Latest news with #SlobodanMilosevic
CNN
6 days ago
- Politics
- CNN
In a tiny European statelet, a Putin ally is running out of road
When Bosnia's electoral authorities stripped Milorad Dodik of his post as president of the tiny Serb-majority statelet Republika Srpska, he did his best to appear unfazed. Instead, the divisive, genocide-denying nationalist laid down his own challenge to the institutions trying to topple him. 'What if I refuse?' he asked. Bosnia may be about to find out. Dodik, a key Balkan ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has been in and around power in Bosnia since 2006, picking at the seams of the country's patchwork multiethnic state. That state was birthed in 1995 by the Dayton Peace Accords, which halted the violence that spread across the former Yugoslavia as it crumbled in the 1990s, driven by then-Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic's frenzied push to create a 'Greater Serbia.' Although Dayton halted the Bosnian War, it left the country split along ethnic lines. Bosnia comprises two entities: the Federation, where Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims) share power with Croats, and the Serb-dominated Republika Srpska. Above them sits a mostly toothless central government and a foreign 'High Representative,' who is bestowed with far-reaching powers to implement the deal and keep the peace. Dodik – who for years has threatened to split from Bosnia and 'reunite' with Serbia – was convicted in February of defying the orders of Christian Schmidt, the current High Representative. Last week, an appeals court upheld his one-year prison sentence and six-year ban on holding office. Although Dodik has avoided prison by paying a fine, Bosnia's electoral commission on Wednesday chose to apply the law which automatically removes an official from office if sentenced to more than six months in jail. After two decades of raging against Bosnia's state-level institutions, emboldened by his cast of illiberal allies and the lack of pushback from the European Union, many in Bosnia were stunned that authorities moved so quickly to implement the court's ruling. 'Since 2006, Dodik has done his damned best to weaken Bosnia's institutions and hollow out the state from the inside,' Arminka Helić, who fled the wars in the 1990s and now sits in Britain's House of Lords, told CNN. 'I don't think he would have expected, after all his threats and all the noise, that anyone would dare question his position.' The question now is whether Dodik goes quietly or puts up a fight, she said. For now, the latter looks more likely. Dodik has threatened to prevent new elections from taking place – if necessary, by force – and has looked to his allies in Belgrade, Moscow and Budapest for support. 'Surrender is not an option,' Dodik said. Moscow, which has long looked to Dodik to foment trouble in the Balkans, has warned that the region could spiral 'out of control.' Its embassy in Bosnia warned the country was making a 'historic mistake.' 'Has its reputation as the 'European powder keg' been forgotten…?' it asked. When Dodik first took power, Western diplomats were delighted. After the bloodbath of the 1990s, he seemed to herald an era of stability. For Madeleine Albright, then-US Secretary of State, Dodik was a 'breath of fresh air.' But since then, Dodik has refashioned himself as an unrepentant nationalist, denying the genocide of 8,000 Bosniaks at Srebrenica in 1995, the war's most notorious massacre, and often meeting with Putin in Moscow. For years, Dodik has raged against the structures of the Dayton agreement, making it harder for Bosnian institutions to operate in his entity and threatening, ultimately, to split Srpska from the rest of the country. He has made a nemesis of Christian Schmidt, the current High Representative and a former government minister in Germany under then-Chancellor Angela Merkel. Dodik casts Schmidt as an albatross around Srpska's neck, claiming his powers trample on the will of Serb voters. Since Dodik's conviction, his European allies have begun to take up his cause. Viktor Orbán, Hungary's prime minister, dismissed the case against Dodik as an attempt by the foreign-installed High Representative 'to remove him for opposing their globalist elite agenda.' Marko Djurić, Serbia's foreign minister, also said Schmidt was subjecting Dodik to 'a political witch hunt,' using 'undemocratic methods' to thwart 'the will of the people.' Focusing his complaints against Schmidt is a 'smart strategy,' Adnan Ćerimagić, a senior analyst at the European Council on Foreign Relations, told CNN. Even defenders of Bosnia's institutions find it hard to justify the powers granted to Schmidt. High Representatives are appointed by a council comprising several Western nations and bestowed with the power to impose annul laws as well as appoint and remove officials. Paddy Ashdown, a former British MP who previously served as High Representative, said the role gave him 'powers that ought to make any liberal blush.' 'No other person in Europe today, at least in the democratic part, has that power: simply to wake up, access his website, and post new laws, decisions and dismiss people,' said Ćerimagić. Seeking more heavyweight diplomatic support, Dodik has begun to ramp up his overtures to the Trump administration, claiming that he, like the US president, has been subjected to 'lawfare' by an unelected bureaucrat. Echoing criticisms made by Vice President JD Vance in his infamous Munich speech earlier this year, Dodik has claimed that, in attempting to remove him from office, European authorities are ignoring the will of the people. He has also attempted to paint himself as a victimized Christian leader in a Muslim-majority country, said Helić. 