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81. Reality Demands: Documenting Violations of International Humanitarian Law in Kosovo 1999

Publication Date:
06-2000
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Crisis Group
Abstract:
This report is the product of seven months of field research conducted by teams of local and international personnel in Kosovo and Albania in 1999, as part of the International Crisis Group's Humanitarian Law Documentation Project. The Project was conceived in the spring of 1999, as violence and destruction in Kosovo forced hundreds of thousands of men, women and children from their homes, many seeking shelter in neighbouring Albania and The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (hereafter referred to as Macedonia).The purpose of the Project was to support the efforts of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (“the Tribunal”or “the ICTY”) to investigate serious violations of international humanitarian law committed in Kosovo and bring to justice persons responsible for such crimes.
Topic:
Human Rights, International Law, and Politics
Political Geography:
Eastern Europe, Kosovo, Yugoslavia, Macedonia, and Albania

82. Serbia's Grain Trade: Milosevic's Hidden Cash Crop

Publication Date:
06-2000
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Crisis Group
Abstract:
Nearly a year after NATO defeated Serbia in the war over Kosovo, the international community appears uncertain about how to remove Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic from power.
Topic:
Agriculture, Economics, International Trade and Finance, Politics, and United Nations
Political Geography:
Eastern Europe, Kosovo, Yugoslavia, and Serbia

83. Kosovo's Linchpin: Overcoming Division In Mitrovica

Publication Date:
05-2000
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Crisis Group
Abstract:
Mitrovica has become the linchpin of Kosovo's future united status. The stakes are high. If the international community cannot re-establish Mitrovica as a single city, efforts to preserve a united Kosovo will also fail.
Topic:
Defense Policy, Economics, and Politics
Political Geography:
Eastern Europe, Kosovo, and Mitrovica

84. Bosnia's refugee logjam breaks: is the international community ready?

Publication Date:
05-2000
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Crisis Group
Abstract:
After four and a half year of concerted efforts by the international community, significant numbers of minority refugees are returning spontaneously to areas of Bosnia controlled by heretofore hostile ethnic majorities. This provides an opportunity to reverse wartime ethnic cleansing and make substantial progress toward achieving a core goal of the international community and the Dayton Peace Agreement. The requirement for modestly increased reconstruction and security assistance to facilitate this process, however, poses a challenge for governments and international aid and security organisations, many of which are seeking to wind down their Bosnia commitments. Absent such international community support and increased Bosnian government co-operation, the ceiling for returns may be low, and could jeopardise the success of current and future return efforts.
Topic:
Migration and Politics
Political Geography:
Bosnia and Eastern Europe

85. Serbia's Embattled Opposition

Publication Date:
05-2000
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Crisis Group
Abstract:
The recent crackdown by the Belgrade regime on Serbia's independent media and political activists suggests that Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic is more vulnerable than it would appear. Since the Kosovo war ended, Milosevic has proven unable to expand his support base and must struggle with diminishing resources to keep restive constituencies intact. Despite its recognised weakness, the Serbian opposition is capable under certain conditions of removing Milosevic from power and offering better governance. The message of numerous public opinion polls over the past eight moths is that there is an anti-Milosvic majority in Serbia, but that the opposition must work together in coalitions to exploit it.
Topic:
Democratization, Non-Governmental Organization, and Politics
Political Geography:
Eastern Europe, Kosovo, Yugoslavia, and Serbia

86. Montenegro's Local Elections: Testing the National Temperature (Background Briefing)

Publication Date:
05-2000
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Crisis Group
Abstract:
Local elections are to be held in Podgorica and Herceg-Novi, two of Montenegro's 21 municipalities, on 11 June 2000. Their significance is wider than the simple question of who governs the two local authorities, for these will be the first elections in Montenegro since the victory of the "For a Better Life" coalition (DZB) under president Milo Djukanovic in general elections in May 1998. For this reason the results will be widely interpreted as a comment on the performance of Djukanovic so far, and a barometer of the political mood in the republic as a whole.
Topic:
Government and Politics
Political Geography:
Europe, Eastern Europe, and Montenegro

87. Montenegro's Socialist People's Party: A Loyal Opposition?

Publication Date:
04-2000
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Crisis Group
Abstract:
The assertion of the primacy of Serbian rights over all other peoples by Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic has driven nearly every nationality of the former Yugoslavia toward the Republic's exits. Even Montenegro, once Serbia's closest political and military ally, has not been immune from the turmoil that Slobodan Milosevic has created and has opted to distance itself from Belgrade's controlling influence.
Topic:
International Relations, Non-Governmental Organization, and Politics
Political Geography:
Eastern Europe, Yugoslavia, Serbia, and Montenegro

88. Bosnia's Municipal Elections 2000: Winners and Losers

Publication Date:
04-2000
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Crisis Group
Abstract:
The international community can draw a degree of comfort from the results of Bosnia's 8 April 2000 municipal elections. Overall, the voting was free of violence and more freeand fair than any previous election held in Bosnia. Nationalism may not be on the run yet—witness the strength of indicted Bosnian Serb war criminal Radovan Karadzic's Serbian Democratic Party (SDS)—but moderate leaders are making inroads and increasing numbers of voters seem to be paying attention to their messages.
Topic:
Government, Nationalism, and Politics
Political Geography:
Bosnia, Eastern Europe, and Serbia

