In the headlines: in Croatia, the 25 years of "Oluja" ignite a new controversy in the region

Croatian President Zora Milanovic, on August 5, 2020, at a ceremony marking the 25th anniversary of the military victory that ended the country's war for independence. Denis LOVROVIC / AFP

Text by: Courrier des Balkans Follow | Florentin Cassonnet

2 min

A press review presented in partnership with the Courrier des Balkans.

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Croatia is celebrating 25 years of "Oluja", the military operation which allowed the reconquest of Krajina in August 1995, driving 200,000 Serbs from Croatia. During the ceremonies, Croatian President Zoran Milanović chose to decorate a former leader of the Croatian militias in Herzegovina, accused of war crimes. A gesture that caused a scandal in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Croatian head of state has even embarked on a diatribe against the ICTY.

A few days earlier, it was in Belgrade that an uproar arose when a Serbian political representative from Croatia, Deputy Prime Minister Boris Milošević, announced that he would participate in the official ceremonies , which had never happened before. . "  For the Serbs, it is a day of mourning, not of celebration  ", reacted Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dačić.

Failure of the European project, neoliberalism and authoritarian drift

Since 1989, hybrid democracies, kleptocracies and mafia states have emerged in the Balkans. Former Ambassador to North Macedonia and Montenegro, German diplomat Gudrun Steinacker denounces the European Union's compromises with local oligarchies, and the lack of political, social and environmental perspectives.

Why do Europeans criticize Orbán and Kaczyński much more than Vučić or Rama? Why do we still maintain the myth of the "  transition  ", when the Balkan countries are not making any "  progress  " but are becoming more and more autocratic? What does the bankruptcy of the European project mean? The great Albanian intellectual Fatos Lubonja opens the debate .

A summer of revolt in Bulgaria

“  If the movement fails, our generation will lose all hope and leave Bulgaria.  After a month of demonstrations, neither the scorching summer sun, nor fatigue or discouragement can overcome the wave of popular protest against the Borissov government. The demonstrators denounce the protection enjoyed by the oligarchs, the subjugation of the Attorney General to the power of the GERB and a regime that has made corruption and patronage into a system of government. In the streets of Sofia, Francesco Martino went to meet those who dream of a “normal” country.

While avoiding direct confrontation with protesters for several weeks, on Friday August 7, the police changed their approach by dismantling tent camps, conducting arrests and imposing fines in Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna and Stara Zagora. A sign of hardening of the position of the authorities.

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