Homeless World Cup - Mexico City 2012

27.08.2010 - U zapisu sa prošlogodišnjeg Sarajevo Film Festivala zabilježio sam i ovo: “... Taj isti dan ostalo nam je da uveče pogledamo dokumentarni film Kick Off. Ovaj film sam odabrao jer sam u sinopsisu vidio da se radi o svjetskom prvenstvu u malom fudbalu (street soccer) za beskućnike. I s obzirom da sam ja nepokolebljivi vjernik u iscjeliteljsku moć fudbala, i da se ipak ne radi o ovom drugom fudbalu (FIFA, UEFA, Champions League, EPL... soccer) u kojem je potreba za jednim temeljitim egzorcizmom svakim danom sve očiglednija, to mi se ova tema učinila vrlo intrigantnom, kako bi to rekla uvažena selektorica Rada Šešić. U filmu ljudi od krvi i mesa koji su spletom, ne nesretnih, nego životnih okolnosti završili na ulici zbog droge, sitnog kriminala, alkoholizma ili nečega trećeg, predvođeni trenerom Gilbertom Prilasnigom, koga znamo kao dugogodišnjeg igrača Šturma u vrijeme kada je ovaj klub vodio Ivica Osim, uz prisustvo studenta režije Huseyna Tabaka, koji i sam zaljubljenik u film pravi film o njima i bodri ih sve vrijeme, i radnika Caritasa, pripremaju se za svjetsko prvenstvo u Melburnu stičući tako prijeko potrebno samopouzdanje za pobjede na terenu, i mnogo bitnije, van njega. Pa tako gledamo Serkana, glavnog igrača, kako slavi što je napokon dobio vizu dva dana prije polaska, i to nakon što je izgubio svaku nadu, njegovog saigrača koji radi noću kao čistač i ujutro odlazi na trening i koji sâm u jednom trenutku kaže: „... ponekad osjećam da će mi se tijelo slomiti“, dok za golmana kasnije, u razgovoru sa režiserom, saznajemo da je i na prvenstvu imao problema sa alkoholom, ali da je u međuvremenu našao posao, djevojku, i da će ići da po prvi put vidi svog sina. Možda je zvučalo pretjerano kada sam na q/a poslije filma rekao da mi je gledanje ovog filma bilo uzbudljivije od nedavno završenog svjetskog prvenstva u fudbalu, ali stvarno sam to mislio.”

22.12.2011 - U članku “Bh. nogometna selekcija beskućnika ide na SP” objavljenom na portalu Radio Sarajeva prije dva dana (http://www.radiosarajevo.ba/novost/70119/bh-nogometna-selekcija-beskucnika-ide-na-sp-), između ostalog stoji i ovo: “[b]oje naše zemlje na Homeless World Cup-u koje će se u oktobru naredne godine održati u Mexico City-u, braniće reprezentativci iz Sarajeva, Banja Luke, Tuzle, Doboja i opštine Doboj Istok pod selektorskom palicom Elmedina Škrebe... BiH će po prvi put nastupiti na ovom prvenstvu s obzirom na to da je tek od 22. avgusta ove godine postala članica Homeless World Cup-a... U našoj zemlji ne postoji zakonska regulativa o tome ko je beskućnik, tako da ranije i ne bismo mogli nastupiti na ovom takmičenju. Sada postoji 11 kategorija, među kojima su i povratnici, raseljeni, osobe koje borave u kolektivnom smještaju, bivši ovisnici o drogama... tako i našu zemlju predstavljaju momci koji pripadaju jednoj od ovih kategorija.”

Poželio bih našim igračima da im ovo iskustvo, kao što je to bio slučaj sa junacima filma Kick Off, donese pozitivnu promjenu u njihovim životima. Sretno Zmajevi!   

Ništa. Za. Prijaviti.

