Bosnia does not have lyrics to its national anthem. Serbia’s president doesn’t think Europe’s largest genocide since the Holocaust happened. And Albania wants to celebrate its centennial with criminals. It’s been a hell of a month for bad policy in the Balkans.
Bosnia's Sing Along
When starting a country, your starter kit usually comes with a founding document, a flag, and a national anthem. I suppose two out of three isn’t bad, but after 17 years, Bosnia still does not have a national anthem. The absence of these lyrics is at the fore this month, because last week the European Union’s report on Bosnia’s progress all but called it a failed state.
The Dayton Accords, which ended the Bosnia War and gave birth to a republic, created a rotating presidency and a number of other safeguards to make sure that public institutions in Bosnia were inclusive to the Serb, Croat, and Bosniak communities. These safeguards have functionally ground Bosnia to a halt. Last year, Bosnia was famously kicked out of FIFA because their three-person presidency did not comply with FIFA regulation, nor did it work. To show how low of a bar this is, FIFA has allowed North Korea, Saddam Hussein’s Iraq, and the awful 2010 British National team to play in sanctioned tournaments.
The problem with FIFA last year is indicative of the country on the whole. The creation of Bosnia by the West—namely the U.S.—has hogged tied the country’s governing systems. Within this mild anarchy, those with power and money hope Bosnia remains in gridlock, because they are able to operate with impunity. This will only perpetuate a broken system.
Just last week, the inability to come to terms on a spending bill closed the Bosnia National History Museum after 124 years of operation. That means that this museum made it through Hapsburg control, two Balkan Wars, two World Wars, Communism, the dissolution of Yugoslavia, and a war that bared Bosnia’s name. However, they couldn’t keep the doors open in a time of peace and self-governance because of the absence of a will to even come to the table.
The next time you roll your eyes at another continuing budget resolution from Congress, just remember: we at least agree on the lyrics to sing at a ball game.
Serbia’s Truthers
Last week, Serbia’s new President, Tomislav Nikolić, stood his ground as a Srebrenica Truther.
Nikolić said that the 8,000+ Bosniaks (Muslim Bosnians) that were slaughtered at the hands of Bosnian-Serb troops at Srebrenica during 11 days in July of 1995 did not constitute an act of genocide.
In 2004, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), located in The Hague, ruled in Prosecutor v. Kristič that what occurred in Srebrenica, as a matter of law, was nothing other than genocide. That holding was later reiterated in a separate case in 2007 at the International Court of Justice. Reality and the international community have been clear: the Bosnian-Serbs acted with genocidal intent in Srebrenica.
The timing of this comment is not just idiotic, but like everything in the Balkans, it is also political. This week was the start the ICTY trial against Bosnian-Serb leader Radovan Karadžić for, amongst other charges, genocide at Srebrenica.
Nikolić contends it was happenstance that Bosnian-Serbs were the perpetrators, but it wasn’t a genocide. Karadžić goes farther and says it didn't happen as history remembers it. A quick history lesson would teach us a. that Serbia had essentially a “Final Solution” for the Bosniaks in Bosnia, and b. that Srebrenica wasn’t the only place this happened, showing a pattern. While the Serbs themselves, including the President, maintain that clear lines existed between the Bosnian-Serbs and the Serbs of Serbia; this is nothing else but a willful denial of the facts. Richard Holbrooke, America’s negotiator during the Bosnian War, wrote about his experiences with Slobodan Milosevic, Serbia’s president during the wars in Bosnia and Kosovo. He noted on a number of occasions when the Bosnian Serb leaders like Ratko Mladić (also on trial at the Hague) and Radovan Karadžić were incommunicado, that a stern talking to Milosevic would turn up a Bosnian-Serb leader or a temporary cease fire. At a minimum, there was a working relationship between Milosevic in Serbia and the Bosnian Serbs; at worst, Milosevic aided and abetted some of the worst human rights abuses of the late 20th century. Either way, Serbia's leadership was out right complicit in these atrocities.
Nikolić can’t claim ignorance to this period of Serb history, because during that time he was the press secretary to President Slobodan Milosevic.
