Nebojsa Malic

For three successor states of the former Yugoslavia, this fall is all about voting. Macedonian parliamentary elections were held this past weekend, with predictable results. Serbian presidential elections are next on September 29, followed by a general vote in Bosnia-Herzegovina on October 5. It is a time of choice, a time of civic responsibility, a … Continue reading “Triumph of the Will”

"The world has changed. Nothing is the same any more." Those were the two most common sentiments last year, in the shell-shocked aftermath of Black Tuesday, as the horrors of war stopped being something that happened elsewhere. A year later, those phrases ring hollow – along with the pledges to fight "terrorism" and "evil." On … Continue reading “The Day Nothing Changed”

After a month-long hiatus, Slobodan Milosevic’s show trial before the Hague Inquisition reopened last week. As expected, no one looked back on the prosecution’s fiasco just before the recess, when their star witness turned around and exonerated Milosevic. Rade Markovic, former head of Serbian State Security, also accused the new Belgrade authorities of abuse and … Continue reading “Illusions of Truth and Justice”

Given the amount of sheer lunacy that has been exhibited in the Balkans over the past decade, both by the Empire and its local vassals, it is tempting to say that things could hardly get any more irrational. And also very, very wrong. For just when you thought it was safe to go back to … Continue reading “Balkans, Unhinged”

Over the past couple of days, two prominent leaders of the "Kosovo Liberation Army" (KLA) have been arrested by the NATO forces occupying Kosovo. Rrustem Mustafa, better known as Commander Remi, is accused of torturing and murdering several people. Ramush Haradinaj was charged with "violent behavior" – a polite way to describe a shooting of … Continue reading “Nothing New In Kosovo”

True Stories of ‘Failed States’So often is it necessary to describe and decry all the iniquities of Imperial occupation in the Balkans, it is easy to lose track of other reasons for which the peninsula is important. Advocates of Empire often justify their pronouncements by mentioning what they call “failed states.” Successors of the former … Continue reading “Balkans ‘Success’ Stories”

Perhaps this description of Mordor from the film version of Tolkien’s classic is too harsh on the Balkans. After all, the peninsula is not a fountainhead of evil, merely a victim of its ravages and possession. A more apt comparison in this vein would be Moria: a crossroads once full of wealth and splendor, now … Continue reading “Snapshots Of A Nightmare”

In the summer of 1995, the Bosnian War was rapidly approaching its conclusion. The balance of power was shifting, with Croatia joining the conflict semi-openly (with American blessing and encouragement) and the Bosnian Muslims bolstered by incoming weapons and mujahidin. In June, Muslim forces ("Army of the Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina") attacked on all fronts, making … Continue reading “Shadows of Srebrenica”

If, twelve years ago, someone had written a book about the Balkans wars that contained even a tenth of what has actually happened since, they’d have been laughed right out of every publishing house in the world. Truth, as Mark Twain remarked, really is stranger than fiction. That, alas, does not prevent so many events … Continue reading “Pulp Reality”

It may have slipped in under the radar by now that the United States vetoed an extension of the UN mission in Bosnia this weekend, since the UN could not be blackmailed into granting US troops immunity from the new International Criminal Court. Since the Security Council refused to compromise, and the threat of veto … Continue reading “Bosnia As Chump Change”