINAL POST FOLLOWS... (note: Trusted Friend's story below has been re-edited with further changes so that it complies with the wishes of the lawyer who took control of all M's creative rights and

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1147142343502268822006-05-08T22:09:00.000-04:002006-09-24T09:40:07.310-04:00

EDIT ON SEPT 24, 2006: THE PHOTO IS NOW CONFIRMED TO NOT BE KARADZIC. THANKS. ORIGINAL POST FOLLOWS.I have been wrapped up in a huge project for the last two weeks that took nearly all of my time. Now my project is finished and I have some time to myself... what a relief! Tonight I am drinking wine and watching the New Jersey - Miami NBA playoff game. Jason Kidd and Nenad Krstic are doing well

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1146929819658230152006-05-06T11:29:00.000-04:002006-05-06T14:17:22.893-04:00

I'm worried... Ms. del Ponte says she doesn't have any idea where Karadzic is. She was in talks with Karadzic's people for a long time, but now Radovan seems completely shut off from the outside world. I concur with her assessment that he's still in the RS / Montenegro / Serbia area, but it's hard to pin him down within that box without any other indications.If only Kostunica would bag Mladic,

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1146929333286308592006-05-06T11:24:00.000-04:002006-05-06T11:28:53.306-04:00

Dusan Stojanovic has yet another quality article on the PIFWCs. He writes of Mladic's recent routine:"He is believed to move daily between drab communist-style apartment blocs in Belgrade, shuttled from hideout to hideout in a small boxy Yugo car by a loyal bodyguard. Serbian security officials said Thursday he is ill and virtually alone."Nice work, Dusan, thanks for bringing us the scoop.

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1146670667121700912006-05-03T11:31:00.000-04:002006-05-03T11:45:16.800-04:00

Anonymous in Serbia sent me the picture below, supposedly of Ratko Mladic having dinner in a Belgrade restaurant taken within the past 18 months. I have no idea of the pictures' authenticity, but it's a good quality shot. Any idea?If he's operating alone because all his supporters have been arrested, like President Kostunica asserts, I'd expect him to be wearing his Army fatigues rather than a

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1146670261620947862006-05-03T11:11:00.000-04:002006-05-03T11:31:01.646-04:00

I've been a little busy lately but Yakima Gulag has been doing a great job of chrnicling the details of Serbia's deadline to hand over Ratko Mladic to the ICTY. Some details of the EU deadline passing below, as well as excellent analysis by Trusted Friend, who concludes: "Today is the day that Kostunica completed Milosevic’s aspiration: to wipe out Yugoslavia."Now a new piece in the FT describes

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1146597310382274632006-05-02T14:51:00.000-04:002006-05-02T15:15:10.410-04:00

I recently learned that a long-time reader of this blog recently passed away. Although I never met her, from all that I've heard she led an extraordinary life. She went to Bosnia during the war to help the people there, but was captured and severely tortured. After the war, she fervently devoted herself to helping others and seeking justice. I heard that she liked this site, and even wrote in

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1146595895869317932006-05-02T14:18:00.000-04:002006-05-03T11:11:20.710-04:00

I just received the article below from Richard Shepard about the status of his Karadzic film.It is great to see so much Hollywood clout going into this effort! Terrence Howard, coming off starring in the two Oscar winning films of "Crash" and "Hustle & Flow," is perhaps the hottest actor around these days. Richard Gere of course is one of the all-time greats. And it seems like a good sign that

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1146151475612445852006-04-27T10:59:00.000-04:002006-04-27T13:54:46.740-04:00

... Carla del Ponte and Natasa Kandic.After Karadzic is caught, history will judge these two women as the persons most responsible for successfully combating impunity from the Bosnian war, and whose work most directly contributed to prosperity and reconciliation among the former Yugoslav states.Del Ponte has shown dogged perseverance in pursuing Karadzic, and in keeping the world from forgetting

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1146149958999810782006-04-27T10:50:00.000-04:002006-04-27T10:59:19.030-04:00

