US human rights activist Peter Lippman is a
reliable and knowledgeable source for information on the Balkans. He has traveled, worked,
and lived in the former Yugoslavia extensively since 1981. Speaking fluent
Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian, Peter has traveled to all parts of the region as a translator,
observer, journalist, and aid worker, and he has written about the politics,
events, and culture of the western Balkans. His book on life in postwar Bosnia
was published in Fall 2019. His love for all the Balkan peoples
shows through his writing.
To contact Peter
in response to any of his articles,
.
NEW:October-November 2023 Peter's
journals from Bosnia Journal 1:
To Bosnia from Ukraine; Visiting Srebrenica; Memorial Center
Journal 2: Sarajevo:
Bistrik; Looking for Kazani Journal 3:
Gaza in Bosnia; Sevdalinka; Azra Zornić Journal 4: Krajina;
more on Gaza; Environmental activism
September 2021 Bosnia Journals
Journal #1: Returning to
Bosnia with books; Protests; Population count; Vesna Journal #2: Inzko's laws;
"Hospice care"; Activism vs. emigration Journal #3: Pandemic;
Mostar and corruption; Emptying Kozarac Journal #4: Visiting
Kevljani; Talks with Ervin; Mom Journal #5: Folie à Deux;
Zulfo
Summer-Fall 2019
Bosnia-Herzegovina Reports Report #1: Why Bosnia; Exodus; protests; Scandal.
Report #2: Impunity, manipulation, activism. Report #3: Aluminij conglomerate; Corruption at Gikil. Report #4: Political charades; militarization of police. Report #5: Pride in Sarajevo Report #6: Travails of the migrants stuck in Bosnia
Summer 2018
Bosnia-Herzegovina Reports
Report 1: Anger, activism, exodus Report 2: Srebrenica Report 3: Kozarac
and Prijedor Report 4: Chicanery
in the RS, Activism in Banja Luka Report 5: Elections
and stability in Bosnia-Herzegovina Report 6: Migrants,
environmental wreckage, sports
Fall 2015 Bosnia-Herzegovina Reports
Report 1: Introduction/overview,
Sarajevo, activism. Report 2:
Immiseration
and resignation.
Prospects for activism. Report 3: Prijedor.
Report 4: Dodik's referendum, Dodik's corruption. Report 5: Srebrenica.
Report 6: Tuzla, Mostar, and activism. Report 7:
The
wave of refugees coming into Europe.
Razglednica iz Srebrenice – Peter i „Kuća povjerenja“
-
interview with Peter Lippman in the German publication Deutsche Welle,
June 16, 2010 (in Bosnian) Peter Lippman, Amerikanac iz Seattlea, pisac je, muzičar, slobodni
novinar, borac za ljudska prava i – zaljubljenik u BiH. Negdje, u
tananim predjelima njegove duše, na posebnom su mjestu Srebrenica i
njeni ljudi.
Fall 2008 Bosnia-Herzegovina
Journals: (all include photos)
Journal 1:
Sarajevo and Bosnia, early September Journal 2:
Sarajevo and Bosnia, early September (continued) Journal 3:
Srebrenica, SeptemberSrebrenica memorial
photos Journal 4:
Bratunac, September Journal 5:
End
of the Queer Festival, late September Journal 6:
Tuzla, early October Journal 7:
Kozluk & Bijeljina, October Journal 8:
Prijedor and Kozarac,
mid-October Journal 9:
Stolac and Mostar,
October Journal 10:
Elections wrap up;
more crime and scandals; politics,
late October
Surviving the Peace is a monumental feat of ground-level reporting
describing two decades of postwar life in Bosnia, specifically among those
fighting for refugee rights of return. Unique in its breadth and profoundly
humanitarian in its focus, Surviving the Peace situates digestible
explanations of the region's bewilderingly complex recent history among
interviews, conversations, and tableaus from the lives of everyday Bosnians
attempting to make sense of what passes for normal in a postwar society.
