Heliodrom, a heliport that was used as a concentration camp and controlled by the Croatian Defence Council (HVO), was a place of detention of around 8000 inhabitants of Mostar during the last war. A discussion about turning this space into a museum dedicated to the Croatian Defence Council has been ongoing for quite some time, which is nothing else but […]

Criminal justice constitutes a fundamental element of transitional justice and provides a sound basis for facing the past, building trust within communities and eventually also reconciliation. Final rulings play a key role in this context, since they confirm the responsibility of perpetrators, provide a certain satisfaction to victims and their families and send a clear message about the unacceptability of […]

Author: Edvin Kanka Ćudić All difficulties faced by the post-war Bosnian and Herzegovinian society result from its failure to face the past. The deeply divided community in political and administrative terms is an advantage for officials using politics, media, but also education to make the process of facing war crimes more complicated, given the fact that they see the process […]

At first glance, the term ”transitional justice” may suggest a specific form of justice that differs from typical judicial proceedings. In essence, it encompasses a series of activities implemented in countries in transition for the purpose of achieving justice, rule of law and reconciliation. This discipline is primarily focused on the need of societies to face their criminal past in […]

Numerous first-aid guides about the process of facing the past agree on the first step, without which the process itself is meaningless: exercising self-understanding. Irrespective of the fact whether the purpose of the process of facing the past is to make future plans (as the last step of facing the past) or the purpose of entering such a process is […]

The Hague Tribunal, a name well-known to everyone living in this region, evokes strong opinions—whether collective or individual. Unfortunately, it has become evident that while the majority hold an opinion about it, very few people possess the knowledge necessary to substantiate their views with facts. On the seventh anniversary of the tribunal’s closure, I decided to thoroughly re-examine my knowledge […]

Each year when the day marking the liberation of Belgrade from fascism arrives, especially when it’s a significant round-number anniversary, there is a sense of anxiety about how it will be officially commemorated. Then a person such as myself for example might feel somewhat uncomfortable even writing about it because they neither live in Belgrade nor are they a citizen […]

I graduated from primary and secondary general education school a decade and a half ago. There was no time to learn about our contemporary history in any of the final grades shortly before the end of the school year. That, combined with the fact that even back then I was already interested in and had the privilege to meet different […]