Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
healer named Dr. Dragan David Dabi
ć
. (Karadži
ć
had previously received training as a psy-
chiatrist.) This expert on what he called “Human Quantum Energy” had his own website
and even presented at conferences.
How did one of the world's most wanted men effectively disappear in plain sight for 12
years? He had grown a very full beard and wore thick glasses as a disguise, and frequented
a neighborhood bar where a photo of him, in his earlier life, hung proudly on the wall...and
yet, he was undetected even by those who saw him every day. It's alleged that at least some
Serbauthoritiesknewofhiswhereabouts,but,consideringhimahero,refusedtoidentifyor
arrest him.
In May of 2011, the last “most wanted” criminal of the conflict—Karadži
ć
's military
leader, General Ratko Mladi
ć
—was found and arrested. As of this writing, Karadži
ć
and
Mladi
ć
are each standing trial in The Hague.
After the departures of Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Macedonia (which
peacefully seceded in 1991), by the late 1990s only two of the original six republics of
Yugoslavia remained united: Serbia (which still included the provinces of Kosovo and Vo-
jvodina) and Montenegro. But in 2003, Montenegro began a gradual secession process that
ended when it peacefully tiptoed its way to independence in 2006. (For all the details, see
The Yugoslav crisis concluded in the place where it began: the Serbian province of
Kosovo.Kosovo'smajorityAlbaniansrebelledagainstSerbianrulein1998,onlytobecome
victims of Miloševi
ć
's ethnic cleansing (until US General Wesley Clark's NATO warplanes
forcedtheSerbianarmyout).Fornearlyadecade,KosovoremainedaUNprotectoratewith-
inSerbia—stillnominallypartofSerbia,butforallpracticalpurposesseparateandself-gov-
erning (under the watchful eye of the UN). Reading between the lines, Serbs point out that
independent Kosovo quickly became a very close ally of the US, allowing one of Europe's
biggest military bases—Camp Bondsteel—to be built in their territory.
On Sunday, February 17, 2008, Kosovo's provisional government unilaterally declared
its independence as the “Republic of Kosovo.” The US, UK, France, Germany, and several
other countries quickly recognized the new republic, but the UN didn't officially endorse it.
Serbiaopposedthemove,andwasbackedbyseveralcountriesinvolvedintheirownintern-
al disputes with would-be breakaway regions: Russia (areas of Georgia), China (Taiwan),
and Spain (Catalunya, the Basque Country, and others).
ThenewKosovogovernmentcarefullystatedthatitwouldprotecttherightsofitsminor-
ities, including Serbs. But the Serbs deeply believed that losing Kosovo would also mean
losing their grip on their own history and culture. They also feared for the safety of the Serb
minoritythere(andpotentialretributionfromAlbanianswhohadforsolongbeenoppressed