Granični prelaz Bosanski Brod. Uveče pred kraj smjene. Član 10. stav 2. tačka a) Uputstva o carinskom postupku u putničkom prometu kaže: „Oslobađanje od plaćanja uvoznih dažbina... primjenjuje se po putniku i po danu na nekomercijalnu robu, uključujući poklone i suvenire koji se nalaze u ličnom prtljagu putnika, a čija carinska vrijednost nije veća od 200 KM“. U kućici smo. Carinik provodi carinski postupak u putničkom prometu. Revnosno. Ja se bunim. Logično. Nema logike da mi naplaćujete carinu na stvari koje smo kupili poput zimske jakne, vjetrovke, patika za plažu ili Barceloninog kompleta (dres, šorc i štucne) za djecu do šest godina, ali cariniku se živo jebe za moju logiku. Pokazuje mi list papira na stolu sa relevantnim zakonskim odredbama označenim masnim slovima. Koje u članu 10. stav 4. uputstva kažu: „Kada se u ličnom prtljagu putnika nalazi roba iz stava (2) tačka a) ovog člana pojedinačne carinske vrijednosti veće od 200 KM, na istu se prilikom unosa u BiH moraju naplatiti uvozne dažbine i drugi indirektni porezi na njenu ukupnu carinsku vrijednost ...“

Nisam imao pojma o ovom limitu Uprave za indirektno oporezivanje koji u suštini i nije nikakav limit. Iskreno. Pročitaću sve podzakonske akte: pravilnike, uputstva, odluke, instrukcije, objašnjenja, obavijesti i naredbe pa ću se ubuduće ravnati, kako to organi vole reći, po istima. Lažem. Cariniku se i dalje jebe za moju trenutnu neinformisanost i obećano ravnanje. Dok uredno popunjava rubriku po rubriku: šifra carinskog službenika koji provodi carinski postupak, vrsta i iznos naplaćenih indirektnih poreza, potpis putnika i ovjera carinskog organa, priča mi kako je baš maloprije ocarinio televizor. Polovan. I to u ukupnoj carinskoj vrijednosti. Jer uputstvo kaže: „ako putnik nosi televizor u boji vrijednosti 500 KM, televizor se ne može ocariniti tako da se za dio vrijednosti od 200 KM oslobodi od plaćanja uvoznih dažbina, a da se na dio vrijednosti od 300 KM obračunaju i naplate dažbine, nego će carinski organi predmetni televizor ocariniti na vrijednost 500 KM i na taj iznos obračunati i naplatiti uvozne dažbine i druge indirektne poreze.“ Isto tako se veli: „... ne može se zbrajati povlastica više putnika pri uvozu jednog predmeta jer se povlastica odnosi na svakog putnika pojedinačno (npr. kada četvero putnika u motornom vozilu uvezu jedan predmet vrijednosti 800 KM, te zahtijevaju primjenu povlastice, ne može se odobriti povlastica, nego se uvozne dažbine i drugi indirektni porezi obračunavaju na cijelu carinsku vrijednost tog predmeta).“ Nema djeljenja. Nema zbrajanja. Ima samo množenja putnika. S nulom.    

Čekaj, drug moj, da se barem upoznam sa terminologijom iz prije nego izjavim kako nemam da platim. „Roba nekomercijalnog karaktera“ znači povremene uvoze robe isključivo za ličnu upotrebu putnika, njegove porodice ili za poklone, čiji karakter i količina upućuju da se ne radi o uvozu u komercijalne svrhe.“ „Uvozne dažbine“ znače carine i druge dažbine s podjednakim efektom kao carinske dažbine naplative pri uvozu robe, ali ne uključujući naknade i troškove za izvršene usluge.“ „Vrijednost robe za carinske svrhe je transakcijska vrijednost, tj. stvarno plaćena ili plativa cijena za robu prilikom prodaje za izvoz u carinsko područje BiH...“ Pod pojmom „indirektni porezi“ podrazumijevaju se uvozne i izvozne dažbine, akcize, porez na dodatnu vrijednost i svi drugi porezi obračunati na robu i usluge.“

Iako priglup za ovu problematiku, već u prvom čitanju sam zaključio da se zakonodavac zajeb'o. I da zakonske odredbe treba promijeniti jer je protivno zdravom razumu da za pobrojane stvari, koje su strogo za ličnu upotrebu i na koje sam u Hrvatskoj već platio pripadajući porez, plaćam tristo ili čet'risto maraka dodatnog poreza. Osim toga je i maltretiranje. A carinik ispunjava 'li ispunjava: „Prvi primjerak odštampan je crvenom bojom i ostaje u bloku. Drugi primjerak odštampan je plavom bojom i namijenjen je za potrebe evidencije Odsjeka za poslovne usluge u nadležnom Regionalnom centru. Treći primjerak odštampan je crnom bojom i namijenjen je putniku.“ Pa ja, ocrni ti putnika. Razmišljam da vratim stvari kod tete Janje u Zagreb. I da mu se istu noć vratim i uživam u tih par sekundi koliko mi treba da otegnuto izgovorim. Ništa. Za. Prijaviti.