'He wants to paint himself as a kindred soul sitting out there in a little entity in the Balkans, who is not only going through the same trials and tribulations that President Trump went through, but is also standing there as the sole figure defending the rule of law and Christianity from chaos,' she said. The electoral authorities' decision against Dodik will take effect once an appeals period expires. Early elections will then be called within 90 days. But confusion remains over who will enforce the decision if Dodik refuses to stand down, or obstructs the new elections. Although the EU expanded its peacekeeping force in the country in March, those troops did not move to detain Dodik even when a warrant was active for his arrest earlier this year. Jasmin Mujanović, a senior fellow at New Lines Institute, told CNN that Bosnian and European authorities will face a 'major test' if Dodik attempts to stay in post. 'If you can't deal with the likes of Milorad Dodik, at least from the EU's perspective, you really have no business talking about competing with the likes of (Chinese leader) Xi Jinping or Vladimir Putin or whoever else,' he said. Although Dodik has threatened to defy the ruling, Mujanović said much of his support base in the entity has withered away. For months, there has been 'elite defection' in Republika Srpska, as the political opposition begins to imagine a 'post-Dodik future.' Nebojša Vukanović, founder of an opposition party in the entity, said only Dodik's total removal from office could end the 'constant crisis' in Bosnian politics, and would finally 'free the institutions to prosecute those responsible for crime and corruption.' Dodik is under US sanctions for cultivating a 'corrupt patronage network.' But although some in Srpska may be beginning to imagine political life without Dodik, Helić warned he could take reckless actions – such as attempting full secession from Bosnia – if he feels he has nothing to lose. 'A desperate man might decide to do something that would further destabilize the country,' she said.
Euractiv
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Euractiv
Serbia's bold protests and buried crimes
Fred Abrahams covered the South Balkans for Human Rights Watch from 1993 to 2000. He testified in the UN war crimes trials of Slobodan Milosevic, Vlastimir Djordjevic, and other former Serbian leaders. For months now, Serbian students have braved intimidation and arrest to fill streets across their country in vibrant protest. Their demands are clear: an end to corruption, abuse of power, and the tight grip of President Aleksandar Vučić's lengthy rule. They want transparent governance, a free press, and courts that uphold the law rather than serve leaders. The challenge now is how to realise that brighter future while honestly grappling with Serbia's darker past – and connecting the fight for justice at home with accountability for abuses that crossed borders and generations. That link comes into sharp focus this month, as Bosnia and Herzegovina marks the 30th anniversary of the genocide at Srebrenica. On July 11, survivors and families, and many around the world, will again remember how Bosnian Serb forces massacred more than 8,000 Bosnian Muslim boys and men – Europe's worst atrocity since World War II. The Vučić government continues to reject Serbia's responsibility in enabling and supporting that crime. And the student-led democratic movement is still grappling with how, or whether, to reckon with this heavy legacy. Some critics accuse the students of avoiding this history to calm or appease nationalist currents. Others argue it is unfair to expect young people – many of whom were not even born at the time – to answer for crimes committed decades ago. But whichever view one takes, the connection cannot be ignored: a more democratic society, rooted in the rule of law, will stand on shaky ground without an honest reckoning with the crimes that came before. Consider the recent case of Vlastimir Djordjevic, who ran Serbia's powerful police during Slobodan Milosevic's rule and the 1998–99 war in Kosovo. Last month, Djordjevic returned home after serving an 18-year sentence handed down by a United Nations tribunal for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Within days of his release, he stood proudly at a ceremony to rename a street after the special police units he once commanded – forces responsible for torture, mass killings, sexual violence, and the secret removal of around 1,000 bodies to hide the evidence. Those remains, dumped in mass graves at police compounds and other sites across Serbia, have never been fully found. His warm welcome is no anomaly. Other senior officials convicted by the UN tribunal have come home to applause. They speak at public events, appear on state TV, and deny the crimes for which they were convicted – even as domestic war crimes trials stall and high-level suspects remain untouched. The brave students protesting in Belgrade and other cities may not carry signs about Srebrenica or the mass graves hidden beneath Serbian soil. But their struggle is bound to the same truth: A state that shields political cronies is the same state that protects war criminals. A government that buries the truth about the past cannot be trusted to deliver genuine justice, transparency and democratic rule.