Essential reading for students of the former Yugoslavia and anyone interested in
postwar or post-genocide studies, Surviving the Peace is an instant
classic of long-form reporting, an impossible accomplishment without a lifetime
of dedication to a place and people.
(Vanderbilt University Press, 2019)
Marko
Attila Hoare (August 2020):
It
is the work of an activist with a genuine love for
Bosnia who has been researching the country for over
twenty years, involving a level of fieldwork that very
few, if any, foreigners can match...
Nela Porobić Isaković
(October 2020):
Weaving
together personal stories of ordinary people with those
of official politics of national and international
actors, the author gives us a unique and skilful insight
into a segment of Bosnia’s (unfinished) post-war
recovery process.
Valery
Perry, Democratic Policy Council (July 2021):
Tilting at Windmills? Bottom-Up Individuals Trying to Undo the
Damage of Top-Down Politics Reading Lippman’s book is a reminder that from the
bottom up, Bosnia and Herzegovina has always been more
than the sum of its parts, while the top down calculus
inevitably results in a diminution of all.
Parts of the book's final chapter, "Atrocity
Revision," are
read aloud by Bill Weinberg of
CounterVortex.
openDemocracy Articles:
Refugees return to Kozarac in Bosnia to
rebuild community
A review of Re-making Kozarac:
Agency, Reconciliation, and Contested
Return, by Sebina Sivac-Bryant,
which tells the story of return and
recovery in ethnically-cleansed Kozarac.
October 14, 2016
Bosnia: blood, honey, and war's legacy
Review of the film In the Land of Blood and Honey, directed by the
actress and campaigner Angelina Jolie. openDemocracy, February 7, 2012
Bosnia’s politics of paralysis
Bosnia’s tenth election since the end of
the war of 1992-95 highlights the
damaging influence of a post-war
settlement that institutionalises ethnic
politics. openDemocracy, October
19, 2010
Srebrenica, fifteen years on
The dignified commemorations of the massacre of Bosnian Muslims in
July 2005 retain their integrity and human core, even as the leaders
of a divided Bosnia seek to channel the grief into political
pageantry. openDemocracy, July 15,
2010
Visegrad, memory and justice The survivors of a
terrible but neglected atrocity in a historic Bosnian town continue
to campaign for remembrance and accountability. Peter Lippman joins
them on their return to the site. openDemocracy, June 17,
2010
Bosnian voice, Yugoslavian memory
The sense of justice and consistency of principle of the
Bosnian activist Mladen Grahovac should be a reference-point for those
attempting to repair a fragmented country. openDemocracy,
February 15, 2010
Crisis and Reform: a turnaround in
Bosnia? Between October and December 2007, Bosnia has experienced a
startling roller-coaster of
events. A governmental crisis that sparked fears of war led to a
completely unexpected rapprochement among bitterly divided nationalist
parties. But the underlying
problems that caused the turmoil are far from overcome. openDemocracy, December 18, 2007
Kosovo:
approaching independence or chaos?
Serbs endorsement of a
constitution reaffirming sovereignty over Kosovo casts a further shadow
over the "final status" of the contested territory. Peter Lippman,
recently in Pristina, maps one of Europe's most intractable disputes.
