On Tuesday morning, September 9, 2014, the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies (AICGS) at John Hopkins University in Washington, DC held a workshop seminar; Reconciliation in the Western Balkans and in East Asia: The Role of German Governmental and Civil Society Actors and Implications for the United States.
Dr. JelenaObradovic-Wochnikof Aston University, Birmingham, United Kingdom was introduced by the moderator, Dr. Lily Gardner Feldman. Dr. JelenaObradovic-Wochnik discussedthe challenges of transitional justice, reconciliation and post-conflict transitions in Serbia and Kosovo.
The President of the Pan-Albanian Federation of America VATRA (The Hearth), Dr. Gjon Buçaj, attended the workshop and posed a question with comments as follows:
“A true reconciliation cannot be imposed but can only be achieved if the wrongdoing is recognized and forgiveness is sought. Can a real reconciliation be achieved, given the fact that Serbia has not officially recognized that the genocide and ethnic cleansing ever happened, let alone apologized or asked for forgiveness? The Serbian government, Serbian Academy of Sciences and the Serbian Pravoslav Church are on the same page. As a matter of fact, the Church had publically blessed the Miloshevic campaign that was launched in 1989. It is reminiscentof the genocide and ethnic cleansing that Greek armed forces committed, at the end of WWII, to the Albanian Muslim population of Chameria, a region in northern Greece. Similarly, Greece does not acknowledge that those atrocities ever happened. Although this is not the theme of today’s talk, I mention it because of the parallels between thetwo issues.Albania, which is aspiring to enter the European Union where Greece has veto power, may be going easy on this problem at the present time,but sooner or later this issue will have to be seriously addressed at the state and international levels. Everyone needs peace that is just and real. I sincerely wish success in this important endeavor.”
Dr. JelenaObradovic-Wochnik thanked Dr. Buçaj for his question and acknowledged that theroad to reconciliation will only be achieved by small steps and more importantly, with the right leadership in place. Asmore or less a neutral state,Germany has been able to successfully influence this process forward and will continue. In conclusion, Dr. JelenaObradovic-Wochnik stated that Serbia will and must recognize Kosova, it’s a matter of when.
Dr. Obradovic-Vochnik has also published the book, “Ethnic Conflict and War Crimes in the Balkans: the Narratives of Denial in Serbia”, where she discusses Serbian society’s understanding of andmethods for dealing with war crimes.
After the discussion, Dr. Buçajwas greeted byArtanBehrami and FrymëzimIsufaj from the Embassy of the Republic of Kosovo, both in attendance of the workshop.(Dielli)