Stories from Quick Reads and Croatian
Hungarian PM: Immigration Crisis Should be Solved by Building Wall along the Border with Serbia
While the European immigration crisis is not showing any signs of dying down, the EU has been taking some much needed measures related to saving the lives of the people who are trying to enter Europe trough the Mediterranean. Aside from the Mediterranean Sea, migrants have also been fleeing their home...
LGBT Pride Parade in Dalmatia Smaller but Without Incidents
The fifth Split Pride parade was held on June 6, 2015, with around 200 members of the LGBT community walking through Split, Croatia. No incidents or violence happened during the manifestation. The Split Pride parade has been held since 2010 and in previous years saw more than 500 participants joined in...
The Ustashi Legacy: Remembering the Children's Concentration Camp in Sisak
The Croatian town of Sisak hasn't forgotten the horrors of a children's concentration camp established by German Nazis and the radical right Croatian Ustashi movement during WWII.
“Catalan Independence” Explained in 16 Languages
The debut video of The Catalan Project (@Catalan_Project) features Fernando de Castro, “a Catalan from Galicia and Spanish”, presenting the project and explaining why some Catalans want independence from Spain using the 16 languages he is able to speak. Subtitles are available in English, French, German, Spanish and Catalan. The Catalan Project, an...
Croatian Activists Protest Concert of Nationalist Rock Band in Zagreb
These signs were placed on the Hall of Sports in Zagreb by Croatian activists just days before Thompson, a Croatian rock band, held their concert there on Saturday, November 16. The band bears its name after the nickname of their lead singer, Marko Perković, received during service in the military...
Spain: Catalonia's “Declaration of Sovereignty” Translated into 36 Languages
On January 23, 2013, amid rising tensions with the Spanish government, the regional parliament of Catalonia approved by majority vote a Declaration of Sovereignty [ca] — seen widely as a prelude to a referendum on independence, expected to be held by 2014. Thanks to a diverse team of collaborators, the online...
Croatia's EU Negotiation Model: A View From Turkey
At BlogActiv.com, Kader Sevinç shares highlights [en] from her interview [hr] with the Croatian daily Slobodna Dalmacija, in which she talked about Turkey’s accession to the EU and the Croatian model for the EU negotiations – “a multi-party model overcoming deep political fractures over the EU membership target.”
Croatia: 2.8 Million “Inappropriate” Books “Purged” During the 1990s
In “Libricide,” Ante Lešaja has documented the process of “purging” of “unsuitable” books from Croatian schools and public libraries by the right-wing HDZ government in the 1990s. According to a Jutarnji List interview [hr] with Lešaja, the “purging” was based on ideological and ethnic criteria and affected books “written in...
Croatia: Court Forbids Homophobic Priest From Blogging
Serbia Insajd, a Hungarian blog about South-Eastern Europe, reports [hu] that the Rijeka Court has banned Franjo Jurčević, a Kastav-based Catholic priest, from writing homophobic blog posts [Jurčević's blog, hr: http://zupnik.blog.hr/]. The court has also ordered Jurčević to publish the court decision in two national dailies at his own expense.
Macedonia: Personal Steps Against Economic Crisis
Bojana Jankovska blogs [MKD] on how she deals with the economic crisis at a personal level: make a deal with family members to use electrical appliances during “cheaper” hours of the day, possibly cancel central heating, locate the cheapest neighborhood store for regular grocery shopping, and lock your credit card...
Europe: “Mapping Stereotypes”
Via Dr Sean's Diary, “a series of maps of Europe mapping the (supposed) prejudices of various nations […] and, for some reason, also of gay men” by “Bulgarian visual artist, graphic designer and illustrator Yanko Tsvetkov.” Also, “What European Tribes Think About One Another” – at eXile.ru; a similar map...
Slovenia: Severe Floods and… Surfing?!
While severe floods plague Slovenia [SLO], Balkan portals from Croatia to Macedonia keep republishing a video clip named “wakeboarding in Ljubljana at 1am,” showing a car towing a surfer through the streets and passing by a dry cleaning sign.
Bosnia: Puppy drowning Video Girl Caught by Police
Bosnian police have found the girl who appeared on YouTube video throwing puppies to a river, thanks to animal protection organization's tips and online citizens who helped pinpoint location and identity of the young girl from video footage.
Croatia: Official Zagreb Protest Blog
We don't give Varšavska is a blog in Croatian and English set up by the civic activists who object to usurpation of public space in Zagreb with latest information about mass arrests from the perspective of protesters.
Croatia: Protests Continue Following Mass Arrests
Protests in Zagreb continued in spite of the attempted crackdown on Thursday. Croatian state TV reported [CRO] that police arrested 142 protesters so far, including some who returned to the controversial construction site after being released from detention. Marcell Mars, one of protest leaders, scheduled [CRO] a rally and march...