Crime and Politics

Balkan Insight article:
"Tensions are running high in Mostar, in southern Bosnia and Herzegovina, following the murder of a member of a local radical Muslim Wahhabi sect."
http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/main/news/21182/


DOSTA! movement press statement: Stop hate speech now!

The DOSTA! movement strongly condemns the recent murder of Magdi Dizdarević, a young man from Mostar who found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time and paid with his life for his attempt to help a man in trouble.

We demand that the relevant agencies do their job, conduct the investigation and promptly bring the guilty to justice. It is a disgrace that Magdi's murderers are freely moving about Mostar, while the police, in spite of many eye witnesses, announce that the investigation will take months and that they have no basis on which to apprehend suspects. Our streets are already filled with murders who walk at liberty and unaccused criminals, while ordinary citizens increasingly fear for their own personal safety on those same streets. This is the last chance for those in authority to finally take on their responsibilities.

We invite all actors in the public sphere to abstain from inappropriate and rude commentary by which they want to use this tragedy to spread hate speech, creating new divisions in society and political marketing. We call on our fellow citizens not to allow the loss of yet another human life to be justified for any kind of reasons or to use it as a means to incite further violence. It is saddening and frightening that the need exists at all to remind people to be human. But that is exactly what we most need to be.

We hope that citizens of Mostar will show that they have enough human solidarity and civic responsibility not only to insist that the responsible authorities take action immediately, but also that they come forward with any information they might have, in order that Magdi's killers will be apprehended as soon as possible.

Theater of the Absurd

"What is the reason for these posters? Because of the situation in Mostar, we have already several times invited the city council to do its job and even asked OHR to be involved in the question of Mostar.

OHR has not in any way answer the letter we sent which was signed by some 700 citizens, so we are not relying on help from the Office any longer.

As far as the city councillor are concerned, if they had any sense of shame, conscious or courage, they would already have handed in their own resignations.

However, the problem is much greater, the problem is that the city council has turned into a chess game of nationalist politics.

As many members of the media have already commented, it is clear that the problem is connected with HDZ - SDA. One side says, "We made an agreement, which they have not respected", while the other side always replies that the agreement was different from what the other side said. They prefer to keep the citizens of Mostar as "sheep in a pen", separated, deceived.

This is the reason for these posters. That we show Čović, Tihić and their cronies (because there are still more "Čović"s and "Tihić"s out there!) that they will not succeed. We don't recognize a border at the Boulevard, for us Mostar doesn't have two sides-- only the river Neretva has two sides.

What is even more important is that because of these "sheep corrals" with nationalistic shepherds, Mostarians are going hungry. Shame on you all, they are not seeking what belongs to you or to others, but rather simply to what they have earned. And you, Čović i Tihić, are forcing them to seem pathetic because they must beg you to feed them at last.

We remind you again, our citizens are endangered not by nationalism but by social conditions!

The tragedy, gentlemen, is what you are doing. But because of our fellow citizens and future generations, we will not allow this to continue! And you cannot silence us. While your black pawns and you kings make your moves on this chessboard, we will stand as a mass of white pawns. We won't allow you to make the first move any longer."

--press release of the DOSTA! movement

Apartment hunting

A billboard in the center of Mostar pokes fun at recently-resigned premiere Nedžad Branković, who was implicated in a corruption scandal related to a property deal. When questioned on how he had actually purchased his apartment, he replied "I don't remember... but I did it legally." The billboard says-- "Best deal on apartment! 1.23 sq meters, 920 KM (nb: about $600) with a certificate of value. Real Estate done legally".

If only...

Sevdah is the traditional music of Bosnia, sometimes called "Bosnian blues". Damir Imamović, who plays often at Abrašević, sings classic sevdah with some modern touches. This is a music video of Damir and his band performing "Da sam ptica" (If only I were a bird), and was partly filmed in Abrašević.

"Damir Imamović's new video is part of a documentary film under the working title of 'Sevdah Pictionary', which was filmed by the Bosnian-Croatian production house DIM. Audio on which the video is based is an authentic recording from a concert by the Damir Imamović Trio in Mostar's Abrašević, which was held in Nov. 2007."

Firefighters of the world, unite!

Mostar firefighters are on strike (štrajk in Bosnian) because due to the current political crisis they haven't been paid in 3 months. Yesterday they staged a demonstration in front of city hall, with signs saying "we're hungry!" and "Ljubo (local politician), we have children too!"

A Petition in the Yugosphere

Last weekend, the Mostar cell of the DOSTA! movement organized a petition to the Office of the High Representative to finally intervene in Mostar. OHR has the authority to put pressure on the city council to finally choose a mayor and adopt a city budget (now 8 months after the election). The firefighters of the city are on strike and the hot weather of summer is already here... The next city council meeting is on Monday. Will Mostar have a mayor?

Activists from DOSTA! collected 600 signatures over a period of 4 hours in three locations in the city.

Interestingly, this video about the Bosnian-Herzegovinian political situation is edited to a song called "Zašto te imam" (Why do I have you?) by Croatian band Elemental, yet another illustration of what journalist Tim Judah calls the "Yugosphere", the inter-connectedness of the former Yugoslav states (culturally, economically) though they are now all independent nations.

Aurash!

This weekend in Abrašević, young local actors will perform a play based on an ancient Persian myth, written and directed here by an Iranian-Canadian, with sound effects produced by Bosnian sound artists. I had the chance to shoot during their rehearsals and here is the video that I made-- for those who can't make it to Mostar for the weekend! The play, whose unlikely herdsman-turned-archer communicates a power message of pacifism, draws on eastern-influenced acting methods (Japanese Noh theater, etc).