In a region still healing from Europe’s worst wars since 1945, comments like those of President Nikolić and Karadžić devalue the human life lost at places like Srebrenica. It also creates a dangerous delusion and lack of responsibility amongst Serbs back home. The Bosniaks, to this day, will point out that the Serbs never officially apologized for the atrocities during the war. This denial by President Nikolić is a drastic step back from both reconciliation and reality. We can only hope that the ICTY sets the record straight, again, on Srebrenica.
Albania: So much fun, it's criminal
American political news, for the past two weeks, has spent too much time on Big Bird’s future. The fact that such a small portion of our national budget that is put to such a good cause could be such a big to do is amazing to me. And while public broadcasting’s budget will continue to needlessly take up public discourse in the States, Albania will take the cake for a needlessly bad budget cut idea.
In a month's time, Albania will celebrate the 100th birthday of the first Albanian Republic. For most countries, a good centennial would include a lot of flag waiving, beer drinking, and fireworks (and, except in Bosnia, the singing of a national anthem). To make the festivities more inclusive, Albania’s parliament introduced a bill this week that would free anyone who was sentenced to less than two years in jail for “non-serious crimes”. Besides the fact that the Albanian criminal justice system is sentencing people guilty of serious crimes to less than two years, I have a problem with this.
The premise, “Who can party harder than petty convicts?” is a strong one. However, it hardly seems to me that Albania’s biggest party since 1912 will be enhanced by those otherwise serving time for theft, sexual assault, and home invasion. We will find out next week what Albania's parliament thinks of this bill; however, no matter how they vote, the mere fact this is being considered makes me think that firing Big Bird isn’t, objectively, the worst money saving proposal of all time.
While this post focused on the political short comings in the Balkans, there are some lessons the U.S. can learn from this region. This year, the United States Congress passed 66 bills into law. If you subtract the renaming of post offices, purchasing of land for courts, laws specifically for D.C., and a new commemorative coin, the number is closer to 45. This is just seven more laws than the nation of Kosovo passed in the same time. And while we were not dealing with social security, the debt ceiling, or education reform, Kosovo was. Even with all of the structural hurdles Kosovo has regarding sovereignty, their economy, and endemic corruption, they were able to pass almost as many substantive laws as the United States.
There are lessons to be learned in the Balkans for everyone. However, it is important to remember that in this election season where Labor statistics are supposedly faked and puppets are a financial burden that we, if nothing else, can always sing our national anthem together. At least those lyrics are something we can all agree on.
Bosnia's Sing Along
When starting a country, your starter kit usually comes with a founding document, a flag, and a national anthem. I suppose two out of three isn’t bad, but after 17 years, Bosnia still does not have a national anthem. The absence of these lyrics is at the fore this month, because last week the European Union’s report on Bosnia’s progress all but called it a failed state.
The Dayton Accords, which ended the Bosnia War and gave birth to a republic, created a rotating presidency and a number of other safeguards to make sure that public institutions in Bosnia were inclusive to the Serb, Croat, and Bosniak communities. These safeguards have functionally ground Bosnia to a halt. Last year, Bosnia was famously kicked out of FIFA because their three-person presidency did not comply with FIFA regulation, nor did it work. To show how low of a bar this is, FIFA has allowed North Korea, Saddam Hussein’s Iraq, and the awful 2010 British National team to play in sanctioned tournaments.
The problem with FIFA last year is indicative of the country on the whole. The creation of Bosnia by the West—namely the U.S.—has hogged tied the country’s governing systems. Within this mild anarchy, those with power and money hope Bosnia remains in gridlock, because they are able to operate with impunity. This will only perpetuate a broken system.
Just last week, the inability to come to terms on a spending bill closed the Bosnia National History Museum after 124 years of operation. That means that this museum made it through Hapsburg control, two Balkan Wars, two World Wars, Communism, the dissolution of Yugoslavia, and a war that bared Bosnia’s name. However, they couldn’t keep the doors open in a time of peace and self-governance because of the absence of a will to even come to the table.
The next time you roll your eyes at another continuing budget resolution from Congress, just remember: we at least agree on the lyrics to sing at a ball game.
Serbia’s Truthers
Last week, Serbia’s new President, Tomislav Nikolić, stood his ground as a Srebrenica Truther.
Nikolić said that the 8,000+ Bosniaks (Muslim Bosnians) that were slaughtered at the hands of Bosnian-Serb troops at Srebrenica during 11 days in July of 1995 did not constitute an act of genocide.
