Bosnia // Current

Bosnia film wins Rome festival

"Resolution 819," a film about the Srebrenica massacre in the last months of Bosnia's 1992-1995 war, won the top... more

dirtyemowords
added this

Bosnia to become EU candidate by 2010

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (October 13,2008) - The Slovenian President Danilo Turk TODAY pledged his country’s support to... more

UrbanGypsy
added this

Sarajevans Stand Up to Hate Attacks

The activist group Citizens of Sarajevo is taking a stand against increasing violence aimed at sexual and gender minorities in the Bosnian capital -- particularly attacks perpetrated at last week's Queer Festival -- and calling on the international community to do the same.

"The threats issued against the organizers of the first Queer Sarajevo Festivala (QSF) over the last month or so culminated and materialized last night, during the opening ceremony," reported OneWorld Southeast Europe's Sanjin Buzo after Festival participants were attacked.

"Human rights issues in Bosnia and Herzegovina are dominated by the attempts of the International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia (ICTY), established in 1993 in The Hague, to establish accountability for the most serious crimes committed during the war," states OneWorld UK.

Please Help Us Fight Discrimination and Violence!

From: Citizens for Sarajevo

We, the citizens of Sarajevo, call upon the representatives of the International Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina to raise their
voices against the escalation of violence in the Capital, especially with regards to the recent events that increased the feeling of insecurity among law-abiding people. Namely, the events that followed he opening of the Queer Festival in the night of the 24th September, when eight people were injured and other participants and visitors verbally and physically harassed in the very heart of the city, are only the continuation of violent crimes that we have been witnessing over the past year, the most horrific one being the brutal murder of a young boy, Denis Mrnjavac back in February. We believe that the failure of the authorities to take responsibility for prosecuting and punishing the perpetrators in an efficient manner led to this shocking surge of crime.

This inefficiency was clearly demonstrated at the opening of the Queer Festival, when a group of Wahabis and young hooligans expressed their disapproval of sexual and gender minorities through physical violence. The Sarajevo Canton Police did not manage to prevent the attacks although the event was assessed in advance as a high-risk one, nor did they show enthusiasm in apprehending the perpetrators. Prior to the event, the leading political parties in power and the representatives of religious institutions further stirred up the negative atmosphere with their discriminatory and homophobic speeches. Religious and political leaders should be made aware that
the violence which occurred is a direct result of their homophobic speeches.

The tacit - or otherwise - political approval of violence is supported by the fact that the inflammatory speeches that preceded the Festival
were used as a means for mobilising the electoral body. What is even more frightening is the fact that not one of the main political parties in power condemned the violence after it occurred, which additionally proves their indirect support to the perpetrators of crimes. All these facts clearly illustrate that the representatives of authorities do not comply with the BiH legislative: The rights to peaceful assembly and to freedom of expression are recognized and protected by a number of international treaties to which Bosnia and Herzegovina is a party, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the European Convention for the protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.

This is why we ask you to demand from the representatives of the authorities to condemn the violence that occurred on 24th September and to apprehend and punish the perpetrators. If they fail to do so, we fear that the promotion of fascism and homophobia will spread to the other spheres of social life of the wider community. We, the citizens of Sarajevo, have the right to freedom, without fear of persecution because of our personal beliefs or sexual orientation.The activist group Citizens of Sarajevo is taking a stand against increasing violence aimed at sexual and gender minorities in the... more

goldenways
added this

1 response

1 month ago

NASN to rebrand as ESPN America

ESPN has confirmed that the North American Sports Network (NASN) will become ESPN America, from Super Bowl Sunday, February 1,... more

GeoffNI
added this

0 responses

1 month ago

Country Fast Facts: Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina's declaration of sovereignty in October 1991 was followed by a declaration of independence from the... more

starr111
added this

0 responses

1 month ago

Young men attack gay festival in Bosnia

Bosnian police clashed on Wednesday with young men attacking the country's first gay festival in Sarajevo. Police said at... more

TravG73
added this

0 responses

1 month ago

Fugative Gen. Ratko Mladic will not surrender, reports say

Reported on September 12, 2008. Reports say that top war criminal Mladic is heavily guarded by armed men and is not willing to... more

IndieArtist
added this

0 responses

1 month ago

New charges against Radovan Karadzic

This was reported on September 17, 2008. The Prosecutor is said to file a new indictment for the accused war criminal. Click on... more

IndieArtist
added this

0 responses

1 month ago

Sladjana Petrusic - bosnian singer with huge boobs

Slađana Petrušić was born March 24 1983 in a village in the municipality of Prnjavor, former Yugoslavia, today Bosnia and... more

b2r
added this

0 responses

3 months ago

Karadzic refuses war crimes pleas

Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic has refused to enter a plea to charges of war crimes at the United Nations tribunal in... more

merasyad
added this

0 responses

3 months ago

Karadzic refuses to enter plea, judge pleads "not guily" on behalf

(CNN)- Former Bosnian Serb Leader Radovan Karadzic refused to enter a plea Friday on war crimes and genocide charges, leading the... more

IndieArtist
added this

1 response

3 months ago

War crimes trial underway

A 41-year-old Bosnian who's now a Norwegian citizen pleaded not guilty in Oslo on Wednesday to charges that he tortured and raped civilian Serbs during the war in Bosnia-Hercegovina.

The man later came as a refugee to Norway and now is at the center of the country's first war crimes trial since World War II.

The 41-year-old, who in accordance with local press practice isn't expected to be publicly identified until a verdict is reached, is charged with serious abuse of 18 civilian Serbs in the early 1990s, including the rape of a Serbian woman after he raided her home 1992.

She couldn't endure the trauma of testifying during the trial, however, and hasn't traveled to Norway. Other alleged victims of the defendant are expected to testify, also via video links.

The charges against the 41-year-old are detailed in a seven-page indictment. Much of the alleged torture is believed to have taken place at the prison camp Dretelj south of Mostar.

It's believed that as many as 100 persons now living in Norway are suspected of war crimes in the former Jugoslavia. In this case, the defendant came to Norway in 1993, living first in Gjøvik and then in Oslo. He has lived a quiet life with a wife and two children, who now are teenagers. He has worked as a teacher and received Norwegian citizenship before his history in the Croatian Defence Forces became known. He was arrested by Norwegian police in May 2007.

His defense attorney, Heidi Bache-Wiig, told the judge that her client acknowledges parts of the facts presented in the case against him, regarding the seizures of some of his alleged victims. She has argued, however, that the case should be dismissed since laws applying to it weren't in effect in 1992.

She also notes that her client wasn't a Norwegian citizen in 1992, contending that the alleged offenses were carried out by a foreigner in a foreign country.

The case is being heard in the largest courtroom in the Oslo city court house (Tingrett) and is expected to go on for eight weeks. A professor from the University of Oslo is due to give an overview of the war in the Balkans, and then prosecutors will present their case against the defendant. He's expected to testify on September 3 and witness testimony is due to begin in mid-September.

A 41-year-old Bosnian who's now a Norwegian citizen pleaded not guilty in Oslo on Wednesday to charges that he tortured and... more