One of these days, when I'm finished with graduate school and have more time to once again devote to this blog and Bosnia-related issues, one of the deeper questions/issues I'd like to dig into is to try and determine whether or not there is any cohesive ideological or psychological motivation behind the various, seemingly-incompatible strands of Balkan Revisionism and Bosnian Genocide Denial.
For now, though, I'll just pass along this piece of drivel I discovered, in which the theoretical basis for the Michael Parenti/Diana Johnstone post-Stalinist school of thought is embraced by Christian fundamentalist/prophetic end-of-times believers:
What Really Happened in Bosnia [Note: This is the title of the article, not my own take on the content--far from it].
It's the same nonsense we've all heard before, only this time is service to Rapture-believing right-wing Christian fundamentalists. The Z-magazine crowd must be so proud.
Sorry if you feel I'm wasting your time with this drivel, but I need to periodically touch base just to keep this blog on life support until I once again have the time to do more substantive work. Hope my regular readers are all fine.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Pessimism about Bosnia's politcal order
From Radio Free Europe comes this interview with Morton Abramowitz on the inherently unstable nature of the Dayton Constitution, and what this means for the future of Bosnia:
Interview: Morton Abramowitz On The 'End Of Bosnia'
Unfortunately, it appears that The National Interest doesn't have the original article archived on the website. If I find a link to it, I will certainly update this post.
Interview: Morton Abramowitz On The 'End Of Bosnia'
Unfortunately, it appears that The National Interest doesn't have the original article archived on the website. If I find a link to it, I will certainly update this post.
Monday, July 11, 2011
The 16th Anniversary of the Srebrenica Genocide
[Press release from Bosniak American Advisory Council for Bosnia and Herzegovina. Thanks for permission to reproduce.]
The Bosniak American Advisory Council for Bosnia and Herzegovina (BAACBH) marks the 16th anniversary of the Srebrenica Genocide with grief and sorrow and together, with the families of those killed, is remembering the innocent victims that lost their lives in the worst atrocity that Europe has seen since World War II.
On July 11, 1995, the Bosnian town of Srebrenica, a declared United Nations safe haven, fell to Serb paramilitary forces led by General Ratko Mladic, an indicted war criminal who was recently arrested in Serbia. The fall of Srebrenica marks the final act of brutal ethnic cleansing and genocide in BiH, where more than 8,000 Bosniak men and boys were slaughtered within a five day period. Today, 16 years after the worst atrocity committed in Europe since the end of the Second World War, we are reminded that the world did not keep its promise when it said "Never Again."
The 16th commemoration of the Srebrenica Genocide is a dark reminder that the world failed to protect innocent civilians. BAACBH, an independent non-governmental organization advocating on behalf of Bosnian Americans is committed to preserving the memory of those who suffered and lost their lives in Srebrenica.
Lastly, as the surviving relatives, neighbors, diplomats and members of the international community gather to commemorate the Srebrenica Genocide, let us not forget that justice must prevail, and that the truth must be told in order to prevent atrocities such as this one from ever happening again in BiH, or anywhere else in the world.
The Bosniak American Advisory Council for Bosnia and Herzegovina (BAACBH) marks the 16th anniversary of the Srebrenica Genocide with grief and sorrow and together, with the families of those killed, is remembering the innocent victims that lost their lives in the worst atrocity that Europe has seen since World War II.
On July 11, 1995, the Bosnian town of Srebrenica, a declared United Nations safe haven, fell to Serb paramilitary forces led by General Ratko Mladic, an indicted war criminal who was recently arrested in Serbia. The fall of Srebrenica marks the final act of brutal ethnic cleansing and genocide in BiH, where more than 8,000 Bosniak men and boys were slaughtered within a five day period. Today, 16 years after the worst atrocity committed in Europe since the end of the Second World War, we are reminded that the world did not keep its promise when it said "Never Again."
The 16th commemoration of the Srebrenica Genocide is a dark reminder that the world failed to protect innocent civilians. BAACBH, an independent non-governmental organization advocating on behalf of Bosnian Americans is committed to preserving the memory of those who suffered and lost their lives in Srebrenica.
Lastly, as the surviving relatives, neighbors, diplomats and members of the international community gather to commemorate the Srebrenica Genocide, let us not forget that justice must prevail, and that the truth must be told in order to prevent atrocities such as this one from ever happening again in BiH, or anywhere else in the world.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Republika Srpska to pay for Mladic, Karadzic Hague Legal Defence
I wish I was surprised:
As explained in this article from the Southeast Europe Times, the political leadership of RS is still willing to play games with the toxic legacy of its nationalist foundations. This is shameful, and yet another sign that the administrative division of Bosnia only strengthens nationalist extremists and institutionalizes ethnic divisions.
As explained in this article from the Southeast Europe Times, the political leadership of RS is still willing to play games with the toxic legacy of its nationalist foundations. This is shameful, and yet another sign that the administrative division of Bosnia only strengthens nationalist extremists and institutionalizes ethnic divisions.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Monday, May 30, 2011
Ratko Mladic: All Serbs Are Guilty
I have argued before on this blog--in my review of Diana Johnstone's "Fools' Crusade" for example--that one reason why so many Serb ultra-nationalists and their Western enablers so vigorously deny basic facts about events during the wars in the former Yugoslavia is because the collectivist nature of the nationalist myths they used to fuel and justify those wars erase any concept of individual conscience or accounatability. Because these myths fully embrace a collectivist notion of collective guilt on the part of the "enemies of the Serb nation", they also implicitly accept the notion of collective action, and guilt, on the part of the Serbs themselves.
In this article from The Guardian, Ratko Mladic essentially makes my point for me:
What has been visible since then is a more familiar Mladic, arrogant and demanding, insisting not only on his own innocence but on the shared guilt of all of the Serbian people. "He said: 'You elected [Slobodan] Milosevic, not me. You are all guilty, not me'."
On one level, this is ridiculous. One of the core principles of this blog is that individuals are not primarily or solely members of a collective ethnic, national, or religious group, but rather sovereign individuals who should be equal before the law. But on another level, Mladic is merely taking the collectivist mentality of Serbian ethno-nationalism to its logical conclusion. If ethnic national groups rather than individual citizens are the core foundation of states, then individuals can only be judged as members of their ethnic group. It takes more than elections to make a democratic culture, and in that regard Mladic is speaking more truth than he most likely realizes.
In this article from The Guardian, Ratko Mladic essentially makes my point for me:
What has been visible since then is a more familiar Mladic, arrogant and demanding, insisting not only on his own innocence but on the shared guilt of all of the Serbian people. "He said: 'You elected [Slobodan] Milosevic, not me. You are all guilty, not me'."
On one level, this is ridiculous. One of the core principles of this blog is that individuals are not primarily or solely members of a collective ethnic, national, or religious group, but rather sovereign individuals who should be equal before the law. But on another level, Mladic is merely taking the collectivist mentality of Serbian ethno-nationalism to its logical conclusion. If ethnic national groups rather than individual citizens are the core foundation of states, then individuals can only be judged as members of their ethnic group. It takes more than elections to make a democratic culture, and in that regard Mladic is speaking more truth than he most likely realizes.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Serbia Arrests Ratko Mladic
I was getting ready to post another story, when I saw that this news story had broke:
Ratko Mladic arrested in Serbia, president says
Not much to say, we'll see how it goes from here, but this is undoubtably great news.
Ratko Mladic arrested in Serbia, president says
Not much to say, we'll see how it goes from here, but this is undoubtably great news.
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