Why I have not returned to Belgrade

Slavenka Drakulic asks herself why she has not visited Belgrade in seventeen years. It is clear to her that the underlying reasons are closely tied with the recent Yugoslav wars. But, she wonders, what is she anxious about now? [Polish version added] [more]

Debating denial

Discussing the topic of accountability for the war crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia is important for Serbian society, writes Slavenka Drakulic. Summing up a debate around her article "Why I have not returned to Belgrade" in the Serbian newspaper "Politika", she notes: "Many citizens of both Serbia and Croatia seem to believe that if they all just shut up for long enough, the problem will disappear. But it won't." [more]

We took its light for granted

In memoriam: Feral Tribune (1993-2008)

A former contributor to the Croatian weekly "Feral Tribune" writes that the paper was left to die by those who should have taken better care of it: its readers and all who cared for its lone, free, critical voice. [more]

Who's afraid of Europe?

Opening address at the 14th European Meeting of Cultural Journals

Is Europe ready for a new identity? In an essay first published in 2000, Slavenka Drakulic expresses doubts about the continuing momentum of European integration. [Macedonian version added] [more]

Bathroom tales

How we mistook normality for paradise

The shortage of toilet paper alone may not have brought down communism, but it's an apt metaphor for a system unable to fulfil people's basic needs. Although Slavenka Drakulic's bathroom is better stocked these days, she's still prone to doubt. Was the normality she and her fellow eastern Europeans longed for just another false paradise? [Turkish version added] [more]

The transformation of Biljana Plavsic

One of the few female war criminals on trial confesses to her guilt in The Hague. That is bad news for Karadzic, Mladic and Gotovina. [more]

Triumph of evil

Portrait of a war criminal

Slavenka Draculic on Radislav Krstic, the first war criminal to be indicted in The Hague for his role in the Srebrenica massacre. [more]