It’s nearly 10 years since I left Sarajevo, and I think I’ve got a lot of catching up to do.
Last month, I spent an evening with a group of UK Army officers discussing my research on international intervention and assistance in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Much of this focused on the respective roles of international police missions (my area) and military missions (theirs) in stabilisation and democratisation.
Beyond that, and with an eye to possible future deployments, the company were interested in possible sources of unrest and disorder in the future. I didn’t see any trouble on the near horizon.
Less than a month later, there was barely a window left on the front of the Tuzla Canton Government building, and the BHRT Dnevnik, the national broadcaster’s news programme, was showing images of similar destruction in other cities including Mostar, Sarajevo and Zenica. Like I say, I’ve got a lot of catching up to do.
My catching up starts properly in a few days, when I begin a six month stay in Sarajevo, working on research, and supported through an association with the Faculty of Criminology, Criminalistics and Security Studies at the University of Sarajevo.
So, when asked about sources of disorder, why didn’t I see what was just round the corner?
Perhaps because it was something absolutely new. Watching the news the day after, and talking to a colleague in Sarajevo, there seemed to be a genuine sense of shock at the violence of the protests on Friday 7 February.
Moreover, while the dissatisfaction underlying the protests may be enduring, the violence itself was fleeting. And watching developments subsequently, there has been a fairly swift move to establish Plenums, forums of citizens gathering, formulating and peacefully articulating their requests to the governing bodies that they feel let down by.
So maybe I can be forgiven for not seeing what was about to happen. Either way, it’s an exciting and interesting time to be getting back to Bosnia.