89. Reunifying Mostar: Opportunities for Progress

Publication Date:
04-2000
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Crisis Group
Abstract:
Reunification of Mostar is key to the reintegration of separatist Herzegovinian Bosnian Croats into Bosnia. After years of fruitless post-Dayton efforts to wean the Bosnian Croats from Zagreb and reorient them toward a constructive role in Bosnia, the international community at long last has the capability to achieve this goal. The success of the democratic forces in Croatia in the January-February elections there has brought reliable partners to power with whom the international community can work in Bosnia. Policy initiatives in Herzegovina will not require new resources and, if achieved, can lead to a reduction in the international profile in Bosnia. Failure to act on these opportunities will cripple the Bosnian peace effort and weaken the new government in Croatia. These issues present serious policy challenges.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Ethnic Conflict, and Politics
Political Geography:
Bosnia, Herzegovina, Eastern Europe, and Croatia

90. Montenegro: In the Shadow of the Volcano

Publication Date:
03-2000
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Crisis Group
Abstract:
Montenegro has been a crisis-in-waiting for two years now, with Belgrade opposing efforts by a reform-minded government under President Milo Djukanovic to distance itself ever further from its federal partner Serbia. Federal President Slobodan Milosevic has steadily escalated the pressure against Djukanovic, probing the extent of NATO support for Montenegro and pushing the Montenegrins toward a misstep that might undermine their international backing. Each of the three possible policy-paths facing the Montenegro government, however, is unappealing in its own way:Going ahead with a referendum on independence for Montenegro would risk radicalising a population still peacefully divided over the issue, and would offer maximum provocation to Belgrade, which retains a powerful military presence in Montenegro. Maintaining the status quo may offer a better chance of avoiding open confrontation with Belgrade, but it leaves Montenegro in a limbo. Its friends are not offering all the help they could, on the grounds that it is not a sovereign state; but prospects for selfgenerated income through inward investment or revival of the tourist industry are still hostage to international risk perceptions. Achieving rapprochement with the Serbian government would be possible if Milosevic went. But Montenegro cannot afford to leave its future in the unsure hands of the present Serbian opposition. And as the atmosphere in Serbia steadily worsens, political and public opinion in Montenegro appears to grow ever less willing to compromise.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, NATO, Economics, and Politics
Political Geography:
Eastern Europe, Serbia, and Montenegro

91. What Happened to the KLA?

Publication Date:
03-2000
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Crisis Group
Abstract:
The end of the war over Kosovo brought the transformation of the guerrilla army that started it. The Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA - or UÇK in the Albanian acronym) has been formally demilitarised, but in various manifestations it remains a powerful and active element in almost every area of Kosovo life. Some welcome its continued influence; others fear it; many are concerned about it.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Government, and Politics
Political Geography:
Eastern Europe, Kosovo, and Albania

92. Albania: State of the Nation

Publication Date:
03-2000
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Crisis Group
Abstract:
During the spring of 1999, more than 450,000 Kosovo Albanian refugees flooded into Albania, many of them forcibly deported by Serb forces in Kosovo. Despite Albania's acute poverty, many Albanians opened their homes to provide shelter to the incoming refugees and the government spared no effort, organising humanitarian relief and putting the entire country at the disposal of NATO. As a result, in the eyes of its people, Albania has secured its position as the spiritual motherland of all ethnic Albanians, and as such expects to play a prominent role in future pan-Albanian aspirations.
Topic:
Ethnic Conflict, Politics, and Poverty
Political Geography:
Eastern Europe, Kosovo, and Albania

93. Denied Justice: Individuals Lost in a Legal Maze

Publication Date:
02-2000
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Crisis Group
Abstract:
Thousands of people try to find their way daily through an immensely complicated labyrinth established by the three separate and very often conflicting legal systems in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). Evidence presented in this report, the third in the ICG legal project series, proves that unexplained time delays, dubious application of law and blatant ethnic discrimination contribute greatly to the ad hoc nature of Bosnian justice.
Topic:
Ethnic Conflict, Human Rights, and Politics
Political Geography:
Bosnia, Herzegovina, and Eastern Europe

94. Albanians in Serbian Prisons: Kosovo's Unfinished Business

Publication Date:
01-2000
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Crisis Group
Abstract:
With the immense challenges facing the international community in its effort to secure and rebuild Kosovo, one critical outstanding matter that has received very little attention is the ongoing detention in Serbian prisons of several thousand Kosovar Albanians. Arrested by Serbian forces in the course of the Kosovo conflict, these prisoners were hastily transferred to Serbian jails and penitentiaries in the wake of the Kumanovo military-technical agreement, which ended the NATO air campaign and established a timetable for the withdrawal from Kosovo of all Serb forces.
Topic:
International Relations, Ethnic Conflict, Human Rights, and Politics
Political Geography:
Eastern Europe, Kosovo, Serbia, and Albania

