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BALKAN WITNESS PETER LIPPMAN - Reports from Kosovo and Bosnia
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US human rights activist Peter Lippman is a reliable and knowledgeable source for information on the Balkans. He has traveled, worked, and lived in the former Yugoslavia extensively since 1981. Speaking fluent Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian, Peter has traveled to all parts of the region as a translator, observer, journalist, and aid worker, and he has written about the politics, events, and culture of the western Balkans. He is currently writing a book on life in postwar Bosnia. His love for all the Balkan people shows through his writing.
To contact Peter in response to any of his articles,
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Spring-Summer 2010 Bosnia-Herzegovina Reports
1. Kozarac, Prijedor June 2
2. Banja Luka, Doboj, Tuzla June 5
3. Bijeljina June 16
4. Srebrenica and Bratunac June 18
5. Visegrad June 25
6. Roses and Walnuts June 28
7. Sarajevo and Travnik July 7
8. Srebrenica July 25
9. Herzegovina and wrap-up August 12Published articles from 2010 visit
Srebrenica, fifteen years on The dignified commemorations of the massacre of Bosnian Muslims in July 2005 retain their integrity and human core, even as the leaders of a divided Bosnia seek to channel the grief into political pageantry. openDemocracy, July 15, 2010
Visegrad, memory and justice The survivors of a terrible but neglected atrocity in a historic Bosnian town continue to campaign for remembrance and accountability. Peter Lippman joins them on their return to the site. openDemocracy, June 17, 2010
Razglednica iz Srebrenice – Peter i „Kuća povjerenja“ - interview with Peter Lippman in the German publication Deutsche Welle, June 16, 2010 (in Bosnian)
Peter Lippman, Amerikanac iz Seattlea, pisac je, muzičar, slobodni novinar, borac za ljudska prava i – zaljubljenik u BiH. Negdje, u tananim predjelima njegove duše, na posebnom su mjestu Srebrenica i njeni ljudi.Blogs published at Balkan Insight:
Bosnia’s many histories make me dizzy June 7
Hope for Change in Bosnia? June 24
Fall 2008 Bosnia-Herzegovina Journals: (all include photos)
Journal 1: Sarajevo and Bosnia, early September 2008
Journal 2: Sarajevo and Bosnia, early September 2008 (continued)
Journal 3: Srebrenica, September 2008 Srebrenica memorial photos
Journal 4: Bratunac, September 2008
Journal 5: End of the Queer Festival, late September 2008
Journal 6: Tuzla, early October 2008
Journal 7: Kozluk & Bijeljina, October 2008
Journal 8: Prijedor and Kozarac, mid-October 2008
Journal 9: Stolac and Mostar, October 2008
Journal 10: Elections wrap up; more crime and scandals; politics, late October 2008
Recent Articles:
Interview with Peter Lippman (in Bosnian) Peter talks about grassroots activism in both Bosnia and the United States, touching on some trends and movements over the last 15 years in Bosnia, and over the last 40-45 years in the US. He discusses the movement for refugee/displaced persons return in Bosnia and the ongoing struggle against apartheid and corruption in that country. In the US, Peter discusses anti-war movements going back to the Vietnam war, Central America during the 1980s, and ongoing activity in opposition to the Israeli occupation of Palestine and the US-led occupations in the Middle East. Interview by Hariz Halilovic, Dani magazine, Sarajevo, May 14, 2010 (Dani is the most popular independent weekly magazine in Bosnia.)
Karadzic arrest will not solve things The arrest of Radovan Karadzic is long overdue. But it alone will not resolve the problem of Serbian extremism. The Progressive, July 23, 2008
On Kosovo Independence Balkan Witness, February 20, 2008
- openDemocracy Articles:
Visegrad, memory and justice The survivors of a terrible but neglected atrocity in a historic Bosnian town continue to campaign for remembrance and accountability. Peter Lippman joins them on their return to the site. openDemocracy, June 17, 2010
Bosnian voice, Yugoslavian memory
The sense of justice and consistency of principle of the Bosnian activist Mladen Grahovac should be a reference-point for those attempting to repair a fragmented country. openDemocracy, February 15, 2010Crisis and Reform: a turnaround in Bosnia?
Between October and December 2007, Bosnia has experienced a startling roller-coaster of events. A governmental crisis that sparked fears of war led to a completely unexpected rapprochement among bitterly divided nationalist parties. But the underlying problems that caused the turmoil are far from overcome. openDemocracy, December 18, 2007Kosovo: approaching independence or chaos?