openDemocracy, October 30, 2006
Srebrenica’s
search for justice
The discovery of a mass grave in August 2006 near
Zvornik in eastern Bosnia containing the remains of 1,150 Bosnian victims of
the Srebrenica massacre is only the most recent evidence of the scale of the
atrocity perpetrated in and around the town in the days after July 11, 1995. openDemocracy, August 24, 2006
Articles in Washington Report on Middle East
Affairs
Protests in
Republika Srpska, as Federation Plenums Fill Political Vacuum
The present round of Bosnian activism, which began dramatically in February,
continues at a more steady tempo. After thousands of people filled the
streets with protests—and some violence—for several weeks in dozens of towns
in the predominantly Muslim-controlled parts of the country, by mid-March it
looked like the movement was losing momentum. However, while ongoing
demonstrations have shrunk or ceased altogether, the plenums that were
formed early on have gotten a new wind and emerged as a new forum for social
discourse and political engagement. Meanwhile, after several weeks which saw
only a couple of minor solidarity demonstrations in the Republika Srpska
(RS)—one of two “entities” formed after the 1992-1995 Bosnian war—unrest
broke out in the RS capital, Banja Luka. June/July 2014
Bosnia-Hercegovina Protests Are a Response to Post-War Corruption and
Impoverishment
For 18 post-war
years, Bosnia-Herzegovina has progressively sunk into economic wreckage
within the framework of the "Dayton straitjacket" that has encouraged
pervasive corruption and the enrichment of an ethno-nationalist elite. With
massive unemployment, paltry pensions, a high cost of living, and chaos in
government, one might well ask why it took so long for February’s turbulent
street protests to erupt. And now, after the
torching of several government buildings and the resignation of a number of
officials, a more urgent question is how to transform and channel the anger
expressed on the street into concrete social change. May 2014
As in Much of Europe, Kosovo's Roma Face Uncertain Future
Discrimination against the Roma populations throughout
Europe and the forced migration of their communities have been as common
in the last few decades as they ever were. Where human rights and
standard of living are concerned, the Roma are at or near the bottom of
society in every European country where they reside. Kosovo, where the
Romani population is primarily Muslim, is no exception.
March/April 2014
Municipal Elections in Kosovo Attract Serb Voters for the First Time
Credit for this development is due to the April 2013 Brussels agreement
between Kosovo and Serbia, which is an important step toward Serbia’s
eventual membership in the European Union: such cooperation demonstrates
that Serbia can work with its neighbors in a peaceful and constructive
manner. The agreement also opens the door a crack for Kosovo to undertake
long-term negotiations with the EU over membership. January/February
2014
Kosovo—an UpdateSerbia and Kosovo share a common
goal that has recently helped open the door to a significant political
thaw. December 2013
Increased Grassroots Activism
in Bosnia-HerzegovinaIn June of this year, when thousands of
protesters took to the streets of Sarajevo, blockading Bosnia’s
parliament. It was the largest demonstration since the ill-fated
anti-war protests just before the siege of Sarajevo began in 1992.
October/November 2013
Srebrenica’s Returning Muslim Residents Win Local VictoryHow did
it happen that on the night of Oct. 7, 2012, dozens of young people were
celebrating joyously in a bar in the middle of Srebrenica—not far from
where, 17 years earlier, an act of genocide had been committed?
September 2013
"Ethno-nationalism" is not
the way forward for
Bosnia-Herzegovina Officials of the international community are on the way to making a
grave mistake with respect to the way power is allocated in
Bosnia-Herzegovina. Tempted by the allure of a 'deliverable', the EU,
US, and UK are supporting a political process that would enhance the
power of ethno-nationalist leaders, cement ethnic partition, and quite
possibly lead to violence. euobserver, April 15, 2021
Trapped in the Krajina
Stuck just miles from the EU border, thousands of
migrants are helplessly entangled in the complexities of
Bosnian politics. Transitions Online, November
10, 2020
The Roma: some history and
thoughts A
compilation of a few writings from recent years, in
response to the ongoing stereotyping and other ignorant
expressions about Roma. Balkan Witness, Fall 2017
KARADŽIĆ VERDICT UNSATISFACTORY
His
conviction on ten out of eleven charges leaves the need
for justice in Bosnia-Herzegovina unsatisfied, because
he was not convicted on the eleventh count, for genocide
in other parts of the country. Balkan Witness,March 24, 2016
Their last name is 'refugee': return and local activism
By Peter Lippman,
Forced Migration Review,
September 2015
Sustainable refugee return can only take place in Bosnia
and Herzegovina when ordinary people and human rights
activists are included as full participants in the
recovery process.
