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Date: 02 April 2001 20:02
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Transitions Online - Intelligent Eastern Europe
New at TOL: Monday, 2. April 2001
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- - - 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
[log in to unmask] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
--- 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
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