Osservatorio Caucaso
Saturday 04 July 2009 05:54

 
english Balkans
Invest in Macedonia?
25.06.2009   [Risto Karajkov]   Macedonia ranks third, after the United States and France, in Google searches for the term “invest in”. Of course, the real level of foreign investment is most important, but this search statistic is a relevant statistic of the country’s visibility as a possible destination for foreign investments

The Shara mountain sheepdog
19.06.2009   [Risto Karajkov]   He has been guarding sheep and shepherds’ families around the Balkans for centuries. When Macedonia became independent in 1991, the Shara mountain sheepdog was given a place on the new Macedonian one denar coin
Immagine: The Shara mountain sheepdog, wikipedia.org

It’s time for „Thessaloniki 2“
17.06.2009   The road to EU membership, promised to the Western Balkans in Thessaloniki, is becoming longer and less certain. It is high time for a “Thessaloniki 2", a new summit to consolidate the European perspective of the region
Immagine: (Foto Soroll, Flickr)

A Heritage of Mine Fields
16.06.2009   [Fazıla Mat]   The Turkish Parliament has approved a plan to outsource the demining of a large territory on the border with Syria to a private company. In exchange, the company would receive the right to use the territory for 40 years
Immagine: (Photo by Johnathaneric, flickr.com)

De - Ideologisation
11.06.2009   [Nikolai Yotov]   Osservatorio met Cristian Tudor Popescu, a well-known Romanian journalist and political analyst, to talk about the media, freedom of expression and the forthcoming presidential elections
Immagine: Cristian Tudor Popescu

Moldova towards new elections
08.06.2009   [Iulian Lungu]   The recently elected parliament failed twice to elect a president. The situation throws the Republic of Moldova into new parliamentary elections, as the parliament is constitutionally obliged to dissolve after the second failure to elect a president

Last in Lustration
05.06.2009   [Risto Karajkov]   Macedonia is almost the last country in Eastern Europe, together with Albania, to pass legislation on lustration. Under the law’s provisions, practically every public officeholder will have to swear they had not worked for the secret services
Immagine: Photo by ilConte - Flickr.com

The Wall, the Walls
04.06.2009   [Marjola Rukaj]   In 1989, Fatos Lubonja was in jail serving time as a political prisoner. It was there that he received the first news of what was going on in Eastern Europe. In the beginning, it seemed as if what was going on would not have any impact in Albania. An interview
Immagine: Fatos Lubonja

Oblivion and doubts
28.05.2009   [Francesco Martino]   "We have not managed to deal with the legacy of communism in a clear way and this is not only a source of confusion, but also of frustration". The events of 1989, an ambiguous revolution, the Romanians and Europe. An interview with Mircea Vasilescu
Immagine: Mircea Vasilescu - by F.Martino

Founding myths
22.05.2009   [Francesco Martino]   A "moment of glory and great courage" but also "too many black holes and no shared interpretation of the events". Twenty years later, says professor Mirela Murgescu, the Romanian revolution of December 1989, which could have become the “founding myth” of the new Romanian democracy, still remains extremely controversial. An interview
Immagine: Memorial of Rebirth - by F.Martino

Erin Brockovich in Greece
15.05.2009   [Gilda Lyghounis]   Erin Brockovich arrived in Greece to save the Asopus river, contaminated with high levels of hexavalent chrome, the same heavy metal that the American legal assistant had fought against in California
Immagine: The Asopus river

'Gastarbeiter' economy
14.05.2009   [V. Kasapolli]   The Central Bank of Kosovo warns that the remittances are falling as the diaspora starts to feel the effects of the global economic crisis. Kosovo’s diaspora has a long tradition of sending money home because of strong family ties, a practice developed because of Kosovo’s difficult political and social environment during the last decades
Immagine: Group of 'Gastarbeiter', Germany, 1972

A pass to paradise
08.05.2009   [Iulian Lungu]   Following the post-electoral violence in Moldova, Romanian authorities approved an urgent act which simplifies the procedures to obtain Romanian citizenship. Despite the tough reactions of Chişinău's authorities, thousands of Moldovans rushed to apply for a Romanian passport

Alexander from Florence
07.05.2009   [Risto Karajkov]   On May 4, daily Dnevnik revealed to its readers secret contracts between the Skopje Municipality and the Fonderia Artistica Ferdinando Marinelli from Florence, for the production of a series of monuments, the biggest of whom is that of Alexander the Great, which will be 22 meters high
Immagine: Small-scale model of Alexander's statue

The hard path
06.05.2009   [V. Kasapolli]   Together with some fellow journalists, Altin Raxhimi, an Albanian freelance reporter, took the hard path to disclose the truth on KLA detention camps, allegedly established in Albania and Kosovo during the 1999 war. An exclusive interview for Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso
Immagine: Mountains around Kukës

At risk of extinction
06.05.2009   [Claudia Iatan]   Romanian NGOs are facing a debate that is not unknown to Italian ones. Budget cuts risk to jeopardise cooperation programs as well as the country's recent participation in international development policies

After the storm
24.04.2009   [Iulian Lungu]   After the elections' violent ending, that saw the symbols of the official power devastated and a violent repression of young protesters, political opponents, and independent media, an equally tense aftermath threatens to polarise Moldovan society
Immagine: Clashes in Chişinău

The government vs. the court
24.04.2009   [Risto Karajkov]   A few days before Easter, the Macedonian constitutional court cancelled a law enacted by the VMRO-DPMNE led government introducing optional religious education in public schools. This act marked the beginning of the fiercest dispute between the executive and highest judiciary institution

The Bull, the Beggar, and the Bimbo
22.04.2009   [Risto Karajkov]   The Bull, the Beggar, the Bimbo....These are only some of the sculptures the Macedonian government has been installing in the centre of Skopje as part of its recently launched architectural renewal spree.The process has not left anyone dispassionate, stirring political controversy over the city's urbanistic development
Immagine: The 'shoe cleaner'

Twitter revolution
21.04.2009   [Massimiliano Di Pasquale ]   After the protests that followed the 5 April vote in Moldova, the situation has slowly returned to normal. But Vlad Filat, leader of the Liberal-Democratic party, insists on an annulment of the vote and new elections. Our interview.
Immagine: Vlad Filat

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