Friday, 5 February 2010
An expert on the Politics of The Balkans and organized crime, the British journalist and author Misha Glenny gave a lecture titled "Balkans and Global Organized Crimes" on Wednesday, February 3, 2010, at the International Strategic Research Organization (USAK).
In the first part of the two-session meeting, Misha Glenny, who worked as a reporter at BBC and as an advisor to the White House and several European countries on the issues in the Balkans, made an assessment regarding politics in the Balkans from 1999 to present day. In the second part of the Conference, Glenny talked about the organized crime triggered by the new economic order created by the collapse of communism and the globalization process.
Glenny also claimed that the European Union somehow became involved in the regional problem by giving accession perspective to the newly emerged states after the dissolution of Yugoslavia, as well as Albania, Bulgaria and Romania.
In the question/answer part conducted at the end of each of the two sessions, Ambassadors from the countries in the region, academicians and other participants contributed to the meeting with their comments. Answering the question as to whether the Serbian Parliament's decision regarding the events in Srebrenitza during the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina is enough or not, Glenny answered, “Of course not; however, the solution of this issue requires time. In this sense, the Serbian Government's initiative should be considered as a positive step.”
In the second part of the Conference, in which organized crime was discussed, Glenny pointed out that organized crime cannot be independent from corruption and gave a different dimension to the concept. He ended his speech enriched by different comments and interpretations from the audience by saying that the problem is not restricted only in this region, it has a global character. Therefore, it would be wrong to consider these issues as a local problem.