Is Mladic's arrest now a non-negotiable condition for the Europeans?Two days ago, Serbian President Boris Tadic met the Austrian Foreign Secretary Ursula Plassnik, who is also currently chairing the EU Council.The aim of the meeting was to discuss current affairs such as the Kosovo talks or the Montenegrian referendum. Another important topic was S&M's co-operation with the ICTY.Plassnik

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1145927462602228262006-04-24T20:57:00.000-04:002006-04-25T17:12:07.773-04:00

With the ICTY in its twilight period, a new Sarajevo tribunal based on Bosnian laws has finally geared up to try war crimes from the Bosnian war.The New Republic has an excellent and detailed article "Balkan Legal" by Adam M. Smith about the opening and purposes of the tribunal.The head prosecutor of this new court issued a powerful statement on its purposes here.Karadzic and Mladic will

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1145897354983383292006-04-24T12:30:00.000-04:002006-04-24T15:52:38.380-04:00

Dear Radovan,Give us a sign that you're still alive. Since you've been so well hidden lately, Mladic has been getting all the attention. If I don't hear from you, I will publish six of your love letters to Liljana that were seized in Pale last year.Balkan Ghost

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1145800124657701962006-04-23T09:22:00.000-04:002006-04-24T12:29:29.746-04:00

Trusted Friend is on a hot streak with his analysis. He wrote to me yesterday with a great take on the floundering Mladic hunt, and how the re-emergence of former American General Schook (now in Kosovo instead of Bosnia) may be crucial. I don't agree with all he writes, like the presumption that Kosovo's future actually rests with people who are in Kosovo, but he is helping us see the big

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1145653407544972142006-04-21T16:42:00.000-04:002006-04-21T17:07:40.740-04:00

Banja Luka's daily Fokus writes that Ratko Mladic had been located on the territory of the Republic of Macedonia two weeks ago. According to the report, he was tracked down in a vacation resort along Dojran Lake near the border with Greece. I didn't find any basis for the truth of this assertion, including denials by Macedonian officials.B92 reports that pilot and retired Serbia-Montenegro

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1145546066320316872006-04-20T11:09:00.000-04:002006-04-20T16:49:08.706-04:00

Anonymous inquires:i was wondering if anyone knows of an incident where there was a long shoot-outbetween bodyguards of a bosnian war criminal (not karadzic in this case)and warcrimes hunters a few years back where at least one american was killed andothers injured.i'm pretty sure the american killed was a private contractor notpart of military but he had a special forces background,i read this

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1145460909772524742006-04-19T11:12:00.001-04:002006-04-20T16:48:10.606-04:00

The newest in the Mladic reports below, followed by Trusted Friend's excellent but sobering explanation of why these Mladic reports keep popping up.Mladic located, will be arrested soon - reportWed Apr 19, 2006 11:52 AM BST BELGRADE (Reuters) - A Serbian daily said on Wednesday top war crimes fugitive Ratko Mladic had been found and would be arrested near month-end, in time for Serbia to avert a

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1145416077736947582006-04-18T22:59:00.000-04:002006-04-19T16:40:49.403-04:00

... from a blogger named Alexandr Ionov who uses a picture of Karadzic for his profile.БЛОГЧИГ ДЛЯ РАДОВАНАБыл такой замечательный сайт - http://www.karadzic.org/ ...Был, да сплыл. Сайт был целиком посвящен Радовану Караджичу - множество его интервью и пр. Mатериалов, относящихся к Боснийской войне 1992-95. Зато есть вот такой блог - http://findingkaradzic.blogspot.com/Его автор озабочен поисками

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1145240615925004832006-04-16T21:53:00.000-04:002006-04-16T22:23:36.030-04:00

If you're curious about the history of the political rivalry between Karadzic and Mladic, the detailed 1995 New York Review of Books article on the subject has been posted to the excellent "Justworld" blog by German activist Caroline Fetscher. All the major players from the Milosevic trial, among others, will be at a conference on the lessons and meaning of the trial later this month. The

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1145230364999255902006-04-16T19:21:00.000-04:002006-04-16T21:52:57.373-04:00

The poster below just came in from an anonymous source in the former Yugoslavia. If you can't read the upper left-hand corner, it says "Who Wants to Be a Prisonaire?," while showing perplexed contestant Radovan pondering his choices.