95. The New Slovak Language Law: Internal or External Politics?

Author:
Farimah Daftary and Kinga Gál
Publication Date:
09-2000
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
European Centre for Minority Issues
Abstract:
In Central and Eastern Europe, where language is the central defining element of the ethnic group, language policy becomes the cornerstone of constructing the identity of new states. In the multiethnic state or plural democratic state, policies aimed at promoting the language of the titular nation become the primary means of validating the moral worth of one ethnic group over the others. The example of independent Slovakia illustrates the political importance of language in Central and Eastern Europe and the virulence of the conflicts which arise between majorities and minorities over language issues. The continuous disputes between the Slovak leadership and the Hungarian minority over minority issues in general, and language-related issues specifically, have shown how sensitive language demands are during the early phases of state-building. In Slovakia, where the emphasis was on the ethnic rather than the civic dimension of nationhood, language policy served a twofold purpose: by giving the Slovak language a dominant position in the state, it sought to foster Slovak ethnic identity as the identity of the Slovak nation-state; and it was at the same time a method for promoting the assimilation of non-ethnic Slovak citizens. In reality, anti-minority policies in Slovakia (or policies perceived as such) fell within a broader set of anti-opposition policies as the State attempted to extend control and establish moral monopoly over not only language but also the fields of culture, education, economy, etc.
Topic:
Development, Government, and Politics
Political Geography:
Eastern Europe and Slovakia

96. Iraq's Transition: On a Knife Edge

Publication Date:
09-1999
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Crisis Group
Abstract:
The situation in Iraq is more precarious than at any time since the April 2003 ouster of the Baathist regime, largely reflecting the Coalition's inability to establish a legitimate and representative political transition process. The broad plan sketched out by UN Special Adviser Lakhdar Brahimi, the apparent willingness of the U.S. to delegate at least some political responsibility to the UN and the decision to loosen the de-Baathification decree are all steps in the right direction. But critical questions remain both unanswered and, in some cases, unasked.
Topic:
Demographics, Government, and Politics
Political Geography:
United States, Iraq, Eastern Europe, and United Nations

97. Rule of Law in Public Administration: Confusion and Discrimination in a Post-Communist Bureaucracy

Publication Date:
12-1999
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Crisis Group
Abstract:
To date, little attention has been paid to the role public administration plays in enforcing or violating the human rights and civil liberties of Bosnia and Herzegovina's citizens. Instead, much effort is concentrated on reforming the court system. Yet, the justice system in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) comprises far more than the court system. It also consists of "administrative justice," where small-scale rulings by seemingly minor municipal and cantonal officials in a variety of public administrative organs, exercise a huge influence on the lives and legal rights of ordinary citizens. Many of these rulings prevent citizens from exercising their legal rights and gaining access to due process of law.</p
Topic:
International Relations, Government, and Politics
Political Geography:
Bosnia, Herzegovina, and Eastern Europe

98. Trepca: Making Sense of the Labyrinth

Publication Date:
12-1999
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Crisis Group
Abstract:
The enterprise known as Trepca is a sprawling conglomerate of some 40 mines and factories, located mostly in Kosovo but also in other locations in Serbia and Montenegro. Its activities include chemical processing and production of goods as varied as batteries and paint. But the heart of its operations, and the source of most of its raw material, is the vast mining complex to the east of Mitrovicë/a in the north of Kosovo, famous since Roman times. This report examines the current position of the mines, together with the associated smelting complex at nearby Zvecan.
Topic:
International Relations, Government, and Politics
Political Geography:
Eastern Europe, Kosovo, Serbia, and Montenegro

99. Starting from Scratch in Kosovo: The Honeymoon Is Over

Publication Date:
12-1999
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Crisis Group
Abstract:
After an unprecedented, multilateral military intervention in Kosovo succeeded in expelling Serb forces and enabling the return home of more than a million displaced persons, the international community embarked on the ambitious, long-term project of securing, rebuilding, and establishing the rule of law in Kosovo, while setting the territory on the path to self-governance. Visionary promises were made to the people of Kosovo, and careful planning was undertaken at NATO and United Nations headquarters and in many European capitals. But six months into the mission, the international community has so far not been able to deliver on its promises. No Kosovars of any ethnicity feel secure, tens of thousands of people remain without adequate shelter as winter sets in, civil registration has yet to get underway, there is as yet no agreed-upon, functional system of justice, and criminals – including suspected war criminals – continue to operate with effective impunity.
Topic:
International Relations, Government, and Politics
Political Geography:
Eastern Europe, Kosovo, and United Nations

100. Is Dayton Failing?: Bosnia Four Years After the Peace Agreement

Publication Date:
10-1999
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Crisis Group
Abstract:
In anticipation of the fourth anniversary on 21 November 1999 of the signing of the Dayton Peace Accords, this report presents a detailed analysis of the agreement and the future of the Bosnian peace process. The report assesses efforts to implement the agreement annex by annex, identifying obstacles to continued progress and setting out key choices facing international policymakers.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Ethnic Conflict, Politics, and Treaties and Agreements
Political Geography:
Bosnia and Eastern Europe