An Election Monitor in Srebrenica
Thousands of displaced native-born Srebrenicans
found ways to vote in their pre-war homes, either by mail, by
absentee voting, or by traveling to the municipality by bus.
They were exercising their right to freedom of movement and
choice of residency. The grassroots campaign "Glasaću za Srebrenicu"
[I will vote for Srebrenica] had
decided that it was unacceptable that someone who denied the genocide should
take over the government and, possibly, become administrator of the memorial
cemetery at Potočari.
What led to this displacement and denial was clear to anyone who knew a little
of the recent history of Srebrenica. All one had to do was pass by the cemetery,
where there were more deceased Srebrenicans than there are live returnees to the
municipality. Dani magazine, Sarajevo, April 26, 2013, in English and
Bosnian
The long-delayed arrest of accused war criminal Gen. Ratko
Mladic
His arrest had much more
to do with political expediency for
Serbia than with justice. The
apprehension of Mladic and other
fugitives, as part of cooperation with
the International Criminal Tribunal for
the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), has been a
condition for granting Serbia's
candidate status for membership in the
European Union. Seattle Times,
May 28, 2011
Interview with Peter Lippman (in Bosnian) Peter talks
about grassroots activism in both Bosnia and the United States, touching
on some trends and movements over the last 15 years in Bosnia, and over
the last 40-45 years in the US. He discusses the movement for
refugee/displaced persons return in Bosnia and the ongoing struggle
against apartheid and corruption in that country. In the US, Peter
discusses anti-war movements going back to the Vietnam war, Central
America during the 1980s, and ongoing activity in opposition to the
Israeli occupation of Palestine and the US-led occupations in the Middle
East. Interview by Hariz Halilovic, Dani magazine, Sarajevo, May
14, 2010 (Dani is the most popular independent weekly magazine in
Bosnia.)
Karadzic arrest will not solve thingsThe arrest of
Radovan Karadzic is long overdue. But it alone will not resolve the
problem of Serbian extremism. The Progressive, July 23, 2008
The
Gornji Vakuf/Uskoplje Youth Center: a
multi-ethnic organization providing classes and other services to people of
all ethnicities in an ethnically divided town in central Bosnia. Centre for
European Migration and Ethnic Studies, December 2000
Center for Information and Legal Assistance
(CIPP) provides legal aid and information to refugees and displaced persons
wishing to return to the region around Zvornik, Bosnia, and from that region
to other parts of Bosnia. Centre for European Migration and Ethnic Studies,
November 2000
The
Coalition for Return of Sarajevo, Bosnia:
legal counseling to displaced persons of all ethnicities wishing to return
to or from Sarajevo. Centre for European Migration and Ethnic Studies,
November 2000
Kosovo,
1999-2000: The Birth and Rebirth of Civil Society
This series of articles begins with a brief outline of
Kosovo's history and a profile of some of the initiatives that emerged
under the "parallel society" during the 1990s. These grew out attempts
by the Serbian authorities to suppress Albanian culture. The series then
chronicles events from March 1998 through 2000, from the approach of the
war in Kosovo through its aftermath.
Bosnia,
1999-2000: Bosnian Refugees Struggle to Return Home
This section contains the entire series of reports
written by Peter Lippman between early 1999 and late 2000, covering the
grassroots effort by activist organizations promoting the return of
displaced persons throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina. This was a period
of continued resistance on the part of hard-line nationalists who wished
to preserve the situation of ethnic homogenization of territories where
they had practiced "ethnic cleansing" during the war. But it was also a
period of intense and valiant struggle on the part of return activists
to claim what was rightfully theirs: their pre-war homes. This effort
lead to a breakthrough in the ensuing years, resulting in partial return
to practically every municipality in the country.