Al Jazeera
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
What are Serbia's protesters demanding, and what's next?
Thousands of people took to the streets in Serbia over the weekend, marking the latest round of protests over widespread corruption and stifling democratic freedoms. After nearly eight months of persistent dissent against populist President Aleksandar Vucic, demonstrators declared the government 'illegitimate' and clashed with riot police in the capital, Belgrade. Police said on Sunday that 48 officers were injured while 22 protesters sought medical help. Interior Minister Ivica Dacic said out of 77 people detained, 38 remained in custody on Sunday, most of them facing criminal charges. Vucic accused the organisers of inciting violence and attacking police officers, calling them 'terrorists' who 'tried to bring down the state'. Critics accuse him of being increasingly authoritarian since coming to power, first as prime minister in 2014 and then as president since 2017. Serbians have a history of uprooting strongman leaders; they ousted Slobodan Milosevic 25 years ago after bloody protests. What are protesters demanding? Antigovernment protests started in November, after a renovated rail station canopy in the northern city of Novi Sad collapsed, killing 16 people. Many in Serbia blamed the tragedy on corruption-fuelled negligence in state infrastructure projects. Following the disaster, Vucic and his Serbian Progressive Party stayed in power with a reshuffled administration. The student-led protests have since focused their demands on the need for snap elections instead of regular elections planned for 2027. In advance of Saturday's protest, organisers had issued an 'ultimatum' for Vucic to announce a new vote by 9pm (19:00 GMT) that day – a demand he rejected. Protesters are also stressing the need to ensure that elections are free and fair through several reforms, including a review of voter records, equal access to media for all participants in political life and measures to prevent vote-buying. Other requests also include reforming the education system, recognising student bodies – known as plenums – as legal entities, ensuring fair wages for all education sector workers, and respecting the autonomy of universities. While Serbia is formally seeking European Union entry and Vucic maintains a pro-European stance, critics have also denounced his government's deepening ties with Russia and China. What's new in the latest round of protests? Saturday's rally was one of the largest since the Novi Sad disaster. Authorities put the crowd size at 36,000, well below an independent estimate by the Archive of Public Gatherings, which suggested that about 140,000 people had gathered. Unlike previous demonstrations that passed peacefully, this time police and protesters engaged in violent clashes. Riot police used tear gas and batons as protesters hurled flares and bottles at rows of officers in Belgrade. Vucic has repeatedly alleged the protests are part of a foreign plot to destroy his government, without providing any evidence. He has not specified whom he was alluding to in referring to an external nation looking to destabilise Serbia. Vucic said there would be 'no negotiations' with 'terrorists'. 'They consciously wanted to spur bloodshed. The time of accountability is coming,' he said. Engjellushe Morina, senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), said the government had been conducting a 'smear campaign' aimed at criminalising protesters. 'The narrative by government-supported media is that they are 'terrorists' and have to be dealt with,' Morina told Al Jazeera. 'It is unclear how far the government will be willing to go,' the analyst said, adding, the situation 'is escalating and both government and protesters are determined not to back down this time'. Have Serbian protesters forced a government change before? Yes. They ousted Milosevic — who had led the country since 1989 — 25 years ago in what became known as the Bulldozer Revolution. A popular uprising began on September 24, 2000, following a presidential election that saw significant irregularities — but in which Milosevic claimed victory. The protests culminated on October 5 with a bulldozer charging into the building of the Radio Television of Serbia, considered the bastion of the government's propaganda machine. Milosevic resigned two days later. In 2001, he was arrested on charges of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes and handed over, by the government in Belgrade, to an international tribunal in The Hague. His trial there began in 2002, but Milosevic's deteriorating health slowed its progress. Milosevic was found dead in his cell in 2006 while the trial was still on. The October 2000 revolution is etched into the memory of the nation as it is once again roiled by protests. However, Morina, the ECFR fellow, said despite the government's attempts to portray the protests as foreign-led, the student movement has less support from abroad than demonstrators had in 2000, while Vucic enjoys a stronger grip on the country's security infrastructure than Milosevic did. Therefore, the ECFR analyst said protesters had little expectation of making gains in the short term. 'They are very well aware this might have to go on for a long time,' she said. What's next for the protest movement? The student-led protest movement has pledged not to back down. 'This is not a moment for withdrawal,' it said on Instagram. After Saturday's rally, organisers played a statement to the crowd, calling for Serbians to 'take freedom into your own hands'. 'The authorities had all the mechanisms and all the time to meet the demands and prevent an escalation,' the statement said. On his part, Vucic said there would be more arrests. Later on Sunday, eight people were arrested on accusations including planning to block roads and attack state institutions. More arrests are likely to follow. 'There will be many more arrested for attacking police … this is not the end,' the president said, adding that 'identification of all individuals is under way'. According to Morina, arrests could force the movement to a temporary lull to regroup, but are unlikely to put out the nationwide protests. 'They're serious, I don't think they will go away easily,' the analyst said, adding that she forecasts protesters will 'eventually prevail'. 'But at what cost, we don't yet know,' she said.
