The Levantine island of Cyprus and the Balkan nation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) are not, for most, two places thought of as sharing a common history. For me however, as a Cypriot genocide researcher whose work focuses on the 1990s war in Bosnia, I have never stopped drawing parallels between these two 'post-conflict' spaces.
The media in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) depends on public, partisan and government funding. Meanwhile BiH journalists lack institutional protection, and therefore need an improvement in the media legislative framework. This is what research shows, conducted among 80 journalists from across Bosnia and Herzegovina, of various ages and genders, working in print and electronic, private and public media.
It was the English poet and civil servant, John Milton, who said of free speech: “For this is the freedom that most of all gives happiness or misery, or success or disappointment, or honor or shame.” This statement remains one of the most powerful on this topic, as it recognizes a fundamental truth about human nature: we, as a species, naturally aspire to freedom. Humans are beings who impose boundaries and frameworks. We are taught modes of behavior and we go through life alongside them. Freedom of speech is inherent within all freedoms. In the modern world, where fluent discourse is propagated, hidden forms of censorship often arise.
The second State of Peace Youth Academy has concluded, bringing together 50 young people from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, and Montenegro. Organised by the European Union in Bosnia and Herzegovina in collaboration with the Post-Conflict Research Center, the conference actively engaged Western Balkans youth in the process of reconciliation for a second year in a row.
In January this year, Balkan Diskurs sat down with Ambassador Johann Sattler, Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Bosnia and Herzegovina and the European Union Special Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The flea market in the Sarajevo neighborhood of Stup is an essential meeting point for the citizens of the Sarajevo Canton. It is a place where you can buy, at affordable prices, every good you can imagine. Every Sunday, this market becomes the epicenter of trade, where a diverse range of goods is displayed on improvised stalls, the smoke from grills stinging your eyes. If the hubbub gets a little too much, you may eat or rest for a while, listening to the sounds of voices echoing through speakers, “Everything at a bargain!” or “Almost gone!”.