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1144955665186946662006-04-13T14:55:00.000-04:002006-04-13T15:19:30.436-04:00

Kofi Annan just visited The Hague and joined the refrain of calling for cooperation with the ICTY over Karadzic and Mladic. His comments were primarily directed towards the Serbian government.There's a good new article on present similarities between now with Mladic and the weeks leading up to the Gotovina arrest.Some of the readers of this blog are college students in an intelligence studies

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1144791266506698352006-04-11T16:55:00.000-04:002006-04-11T17:46:08.363-04:00

Two years ago, I wrote what I thought were the "top 5" Karadzic locations. They were:1) Han Pijesak / Visegrad / Sokolac triangle2) Celebici3) Niksic4) Banja Luka5) PaleToday I think the "top 5" are:1) Celebici / Foca / Gradac2) Trebinje / Lastva3) Visegrad / Sokolac4) greater Niksic5) GreeceI'm surprised how similar the lists are from two years, with only Trebinje and Greece joining the list

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1144621149874628382006-04-09T18:09:00.000-04:002006-04-09T18:24:10.243-04:00

"There has been consistent reporting about an impending Mladic surrender for three days now. Different sources seem to corroborate that he is willing to surrender. Somehow I cannot believe he is coming forward at this point of time. Repeatedly his health is being put forward as the deciding factor. Let me tell you: ever since NATO went into Bosnia in 95/96 (IFOR), the main focus has been on

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1144428151424455232006-04-07T12:36:00.000-04:002006-04-12T12:08:16.406-04:00

I received the picture below from an anonymous source. It supposedly is of Radovan Karadzic from a couple years ago. If true, it would be the only known picture of Karadzic in the last 10 years.The picture is black-and-white and grainy, perhaps cropped from a picture at a distance, or taken with a low-res cell phone camera. Radovan's bouffant is tamed into a closer-cropped, nearly all-gray, more

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1144354354851614102006-04-06T16:01:00.000-04:002006-04-07T12:47:34.620-04:00

Trusted Friend is hearing things from people close to the scene, but remains cautious about the new wave of Mladic rumors. He writes:There is increased activity through political channels concerning an expected Mladic surrender. Apparently the Serbian government claims to have a grip on Mladic. Personally I am not convinced. I have seen too many promises. The EU haspostponed the deadline until

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1144348618603746212006-04-06T14:31:00.000-04:002006-04-06T14:38:50.353-04:00

Trusted Friend is back with some indications that Mladic will be arrested by the Serbian government soon. He writes:There are rumours tonight, the Serbian government has assured to EU, thatMLADIC's arrest is just hours away. Remember, the EU has given Serbia a deadlineuntil 5th April (today) to surrender Maldic. So obviously, they have to dosomething today. I have no further corroborating info,

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1144177660714829552006-04-04T14:50:00.000-04:002006-04-16T19:21:14.106-04:00

The notorious butcher Charles Taylor, wanted by the Sierra Leone war crimes tribunal, was caught last week by international peacekeepers as he tried to escape overland from Nigeria into Cameroon. Taylor's notoriety equals that of Karadzic, and in many ways their fugitivity was similar: both were presidents who intentionally slaughtered thousands of innocents as a wartime tactic, and both remained

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1143056463387809902006-03-22T14:26:00.000-05:002006-03-23T13:38:38.813-05:00

After a long silence, NATO-Sarajevo has resumed its pursuit of Karadzic.An excerpt from a 15 March NATO-Sarajevo press release:Today, 15 March 2006 at approximately 0700 hours NATO conducted searchoperations at the Nemanja Vasic’s residence, business “TRIVAS Company”, andbusiness/bar “3” located in Strpci, Prnjavor, Republika Srpska (RS) BosniaHerzegovina (BiH).It is believed that the “TRIVAS

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1142963015559500772006-03-21T12:37:00.000-05:002006-04-09T18:23:08.176-04:00

Richard Shepard, whose film "The Matador" starring Pierce Brosnan was recently near the top of the American box office, has his pet project "Spring Break in Bosnia" coming out this year. He comments below on what the film is about:“It’s based on article that was in Esquire [magazine] about these twojournalists who go on a hunt for the main war criminal in Bosnia – about fiveyears after the war.