Fox News
23-06-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
DOUG SCHOEN: Trump's Iran strategy could ignite long-awaited regime change. My Serbia experience is a guide
With President Donald Trump's extraordinary decision to attack three of the key/critical Iranian nuclear sites, two questions emerge: First, how will the Iranian populace react to the decision? Second, will this hurt or help the chances for regime change? Of course, we will not get answers to these questions immediately. But I think it's fair to say that history, in the not-so-distant past, offers an instructive guide to what could well happen. While it is challenging at this point to answer these questions with a high degree of certainty, there is one historical analogy which I was deeply involved in that may provide insights. More than 24 years ago, while working in the Bill Clinton administration, I was one of the principal actors advising the State Department on the situation in Serbia. There, I led on-the-ground efforts to demonstrate to the Serbian opposition that President Slobodan Milosevic could be beaten. At the time, many in both the U.S. and Serbia thought that nearly 80-days of NATO bombings and the 1999 Kosovo war had produced a rally around the flag effect in favor of Milosevic. And yet, the polls I conducted conclusively demonstrated the opposite. The data revealed that, despite efforts by the regime to portray Milosevic as strong and popular, he was extremely weak, with a 70% unfavorable rating. As was acknowledged in the Washington Post at the time, the strategic guidance I provided based on those polls led to the development of a campaign that soon toppled a regime few thought was quite so WHAT A POST-AYATOLLAH IRAN COULD LOOK LIKE IF WAR WITH ISRAEL LEADS TO REGIME'S FALL There are striking parallels between Milosevic's downfall and the situation the Khamenei regime finds itself in today. In both, there are some who feel that foreign airstrikes would strengthen nationalist sentiment in favor of a regime that prioritizes projecting an aura of popularity despite being incredibly disliked by its citizens. Further, in Serbia, we found that there was pervasive anger towards the government, particularly over the poor state of the economy. In Iran, there is similar – if not even more intense – dissatisfaction with the regime's chronic mishandling of economic and national policy. To be sure, polling data from inside Iran is limited, although Stasis, a firm which specializes in conducting methodologically-sound surveys in the country, released a poll last October that is telling. They found that nearly 8-in-10 (78%) Iranians feel that the government's policies are to blame for the country's economic struggles. Additionally, in a country of 90 million, where roughly 60% are under the age of 30, the same poll shows that more than three-quarters (77%) of Iranians believe that "Iranian youth do not see prosperity for their future in Iran." All of this is to say that like Milosevic's regime, the Iranian government appears to have strong popular support, but underneath the surface, is extremely weak and vulnerable. For many, the idea that Israel – and especially Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – could bring about regime change in Iran is hard to take seriously. But, a more detailed examination of the current situation, as well as Iran's own recent history, supports the notion that Netanyahu could be more accurate than not. Consider the history: Since 2009, there have been 10 nationwide protest movements, with millions of Iranians taking to the streets against the government. And while there was a wide range of causes for those protests – from blatant election fraud to the most recent demonstrations set off by the killing of Mahsa Amini – they all underscore widespread opposition to the current regime. In that same vein, much like I saw in Serbia, the large number of protests and their various causes reveal a significantly large opposition that, under the right conditions, can effectively mobilize and pressure the regime. To that end, whereas we had to actively organize those movements in Serbia, those conditions are already evident in Iran, and on a much greater scale. Aside from the bleak future facing Iran's youth, the regime's oppressive laws towards its nearly 44 million female citizens have turned virtually one-half of the population into second-class citizens with little to lose from rising up, as hundreds of thousands did during the 2022 Mahsa Amini protests. Underscoring just how deep the hatred is towards the regime, Iran International has reported receiving letters expressing personal thanks to Netanyahu, and the Jerusalem Post reported than an Iranian source told them, "This war has greatly strengthened and revived new optimism" among Iranians for regime change. The Post's source inside Iran continued, saying that "conversations around the capital city (Tehran) are focused on the final days of the regime and that they brought it on themselves." Outside of Iran, the debate has already begun. On one side are leaders such as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as journalists like former National Security Advisor John Bolton, and Yorktown