Andreas Broeckmann on Tue, 3 Apr 2001 08:44:30 +0200 |
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-------------------------------------------------------------------- Transitions Online - Intelligent Eastern Europe New at TOL: Monday, 2. April 2001 -------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - Sponsor Message - - - Third Annual Summit: East/West Collaboration in the Development of Interactive Media Budapest, June 10-11 http://www.osi.hu/ep/im2001 Organised by OSI http://www.osi.hu, this event facilitates the interaction between potential business/development partners from across Europe. This year's conference themes are B2B services, B2C applications and education services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . --- Yugoslavia Special: The End of The Line --- Slobo?s Last Stand The former Yugoslav president is taken into custody, but not without some drama. by Dragan Stojkovic http://www.tol.cz/week.html Same Old, Same Old Milosevic's refusal to be taken alive--followed swiftly by his absolute surrender--is a familiar behavioral pattern. by Tihomir Loza http://www.tol.cz/look/TOLnew/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=4&NrIssue=6 &NrSection=3&NrArticle=689 OUR TAKE: There's No Place Like Home Milosevic should be tried in Serbia before he's tried in The Hague. http://www.tol.cz/look/TOLnew/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=4&NrIssue=6 &NrSection=16&NrArticle=691 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - - - TOL Message - - - This message reaches 25.000 people. Want to reach the region? Visit our mediakit at http://archive.tol.cz/mediakit/index.html, or e-mail us at marketing@tol.cz. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . --- TOL WEEK IN REVIEW --- The Kuchma Shuffle The Ukrainian opposition wins key concessions only to find the victories Pyrrhic. by Oleg Varfolomeyev http://www.tol.cz/week.html Splitting Up the 'Family' A serious cabinet reshuffle shows Russia's new president isn't all talk and no action. by Sophia Kornienko http://www.tol.cz/week.html Out of the Shadows Romania allows certain citizens to see the contents of their Securitate files. by Zsolt-Istvan Mato http://www.tol.cz/week.html Let It Flow The first oil flows through the Kazakh-Russian pipeline from the Caspian Sea. by Didar Amantay http://www.tol.cz/week.html MORE WEEK IN REVIEW: http://www.tol.cz/week.html Macedonian Political Parties Hope to Halt Growing Rift Croatia Announces 'Zero Tolerance' for Organized Crime Russia Wary Over U.S. Meeting With Chechen Official Reprivatization Veto Criticized in Poland Thorough Inspection Kills Bugs Dead in Mongolia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . --- SPECIAL REPORT: Macedonia --- The Lowlands of War After the deaths of their own, Tetovo's ethnic Albanians are beginning to see no way out. by Lubos Palata http://www.tol.cz/look/TOLnew/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=4&NrIssue=6 &NrSection=3&NrArticle=677 Macedonia 2000: Another Balancing Act A review of last year's events that have led to the current crisis. by Stefan Krause http://archive.tol.cz/frartic/macar99.html Inappropriate Reaction Three reasons why the West has got it wrong over Macedonia. by Maria Popova http://www.tol.cz/look/TOLnew/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=4&NrIssue=6 &NrSection=3&NrArticle=676 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . --- FEATURES--- Off the Sweat of the Gagauz Conditions in the Moldovan republic of Gagauzia test the resolve of its proud citizens and lead many to abandon the area altogether. by Tomas Vlach and Sarka Kuchtova http://www.tol.cz/look/TOLnew/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=4&NrIssue=6 &NrSection=2&NrArticle=681 Death Sentence A little-publicized court case convicts four members of ethnic minorities in Kyrgyzstan. by Alisher Khamidov http://www.tol.cz/look/TOLnew/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=4&NrIssue=6 &NrSection=2&NrArticle=682 Bring Up Your Dead Will the quest to determine the final resting place of a Hungarian national hero mean disturbing the peace of his relatives? by Laszlo Szocs http://www.tol.cz/look/TOLnew/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=4&NrIssue=6 &NrSection=2&NrArticle=678 Doing Time Russia re-evaluates court sentencing and amnesties in light of deplorable prison conditions and spreading disease. By Ana Uzelac http://www.tol.cz/look/TOLnew/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=4&NrIssue=6 &NrSection=2&NrArticle=688 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - - - TOL partners - - - - Oneworld.net (www.oneworld.net) Working through a network of hundreds of organizations spread throughout the world, Oneworld aims to be the online media gateway that most effectively informs a global audience about human rights and sustainable development. - Prague Watchdog (www.watchdog.cz) Prague Watchdog monitors current events in Chechnya with a special focus on human rights abuses, media access and coverage, and the humanitarian and political situation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . --- OUR TAKE: There?s No Place Like Home Milosevic should be tried in Serbia before he?s tried in The Hague. Serbia has come a long way. The manner of former President Slobodan Milosevic?s arrest over the weekend was perhaps a bit sloppy but showed the authorities' determination to avoid bloodshed. That alone is a significant break from the past. Moreover, the charges against Milosevic of corruption and abuse of power were cautious--there was no mention of the more serious accusations of crimes against humanity issued by the international war crimes