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1142367656379315232006-03-14T15:00:00.000-05:002006-03-14T15:20:56.530-05:00

New light is being shed on one of the biggest anti-Karadzic military operations. I received an interesting summary of a former western soldier in the Balkans who was involved in Karadzic operations for NATO in 2002-2003. This person asked to not have their unit, or even country of service, identified:I was in a mission to go after Radovan Karadzic in July 2002. It involved German, French, and

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1142272827324928062006-03-13T12:19:00.000-05:002006-03-14T12:53:25.023-05:00

My interest in Karadzic is a fact-intensive inquiry that is dependent upon connections between discrete, relatively unnewsworthy incidents. So forgive the indulgence into philosophizing about conceptions of justice, but I promise it to be temporary, and only occasioned by the reaction to the Slobo story. The fact that a guy like Slobo could die after four years of trial without any finding of

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1142094568152579612006-03-11T11:17:00.000-05:002006-03-11T16:35:44.903-05:00

Slobo, 64, was found dead in his prison cell near The Hague. His trial had dragged on for years but never came to a conclusion, so the instigator of an ugly era of Yugoslav wars and ethnic cleansing will never face the official sanction that he deserved hundreds of times over.Slobo had a chronic heart condition for years, and was noted as severely frail several times during the last year. My

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1142023749442711642006-03-10T15:37:00.000-05:002006-03-10T15:54:52.500-05:00

Convicted Croatian Serb war criminal Milan Babic committed suicide in the Hague's detention facility. Babic had already testified against Milosevic as a part of a plea bargain with the ICTY's Office of the Prosecutor, but I don't think he was expected to testify about Karadzic. His pre-existing depositions may now be used, though, since his death creates an exception to the hearsay bar to

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1142004328329151392006-03-10T10:15:00.000-05:002006-03-10T10:25:28.386-05:00

I've been away from the InterWeb for the last week; next few days should be sporadic access as well.An interview with the Serbian Defense Minister from a Balkans news source sheds some light on the recent Mladic bubble:Stankovic talks Mladic and military 11:22 -> 11:57 March 09 Beta

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1141243965312147402006-03-01T15:08:00.000-05:002006-03-01T15:19:02.270-05:00

Trusted Friend recommended that I install a page hit counter, which turned out to be a good idea. It seems that more people read this page than I initially thought. At least one of those readers is a writer for the English-speaking world's most authoritative weekly, The Economist.In the February 25th to March 3rd issue, Economist features a half-page summary of the recent Mladic story. Trusted

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1141162522537339012006-02-28T16:09:00.000-05:002006-03-02T11:55:10.666-05:00

(in English: "But where are you, Otpor?" "Otpor" is the name of a Serbian organization whose English translation is "resistance.")In the tradition of the revered hajduk warriors who staved off Turkish and Austro-Hungarian encroachment centuries ago, the Serbian people don't react cooperatively to the pressure of outsiders. Think back to end of the last century: neither of two bloody wars in the

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7097845.post-1141091289720909862006-02-27T20:34:00.000-05:002006-02-27T20:48:09.733-05:00

It's hard to break down into specifics, but there were some interesting observations on public opinion during the recent flurry of "Mladic has been located" rumors.A couple observers noted to me, and transcripts of talk radio seem to confirm, that the consensus reaction in Serbia was of relief at the capture stories, while desperation and sadness marked the majority's reactions in (non-Banja Luka

Balkan Ghostnoreply@blogger.com2