Institute President Seth Cropsey. Those men have argued – Bolton and Cropsey in the Wall Street Journal, and Netanyahu speaking to Fox News' Bret Baier and in other forums – that this is the most opportune moment for regime change in Iran since the revolution in 1979. Given the deep reservoir of anti-regime sentiment among the Iranian people, the argument goes, the best course of action is that Israel's destruction of the regime's military and symbols of power will give Iranians the courage to rise up, united, against the government. On the other side of the debate are those such as French President Emmanuel Macron. Haunted by failed regime change efforts in Iraq and Libya, Macron cast doubt on the possibility for success in pursuing regime change, saying it would "result in chaos." Some have also argued that Israel's actions could create a "rally around the flag" effect and spark nationalism among the Iranian people. To be clear, while both sides have legitimate arguments, based off my experience in Serbia, I believe that Netanyahu and those on his side have a much stronger case. The Iranian government is weaker than ever before after Israel destroyed virtually its entire chain of command and remains in total control of Iranian skies. Likewise, unlike Libya and Iraq, Iran has a well-organized opposition, with a much more established sense of national unity than either Iraq or Libya ever had. Taken together, there is strong evidence underpinning Israel's belief that the Iranian regime could fall, especially given Israel's extreme caution in only targeting symbols of the regime in order to avoid stoking nationalism. Of course, there are risks in encouraging regime change, and it's not at all guaranteed that the next regime is the one the West wants. It could very well result in a more extreme government led by remnants of the Revolutionary Guard hard-liners. However, it is a mistake of similar magnitude to dismiss this chance out of hand. History has shown that when an oppressed people, angry at their government, find their confidence and are supported – even only by air power – the outcome need not be chaos, or the survival of the current government. It has, and could again, result in genuine regime change. In both cases of Iran and Serbia there was widespread bombing of the country and indeed the civilians, with collateral damage on the civilian population. In the Serbian case all of the net results was that it strengthened the resolve of the Serbian people to rid themselves of an authoritarian dictator – Milosevic. And in the Iranian case, if history is any guide, it will weaken an already fragile regime and hopefully provide an outlet for the millions of Iranians who want a greater measure of freedom and peace in their lives.
National Post
19-06-2025
- Entertainment
- National Post
Belgrade show plots path out of Balkan labyrinth of pain
Belgrade — Life in 1990s former Yugoslavia was a nightmare of war, economic collapse and an all-powerful mafia. Article content But a new exhibition in Belgrade hopes plunging visitors back into this labyrinth of trauma and suffering may actually help the Balkans find a way to escape its troubled past. Article content The show tells how a once-prosperous country was ripped apart by rampant nationalism and devastating violence as much of the rest of Europe basked in post-Cold War optimism and the beginning of the digital revolution. Article content Article content 'I feel like crying,' Vesna Latinovic, a 63-year-old from Belgrade told AFP as she toured the exhibition, visibly shaken. Article content Article content 'Labyrinth of the Nineties' opens with a video collage of popular television intros and music videos, followed by a speech from Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic, who ended his days in prison being tried for war crimes. Article content 'We've forgotten so much — how intense and dramatic it was, how deeply human lives were affected, and how many were tragically cut short,' visitor Latinovic said. Article content At least 130,000 were killed — with 11,000 still missing — as Yugoslavia spiralled into the worst war in Europe since 1945. Millions more were displaced as neighbour turned on neighbour. Article content The collapse Article content The exhibition features haunting images of the Bosnian capital Sarajevo under siege, civilians under sniper fire, refugees and concentration camps. Article content Those of strikes, worthless, hyper-inflated banknotes and descriptions of the rise of a new class of tycoons and oligarchs reveal a society imploding. Article content The labyrinth in the show is meant to be a 'powerful metaphor to show that we entered the maze of the 1990s and we still haven't found the way out,' said historian Dubravka Stojanovic, who co-curated the show. Article content At the labyrinth's heart is 1995 — a year when over 8,000 Muslim men and boys were massacred by Bosnian Serb forces in Srebrenica, and 200,000 Serbs were displaced from Croatia in the fall of the Republic of Serbian Krajina. Article content That year the Schengen Agreement removed borders within the European Union, but at the same time new borders were being thrown up between the former Yugoslav republics.
