Secessionists stir in the Caucasus over Kosovo’s plans to declare independence. Russia and its allies warned that redrawing borders in the Balkans could destabilise other contested regions. I visited South Ossetia in the winter before Georgia went to war with Russia over the territory. The “frozen conflict” was warming up. Report from Tskhinvali for BBC News, January 2008
Guantanamo refugee rues asylum deal
August 24, 2011 by Leave a Comment
An Algerian doctor joins the small list of former Guantanamo Bay detainees who have been transferred to Albania. “Abu Mohammed” is trapped in a legal limbo that prevents him from being reunited with the family he last saw in 2001. Report from Tirana for BBC News, May 2007
Albanian fix for Guantanamo dilemma
August 24, 2011 by Leave a Comment
An investigation into the US policy of arranging asylum in Albania for former Guantanamo Bay detainees. The men were forbidden under American law from being repatriated to their countries on account of the risk that they would be mistreated there. Impoverished Albania stepped in to accommodate them. I nicknamed this practice, “extraordinary rehabilitation”. Report from Tirana for BBC News, January 2007
Guantanamo Uighurs’ strange odyssey
August 24, 2011 by Leave a Comment
The extraordinary tale of a group of Uighurs from western China who were captured in Afghanistan, imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay, and resettled in Albania. I tracked the men down while on holiday in the Balkans. Report from Tirana for BBC News, January 2007
The fortress versus the festival
August 24, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Staged in a historic fortress above the Danube, Exit festival holds clues to Serbia’s future as well as its past. Report from Novi Sad for BBC News, July 2006
Balkan festival bangs on Brussels’ door
August 24, 2011 by Leave a Comment
For the generation growing up after the Balkan conflict, Serbia’s Exit festival helps highlight the inequity of visa restrictions imposed by Western European nations. Report from Novi Sad for BBC News, July 2006
Festival helps Serbia exit the past
August 24, 2011 by Leave a Comment
By uniting thousands of foreigners and Serbs for an annual party, the Exit music festival is also steering the Balkans away from the legacy of conflict. Report from Novi Sad for BBC News, July 2006
Bosnian Serbs sullen and defiant
August 24, 2011 by Leave a Comment
In the snowy hills above Sarajevo, Bosnian Serbs feel they have been unfairly scapegoated over the Balkan conflict. Report from Pale for BBC News, March 2006
Sarajevo massacre survivor speaks
August 23, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Interview from Sarajevo with Esad Pozder – market trader and witness to a mortar attack that killed more than 60 people. BBC News, March 2006
Sarajevo finds love after the war
August 23, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Ten years after the siege of Sarajevo was lifted, young couples in the city are once again breaching the ethnic and religious divide. Report for BBC News, February 2006
Albania fans cry foul at Greek ban
August 23, 2011 by Leave a Comment
A row erupts over a Greek decision to bar foreign fans from attending a football match against neighbouring Albania. BBC News, April 2005
Adriatic pearl recovers its lustre
August 23, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Tourism revenues help the historic Croatian port of Dubrovnik mend the scars of the Balkan conflict. BBC News, February 2005
The people the Olympics forgot
August 23, 2011 by Leave a Comment
As Athens gets set to host the Olympics, a Roma Gypsy community sees an expensive stadium built in its backyard as another symbol of the city’s neglect. Report for BBC News, August 2004.
Hague Portraits Capture Court Tensions
August 3, 2011 by Leave a Comment
A Dutch artist reveals war crimes suspects in a new light.
- Article for the Institute for War and Peace Reporting, April 2003.
Neil Arun 