Photo: YIHR In Croatia there are now two dominant political approaches to confronting Operation Storm and its consequences which took place in August 1995, led by two of the highest state institutions – the Government and the President. Through coordinated public appearances, the government, led by HDZ and the minority partner, the Independent Democratic Serb Party (SDSS), […]
Photo: Private archive A potential law prohibiting the denial of genocide and other war crimes, which will not be a result of a national catharsis, will help the involved communities to heal to a certain extent, although from the perspective of the long path towards the future, it will not suffice to build a good and fair[…]
In 2017, officials of the Municipality of Prishtina announced that a forgotten bunker, built during communism to shelter the citizens of the capital city in case of any natural catastrophe or upheaval would be transformed into a museum to commemorate the war crimes of 1998-1999. Four years later, the initiative is still just an idea on paper.[…]
Photo: Personal archive The first time I came face to face with what happened in this enclave in the summer of 1995 was five years after the fall of Srebrenica. It was when I heard the testimony of the protected witness DD during the first Srebrenica trial at the Hague Tribunal. And even if that testimony had[…]
More than two decades after the dissolution of Yugoslavia, just like other countries of the Federation, Kosovo too faces the problem of dealing with its communist years. Latif Gashi was only five years old in 1962 when, construction of a building began in front of his home in Landovica, a village in Prizren, a southern municipality in[…]
Photo: Private archive The same question has been repeated for three decades among the interested political, academic and general public: did the breakup of Yugoslavia have to be bloody? Some go even further and ask if the breakup was really inevitable. Both these questions are certainly an interesting topic of debate, but they are, at the same[…]
Between 250,000 and 500,000 Roma were brutally killed during the Second World War Genocide (Holocaust Encyclopedia, 2020). This act of torturing and murdering Roma is also known as ‘Samudaripen’ in the Romani language. Thus, 2nd of August (International Roma Genocide Remembrance Day) and 16th of May (Romani Resistance Day) are dates when Roma remember the ‘Samudaripen’. Although[…]
Once upon a time is usually how every fairy tale begins, but in this case, it is how a war story begins. More than an exhibition, this is a memorial dedicated to all the children killed and missing as a result of the Kosovo war. Through their personal belongings we take a glimpse into their young lives[…]
»Serbia is a country in which the past is much more uncertain than the future« (Stojan Cerović 1949 – 2005, journalist and peace activist) Photo: Private archive Black cardboard squares, about one square meter each, were piled one on top of the other in front of the Palace Albanija and hundreds of people would walk up[…]
Photo credits: Ardit Hoxha and Majlinda Hoxha Feminist activism has a long history of erasure and marginalization. The historical amnesia surrounding women’s movements renders any attempt of unearthing their genealogies and experiences an act of intervention in itself. Grounding women’s movements, however, calls for tackling the complexities and the historical context in which these movements emerged. Academic[…]
For several years, Albanians faced continuous occupation and violation of the rights to work, freedom of language, gathering, music, and moving. However, this became worse under the oppressive policies of Milošević’s regime. In 1998, the situation went from bad to worse. The Serbian police and armed forces started massacring civilians, raping women, burning villages, and perpetrating other[…]