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Nenad Pejic

Also by Nenad Pejic

June 19, 2009
In The Balkans, The Headlines Preceded The War

The phones were ringing off the hook with angry Croats accusing Sarajevo state television of being "anti-Croatian television." It was late October 1991 and I was the station's program director. There was a war going on in Croatia and our evening news cast that day included a story about an Orthodox priest who had been beaten up by Croatian forces.
May 19, 2009
Unfinished Business In The Balkans

Some would argue that the best the EU can hope for in the Balkans is maintaining a dissatisfying status quo. So the arrival of U.S. Vice President Joe Biden in the region seems like a bid to push yet another "reset" button and an acknowledgment that Washington has unfinished business there.
March 24, 2009
Serbia's Decade Of Denial

If Serbian and Kosovar leaders could somehow create a chink in the wall separating their nations, they would find ample evidence that the mutual interests of ethnic Serbs and ethnic Albanians remain strong.
March 12, 2009
Why Is No One Watching The Balkans?

The global economic crisis, the lack of democratic habits and institutions, and the complete absence of a plan for future development have created fertile ground for nationalism and renewed ethnic conflict across the Balkans.
February 26, 2009
Don't Envy The Next High Representative In Bosnia

The soon-to-be-appointed European Union high representative to Bosnia-Herzegovina is not much more likely to be successful than his worthy predecessors. The new envoy will certainly take office on a wave of positive rhetoric and verbal commitments, but that wave will soon crash against the hard realities on the ground in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
February 23, 2009
Slovenia -- Just Another Bump In The Road?

Croatia accuses Slovenia of using its EU and NATO membership to "blackmail" its neighbor. Is mild-mannered Slovenia the next bully of the Balkans?
February 11, 2009
Bosnia's 25 Years Of Going Downhill

In 1984, Bosnians could visit European countries without visas. Today, they need documents to go anywhere. Twenty-five years ago, Yugoslavia was 20 years ahead of the rest of Eastern Europe in terms of development, and now Bosnia is 20 years behind. That's a long way to fall in just 25 years.
January 27, 2009
No Cease-Fire In The Balkans' War Of Words

On the Internet, at sports events, and in person, insults and ethnic enmity continue to fly between the residents of the Balkans. It seems that their political leaders have neglected to tell them that the wars are over.
January 14, 2009
Bosnian Baby, Serbian Teenager, Who Is She?

In May 1992, Muhamed Becirovic lost his family when his village was taken by Serbian forces. But his baby daughter Senida was found and raised by a Serbian familyin Belgrade. When Mila, as she's now known, found her father in Germany, she was faced with a fundamental choice -- who is she?
January 02, 2009
In The Balkans, The Newspapers Tell The Story

Just a glance at the titles of some of the main newspapers in the Balkans is enough to demonstrate why these countries remain divided even as they search for their true identities.
December 16, 2008
Facebook Row Exposes Fragility Of 'Cease-Fire'

It might seem that 1,000 people signing up to a call for hatred on a social-networking website isn't that many, especially considering the torrent of hate propaganda that people in Serbia are exposed to. After all, every country has racist haters. The key in Serbia is how the authorities are reacting and will react.
December 12, 2008
Reading, Writing -- And Division

There are seven educational systems in Bosnia today, each with its own curriculum and textbooks. Some children learn that separatist aspirations are a legitimate expression of the right of independence, while others are taught such movements are treason bent on dismantling the country. Everyone studies the history of the country and each ethnic group graduates from school with an entirely different worldview.
November 21, 2008
Commentary: The Balkans Needs An Army... Of Lawyers

I imagine that after the Balkans passes through this phase of legalistic confrontation, it will move on -- finally -- to direct talks that can move its countries toward European integration. For this to happen, though, leaders must be willing to face historical truths in their entirety, rather than simply citing by rote the bits of it that suit their purposes.
November 11, 2008
The Balkans: Where History Lives And People Die

World War I ended exactly 90 years ago, but in some ways the fighting is still going on in the Balkans. One of the many divisions in the region is the way different groups at various times have viewed Gavrilo Princip, the man who assassinated Austrian Archduke Ferdinand and set off the events that led to war.
November 06, 2008
Obama Victory Inspires Hope, Envy Abroad

Was anyone on November 5 talking about anything other than the victory of Barack Obama in the U.S. presidential election? Certainly all of my colleagues were sharing their impressions and, in doing so, were revealing bits of the cultures and countries where they grew up and which they now spend their days covering as journalists.
October 27, 2008
Balkans Remain In Grip Of Crime

Organized crime and radical nationalism have always gone hand in hand in the Balkans. Under the cover of "patriotism," war crimes and more banal crimes thrived. The assassination last week in Zagreb of journalist Ivo Pukanic is just the latest example of this lamentable pattern, says Nenad Pejic.
October 23, 2008
Bosnia Between Tweedledee And Tweedledum

It seems only a matter of time before Belgrade follows Croatia's example and builds its relations with Bosnia on ties with Sarajevo exclusively instead of maintaining links with Republika Srpska. That development would mark the beginning of Bosnia as a viable unitary state.
October 17, 2008
The Smartest Man In The Balkans

Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic made his latest bold gambit in recognizing Kosovo's independence. RFE/RL's Nenad Pejic argues that it's par for the course for a leader who is peerless at weathering political storms and has brought his country through two perilous decades without violence.
October 10, 2008
Serbia's Maturity On Kosovo Question

Late last night -- under cover of darkness, as it were -- the governments of Montenegro and Macedonia issued a joint statement on recognizing Kosovo's independence. It was a smart move, copying a similar tactic used by Hungary and Croatia in March.
July 30, 2008
Serbia's Second Chance To Embrace The West

Serbia's radical nationalists predicted that some 300,000 people would protest against the extradition of war crimes suspect Radovan Karadzic. In fact, just 10,000 showed up. Could it be that Serbian nationalism has exhausted itself?

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