Concerns Grow About Authoritarianism in Macedonia

By MATTHEW BRUNWASSER

SKOPJE, MACEDONIA — The ambitious retooling of this small nation’s identity — a Balkan brand of hyper-patriotism accompanied by the trumpeting of Macedonia’s ancient roots — is raising concerns internationally about growing authoritarianism, the silencing of dissent and accusations of abuse of power by the governing party here.

The European Commission released its annual report this week on the country’s progress toward E.U. membership, and found that the country was backtracking on protecting media freedoms and that it was making insufficient progress on protecting the rule of law. Continue reading “Concerns Grow About Authoritarianism in Macedonia” →

Kosovo’s Serbs Pressed to End Autonomy Push

By MATTHEW BRUNWASSER

MITROVICA, Kosovo — After years of impasse between the national government of Kosovo and ethnic Serbs demanding autonomy within their northern enclave in the new country, international pressure has intensified on the Serbs. And while the immediate result has been minor clashes, there is new hope for some movement toward a resolution for the last geopolitically unsettled chunk of the former Yugoslavia.

Continue reading “Kosovo’s Serbs Pressed to End Autonomy Push” →

Turkey Silences Syrian Refugees’ Stories

In the refugee camps along Turkey’s border with Syria, at least five babies born to Syrian women have been named Recep Tayyip, in honor of the Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan. They are grateful to Turkey for opening its border to more than 15,000 refugees fleeing the violence next door. But at the same time, many refugees feel like prisoners in the refugee camps. While Turkey positions itself as a leading democracy in the Middle East, the refugees are not allowed to leave the camps — or talk to journalists. From the Yayladagi tent city, on the Turkish – Syrian border, Matthew Brunwasser reports. Continue reading “Turkey Silences Syrian Refugees’ Stories” →

Syrian Opposition Leads the Revolution DIY-style

In Syria, the opposition to rule by President Bashir Al-Assad comes from a wide variety of groups, economically and socially. There are long time Syrian dissidents in exile, protestors inside Syria and refugees who have fled the current crackdown. Many of the groups met in Turkey last month and found it difficult to come together. One opposition group, made up of refugees who fled northern Syria, are working from a house in Antakya in southern Turkey. Matthew Brunwasser went to visit. Continue reading “Syrian Opposition Leads the Revolution DIY-style” →

The Pyramid of Enver Hoxha in Tirana, Albania

The landmark was built as a museum for the late Enver Hoxha. The Albanian leader kept Stalinism alive in Europe for decades after the Soviet dictator died in 1953. The pyramid is still standing but it’s starting to crumble. In fact, during bloody anti-government demonstrations in Tirana back in February protestors broke off pieces of the pyramid to throw at other government buildings. Albanians have been trying to figure out what to do with the pyramid for years. Just last month, the parliament passed a law to tear it down. Even so, opponents of the demolition are gathering petitions to save the building. And the current president is deciding whether to sign the bill or side with the protesters. From Tirana, Matthew Brunwasser gives us a tour of the controversial pyramid. Continue reading “The Pyramid of Enver Hoxha in Tirana, Albania” →

Bosniaks and Croats, Divided in Class and at Play

By MATTHEW BRUNWASSER

VITEZ, BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA — Every morning at the local grade school formerly known as Brotherhood and Unity, the Catholic Croat children head to the right, and the Bosnian Muslims head to the left.

The Croats study in the school’s cheerful looking main building, which was recently renovated. The Muslims attend class in the crumbling, dingy annex next door.

The school ended up behind the Croat line during the 1992-95 war that killed some 100,000 people. It has remained there ever since. Continue reading “Bosniaks and Croats, Divided in Class and at Play” →

Macedonia Plays Up Past Glory

By MATTHEW BRUNWASSER

SKOPJE, Macedonia — In the view of many here, the neighbors have been bullying this little Balkan country for a long time.

Bulgarians see its people as Bulgarians with accents. Serbia used to consider the land Southern Serbia and refuses to recognize its church. Greece accuses the country of nothing less than stealing its name, history and national symbols.

This week, Macedonia pushed back.

In a precisely calibrated display of political and civil engineering, workers lifted a 14.5-meter, or 47-foot, bronze statue of Alexander the Great, weighing 30 tons, and placed it on a 15-meter-high pedestal in the central square of Skopje, the capital. Continue reading “Macedonia Plays Up Past Glory” →

Nationalism Fading From Serbia’s Political Stage

By MATTHEW BRUNWASSER

BELGRADE — In a country that nurtures a grudge about an event that occurred more than 600 years ago, once-fiery Serbian nationalism now seems strangely muted.

With the 68-year-old General Ratko Mladic settling into his prison cell in The Hague, the relative silence with which Serbs greeted his arrest and extradition speaks volumes about the turnaround taken by the country’s leadership and the fading of nationalism as an issue from the political stage.

A Belgrade street protest on May 29 against the arrest of Mr. Mladic drew an estimated 10,000 people, smaller than the crowds that typically gather after important soccer matches. The major political parties accepted the extradition, after 15 years of mounting international pressure, as the price of getting closer to Europe. Continue reading “Nationalism Fading From Serbia’s Political Stage” →

A Fugitive in Their Midst? ‘Ridiculous,’ Villagers Say

By MATTHEW BRUNWASSER

LAZAREVO, Serbia — This village near the Romanian border is Everytown, an indistinguishable collection of tidy lawns and trimmed trees, where the local people have been rocked by the news that Ratko Mladic, one of the world’s most wanted war crimes suspects, had been found hiding out among them.

They say it couldn’t be true.

“There is no chance that he was living here,” said the village mayor, Radmilo Stanisic, reflecting the general sentiment in this tightknit community. “Everyone knows everyone here. We’re like a big family.” Continue reading “A Fugitive in Their Midst? ‘Ridiculous,’ Villagers Say” →

Turkey Plans Internet Filtering

How would you like the government to filter your internet usage? Family style? Children style? Domestic style? Or would you prefer the standard package? Internet users in Turkey will soon have to make that choice. Turkey often presents itself as the leading democracy in the middle east but free speech advocates say internet censorship there is among the heaviest in the world. And its about to get worse. As Matthew Brunwasser reports from Istanbul, protestors gathered across Turkey to express their opposition. Continue reading “Turkey Plans Internet Filtering” →