Serbs endorsement of a constitution reaffirming sovereignty over Kosovo casts a further shadow over the "final status" of the contested territory. Peter Lippman, recently in Pristina, maps one of Europe's most intractable disputes. openDemocracy, October 30, 2006Srebrenica’s search for justice
The discovery of a mass grave in August 2006 near Zvornik in eastern Bosnia containing the remains of 1,150 Bosnian victims of the Srebrenica massacre is only the most recent evidence of the scale of the atrocity perpetrated in and around the town in the days after July 11, 1995. openDemocracy, August 24, 2006
- Articles in Washington Report on Middle East Affairs
Kozluk: A Bosnian Story of Refugee Return March 2009
To the Detriment of Its Citizens, Bosnia’s Politicians Continue to Play Nationalist Cards January-February 2009
Radovan Karadzic Captured After Serbs Vote Out Hard-Line Nationalist Government September 2008
Three Months After Independence Declared, Kosovo Still Faces Uncertain Future July 2008
Bosnian Crisis and Resolution: A Turn-around At Last, or More Chaos Ahead? March 2008
Final Status Plan for Kosovo Stirs Up Whirlwind of Reactions April 2007
A Tale of Two Cities: The Struggle to Return Continues in Bosnia January 2007
Bosnia’s “Historic” Elections: The Usual Tensions, Plus a Seed of Hope December 2006
Kosovo: Calm Now, But Nervously Approaching Final Status November 2006
Will Ibrahim Rugova’s Death Affect the Future of Nonviolent Change in Kosovo? April 2006
On 10th Anniversary of Dayton Accord: Are Changes in Bosnia Real or Rhetorical? January/February 2006
Big Changes in Bosnia, or Just Another Drama? September 2004
Sound and Fury in Serbia Reverberate in Bosnia October 2003
Bosnia and Herzegovina: A State Under Threat June 2003
Still at Loggerheads, Kosovo’s Serb, Albanian Communities Continue to Stagnate January/February 2003
Western Aid for Bosnia: Real Progress, or Just a Façade? January/February 2001
- Other articles
Interview with Peter Lippman (in Bosnian) Peter talks about grassroots activism in both Bosnia and the United States, touching on some trends and movements over the last 15 years in Bosnia, and over the last 40-45 years in the US. He discusses the movement for refugee/displaced persons return in Bosnia and the ongoing struggle against apartheid and corruption in that country. In the US, Peter discusses anti-war movements going back to the Vietnam war, Central America during the 1980s, and ongoing activity in opposition to the Israeli occupation of Palestine and the US-led occupations in the Middle East. Interview by Hariz Halilovic, Dani magazine, Sarajevo, May 14, 2010 (Dani is the most popular independent weekly magazine in Bosnia.)
On the International Court of Justice Decision on Genocide in Bosnia Balkan Witness, March 2007
Bridge can't heal Bosnia divisions Seattle Times, July 23, 2004
The Gornji Vakuf/Uskoplje Youth Center: a multi-ethnic organization providing classes and other services to people of all ethnicities in an ethnically divided town in central Bosnia. Centre for European Migration and Ethnic Studies, December 2000
Center for Information and Legal Assistance (CIPP) provides legal aid and information to refugees and displaced persons wishing to return to the region around Zvornik, Bosnia, and from that region to other parts of Bosnia. Centre for European Migration and Ethnic Studies, November 2000
The Coalition for Return of Sarajevo, Bosnia: legal counseling to displaced persons of all ethnicities wishing to return to or from Sarajevo. Centre for European Migration and Ethnic Studies, November 2000
Elvis and Slivovitz: Cultural Identity in Bosnia New Internationalist, December 1998
Peace Hopes Dim In Serb-Battered Kosovo Seattle Times, August 21, 1998
How long must Kosovo suffer? Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, July 5, 1998
Prisoner in Kosovo - American activist; member of Peaceworkers The Progressive, July 1998
First Person: Jailed In Repressed Kosovo Seattle Times, April 9, 1998
- Various Journals:
Bosnia-Herzegovina Journals September-October 2008
Bosnia-Macedonia-Kosovo Journal July - September 2006
Palestine/Israel Journal August 2002 and Fall 2003
Kosovo Election Journal 2002 Kosovo's second post-war municipal elections. - November, 2002
Kosovo Journal Kosovo's first post-war elections. October - November, 2000
Kosovo Journal, July 1999 Reports from throughout post-war Kosovo.
July 6, 1999 - Letter from Skopje Interviews with Kosovo Albanians in Macedonia.
- Reports for the Advocacy Project:
Kosovo, 1999-2000: The Birth and Rebirth of Civil Society
This series of articles begins with a brief outline of Kosovo's history and a profile of some of the initiatives that emerged under the "parallel society" during the 1990s. These grew out attempts by the Serbian authorities to suppress Albanian culture. The series then chronicles events from March 1998 through 2000, from the approach of the war in Kosovo through its aftermath.Bosnia, 1999-2000: Bosnian Refugees Struggle to Return Home
This section contains the entire series of reports written by Peter Lippman between early 1999 and late 2000, covering the grassroots effort by activist organizations promoting the return of displaced persons throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina. This was a period of continued resistance on the part of hard-line nationalists who wished to preserve the situation of ethnic homogenization of territories where they had practiced "ethnic cleansing" during the war. But it was also a period of intense and valiant struggle on the part of return activists to claim what was rightfully theirs: their pre-war homes. This effort lead to a breakthrough in the ensuing years, resulting in partial return to practically every municipality in the country.