tribunal in May 1999 for Milosevic's actions in Kosovo. At a press conference, Serbian Justice Minister Vladan Batic said that he would be prepared to see Milosevic go to The Hague, but as of yet, there was no provision in Yugoslav law for the extradition of its citizens abroad. Batic repeatedly mentioned that the former president, under Yugoslav law, would be treated just like anyone else. The insistence on legal propriety has all the hallmarks of Kostunica, an unashamed legalist and constitutionalist. Kostunica, often also described as a moderate nationalist, has persistently rejected the notion of handing Milosevic over to The Hague. He maintains that the Yugoslav constitution doesn?t allow extradition of Yugoslav citizens. In addition, he denies credibility to the tribunal, labeling it a ?political court.? When putting forward such arguments Kostunica speaks as a lawyer rather than a politician. It is still unclear whether Kostunica is genuine in his legal pedantry or whether he is politically opposed to the Tribunal. The president has received criticism for foot-dragging and for being unprepared to prosecute members of the former regime. The president, however, must walk a very fine line. The case against Milosevic is probably the most sensitive issue Kostunica will ever have to face as president. Whisking away Milosevic and immediately extraditing him to The Hague might satisfy the international community's hunger for justice, but it would do little to satisfy the Serbs'. It is crucial that the West understands how much resentment most Serbs--fairly or not--feel toward the organs of the international community, after the bombing of their country by NATO in 1999. Most Serbs see the war crimes tribunal in The Hague as at best a meddling body with no business in Serbia, at worst a tool of U.S. imperialism. It was Kostunica's "third way" that enabled many Serbs to abandon their more myopic strand of nationalism and oust Milosevic. Kostunica enabled them to do that without mentally ?defecting? to the West. The president still commands a good deal of support--much of which is due to the diplomatic way he has handled the awkward relationship with the international community. In many ways, Kostunica holds the key. Whether the Serbs achieve any sort of collective redemption is partly conditional on Kostunica?s attitude toward reckoning with the past. The president--unlike any other politician in Serbia--has the power to turn his "middle ground" into common ground for reconciliation. Milosevic may be finished, but his legacy is not. Arresting, trying, and potentially prosecuting the former leader has always been inexorably linked with the way that Serbs are prepared to confront their recent past-- specifically how best to deal with those accused of serious abuse of power during the Milosevic regime. Serbs have been debating how best to approach this, and Kostunica has recently made moves to set up a South Africa-style truth commission on the wars in the former Yugoslavia. Others say that the Yugoslav government should concentrate more on working with the war crimes tribunal in The Hague. There is no reason why the Serbs can't do both. In fact, they should. Eastern Europe's patchy success with lustration has shown that most jilted leaders were often spared trial and got away scot-free--not so much out of a lacking sense of retribution but rather because the ruling elite was afraid that such trials would reveal too much about their own shady activities. Yugoslavia is no different. A domestic trial would be an essential and painful catharsis for the Serbian nation. Milosevic has a lot to say and nothing to lose. His trial will implicate others and will be embarrassing, not only for people within Serbia, but for those in neighboring countries, and perhaps some in the international community. Trying Milosevic in Serbia first would not only rightfully give Serbs their chance to see justice first, but if Milosevic's crimes--and the crimes of his regime--are widely exposed, that might encourage Serbs to look at the war crimes tribunal with a little more sympathy and increase public support for extradition. Recent polls have shown that up to two thirds of Serbs have said that they would be happy to see Milosevic tried in The Hague, provided he is tried at home first. After a domestic trial, Belgrade should extradite Milosevic to The Hague as soon as possible. The West will not be fully satisfied until that happens. In the meantime, the United States should transfer a first tranche of the millions of dollars needed to support the Yugoslav economy, providing that Kostunica's government agrees to continue to cooperate with the UN Tribunal. Placing further conditions on the money could further complicate the matter, as it is important that Belgrade is seen to be acting of its own volition rather than pandering to the whims of the West. Welcoming the Serbs back into Europe is a two-way process that requires sensitivity from the international community and effort to convince the Serbs that interest in the region is honorable. As long as Kostunica's legal propriety is just that--and not a stall tactic--the international community should not expect a quick fix and should allow Yugoslavia the time it deserves to exorcise its own demons first. -- Transitions Online - Intelligent Eastern Europe Copyright: Transitions Online 2001 -----Syndicate mailinglist-------------------- Syndicate network for media culture and media art information and archive: http://www.v2.nl/syndicate to post to the Syndicate list: <syndicate@eg-r.isp-eg.de> to unsubscribe, write to <majordomo@eg-r.isp-eg.de>, in the body of the msg: unsubscribe syndicate your@email.adress