In 2004, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), located in The Hague, ruled in Prosecutor v. Kristič that what occurred in Srebrenica, as a matter of law, was nothing other than genocide. That holding was later reiterated in a separate case in 2007 at the International Court of Justice. Reality and the international community have been clear: the Bosnian-Serbs acted with genocidal intent in Srebrenica.
The timing of this comment is not just idiotic, but like everything in the Balkans, it is also political. This week was the start the ICTY trial against Bosnian-Serb leader Radovan Karadžić for, amongst other charges, genocide at Srebrenica.
Nikolić contends it was happenstance that Bosnian-Serbs were the perpetrators, but it wasn’t a genocide. Karadžić goes farther and says it didn't happen as history remembers it. A quick history lesson would teach us a. that Serbia had essentially a “Final Solution” for the Bosniaks in Bosnia, and b. that Srebrenica wasn’t the only place this happened, showing a pattern. While the Serbs themselves, including the President, maintain that clear lines existed between the Bosnian-Serbs and the Serbs of Serbia; this is nothing else but a willful denial of the facts. Richard Holbrooke, America’s negotiator during the Bosnian War, wrote about his experiences with Slobodan Milosevic, Serbia’s president during the wars in Bosnia and Kosovo. He noted on a number of occasions when the Bosnian Serb leaders like Ratko Mladić (also on trial at the Hague) and Radovan Karadžić were incommunicado, that a stern talking to Milosevic would turn up a Bosnian-Serb leader or a temporary cease fire. At a minimum, there was a working relationship between Milosevic in Serbia and the Bosnian Serbs; at worst, Milosevic aided and abetted some of the worst human rights abuses of the late 20th century. Either way, Serbia's leadership was out right complicit in these atrocities.
Nikolić can’t claim ignorance to this period of Serb history, because during that time he was the press secretary to President Slobodan Milosevic.
In a region still healing from Europe’s worst wars since 1945, comments like those of President Nikolić and Karadžić devalue the human life lost at places like Srebrenica. It also creates a dangerous delusion and lack of responsibility amongst Serbs back home. The Bosniaks, to this day, will point out that the Serbs never officially apologized for the atrocities during the war. This denial by President Nikolić is a drastic step back from both reconciliation and reality. We can only hope that the ICTY sets the record straight, again, on Srebrenica.
Albania: So much fun, it's criminal
American political news, for the past two weeks, has spent too much time on Big Bird’s future. The fact that such a small portion of our national budget that is put to such a good cause could be such a big to do is amazing to me. And while public broadcasting’s budget will continue to needlessly take up public discourse in the States, Albania will take the cake for a needlessly bad budget cut idea.
In a month's time, Albania will celebrate the 100th birthday of the first Albanian Republic. For most countries, a good centennial would include a lot of flag waiving, beer drinking, and fireworks (and, except in Bosnia, the singing of a national anthem). To make the festivities more inclusive, Albania’s parliament introduced a bill this week that would free anyone who was sentenced to less than two years in jail for “non-serious crimes”. Besides the fact that the Albanian criminal justice system is sentencing people guilty of serious crimes to less than two years, I have a problem with this.
The premise, “Who can party harder than petty convicts?” is a strong one. However, it hardly seems to me that Albania’s biggest party since 1912 will be enhanced by those otherwise serving time for theft, sexual assault, and home invasion. We will find out next week what Albania's parliament thinks of this bill; however, no matter how they vote, the mere fact this is being considered makes me think that firing Big Bird isn’t, objectively, the worst money saving proposal of all time.
While this post focused on the political short comings in the Balkans, there are some lessons the U.S. can learn from this region. This year, the United States Congress passed 66 bills into law. If you subtract the renaming of post offices, purchasing of land for courts, laws specifically for D.C., and a new commemorative coin, the number is closer to 45. This is just seven more laws than the nation of Kosovo passed in the same time. And while we were not dealing with social security, the debt ceiling, or education reform, Kosovo was. Even with all of the structural hurdles Kosovo has regarding sovereignty, their economy, and endemic corruption, they were able to pass almost as many substantive laws as the United States.
There are lessons to be learned in the Balkans for everyone. However, it is important to remember that in this election season where Labor statistics are supposedly faked and puppets are a financial burden that we, if nothing else, can always sing our national anthem together. At least those lyrics are something we can all agree on.
