The following media round up on international, legal and foreign policy issues from around the Balkans for the period from 26 May to 1 June 2023.
Guernica 37 will provide weekly media updates with a focus on Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia . Should you wish to contribute or submit a media summary, opinion piece or blog, please send to Ned Vucijak at nenadv@guernica37.com for consideration.
Albania – 1 June 2023
Prime Minister Edi Rama said that the Serbian army, currently near the border of Kosovo, has zero power and is there only for internal Serbian political reasons, comparing it to the idea of the Mexican army showing up at the US border. The full article can be found here.
Kosovo – 1 June 2023
Police, journalists attacked in Kosovo as Kurti is open to new elections. Kosovo police confirmed that three of their vehicles were attacked in Zvecan, resulting in broken windows and one injured police officer, as well as attacks on journalists and their vehicles, as Prime Minister Albin Kurti leaves the possibility of new elections open. The full article can be found here.
Serbia – 1 June 2023
UN Court’s Last Yugoslav Verdict has lessons for the future. The landmark verdict convicting two high-ranking Serbian State Security officials proved that Serbia played a role in the wars in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia and showed there can be justice for crimes committed by state-sponsored paramilitaries. The full article can be found here.
Moldova – 1 June 2023
EPC Summit in Moldova Hailed as ‘Sign of European Solidarity’. Moldova is hosting the summit of the European Political Community, EPC, which will be attended by 50 European heads of state and government and other high-ranking European officials. The full article can be found here.
Bulgaria – 31 May 2023
GERB party leader and ex-PM Boyko Borissov denied long-standing allegations of taking part in a money-laundering scheme in Spain after Chief Prosecutor Ivan Geshev demanded he give up his political immunity. The full article can be found here.
Kosovo – 30 May 2023
Kosovo’s relations with its key US ally deteriorated sharply as Washington said it will impose penalties until Pristina takes measures to de-escalate the tense situation that led to violent unrest in the Serb-majority north of the country. The full article can be found here.
Bosnia and Herzegovina – 30 May 2023
Bosnian Army Ex-Soldiers Cleared of Assaulting Serb Prisoners. The Bosnian state court in Sarajevo ruled that it had not been proved beyond reasonable doubt that Senad Gadzo, Zaim Lalicic and Suljo Hebib, all wartime members of the Fourth Brigade of the Bosnian Army, participated in the beating and killing of Serb civilians who were detained in the Hrasnica area in 1992 and 1994. The full article can be found here.
Croatia – 26 May 2023
A series of raids carried out simultaneously across Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Netherlands, Italy, Belgium and Germany on May 24 resulted with the arrest of “37 members of a highly violent criminal cell from the Western Balkans,” Europe’s law enforcement agency, Europol, stated on Friday. The full article can be found here.