Iznurivanje traje. Logika obezvrijeđena. Čeka se kraj smjene. 

On TransConflict

Both Gordon N. Bardos and Matthew T. Parish contribute articles for TransConflict though the latter does it more frequently than the former. What is in fact TransConflict? It is said on their website that “TransConflict was established in response to the challenges facing intra- and interethnic relations in the Western Balkans following Kosovo's declaration of independence. It is TransConflict's assertion that the successful transformation of conflict requires a multi-dimensional approach that engages with and aims at transforming the very interests, relationships, discourses and structures that underpin and fuel outbreaks of low- and high-intensity violence.“ Among others sitting on TransConflict's Advisory Board is a native of Gorazde, Savo Heleta.

Few words about the man. In his own words: „My name is Savo Heleta. I am the author of “Not My Turn to Die: Memoirs of a Broken Childhood in Bosnia”. I hold a Masters Degree in Conflict Transformation and Management at Nelson Mandella Metropolitan University in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. I am currently enrolled in a PhD program in Post-Conflict Development and Reconstruction at Nelson Mandella Metropolitan University.” In the words of Marko Attila Hoare who reviewed Heleta's book in his article entitled “The Persecution of Serb Civilians in wartime Gorazde”: “[speaking of Savo Hoare writes] ... he confesses that his anger at his family's wartime treatment drove him, among other things, to throw rocks at Bosniak cars that drove between Gorazde and Sarajevo after the war, sometimes smashing windscreens and windows: [quoting Savo] 'It hardly crossed my mind at the time that perhaps those people in the buses and trucks had not done anything bad to my family. Some of them could even have been those who had helped us. Maybe even the man who gave us his last loaf of bread. I was completely blinded by fury.'” And finally, in the words of Chunyan Song from California State University who assigned Heleta's memoir to her sociology students: “My students are inspired by Heleta's personal transformation from an angry teenager seeking revenge to a bright scholar actively seeking resolution to global conflicts.” As a side note, on the occasion when Savo addressed professor Song's students from his home in South Africa, students were so inspired by the author's personal transformation and devotion to world peace that they collected funds to purchase him a new laptop with a built-in camera after learning he borrowed one for their lecture. Good for Savo!

Having learnt a thing or two about the man's background and most importantly about his personal transformation from an angry teenager to a bright scholar, active seeker of resolution to global conflicts and devotee to world peace, all in one, let us now have a look at how Mr Heleta “engages with and aims at transforming... discourses... that underpin low- and high-intensity violence”, particularly with respect to the chief challenge in response to which TransConflict was established, as they themselves admit, that of Kosovo's declaration of independence.

Shortly after Kosovo declared independence, more precisely on 13 March 2008, Savo wrote an article entitled “Future Consequences of Kosovo's Independence” in which he argues that “[i]n the near future, we may see escalation of conflict in the Basque region of Spain and parts of France, fighting for independent Kurdistan in Iraq and Turkey, problems in Romania, Slovakia, Sri Lanka, China, the whole African continent and elsewhere.” On a more micro scale, “[i]t is very possible that some ethnic groups in Bosnia could decide to follow Kosovo’s path and seek partition of the country.” Besides the fact that this is hardly a talk of a peacemonger and that none of this actually happened in any of the mentioned places (including “elsewhere”) in the last three and a half years since the writing of the article or is likely to happen in the foreseeable future, I thought that the discipline of conflict transformation and management was all about preventing and containing conflicts, and not encouraging them.

In another article published on 4 April 2008 entitled “Some People (Europeans) Matter More Than Others (Africans)”, Savo Heleta, a student at Nelson Mandella Metropolitan University in Port Elizabeth, South Africa ostensibly tries to follow the anti-apartheid trail of the great man after whom his university was named, but strays along the way. Savo writes: “In 1999, Western countries claimed that up to 10,000 Albanians were killed in Kosovo by the Serbian security forces and that the world had to intervene immediately. They quickly decided to launch air strikes, using over 1,000 airplanes in their bombing campaign. After the short war, 2,100 people were confirmed to be killed in Kosovo by the Serbian forces before the air strikes, while another 2,000 were still missing. Back in 1994, 1 million dead Rwandans in only three months were not enough to influence Western countries to intervene.” Now, the problem with this argument, apart from being too simplistic and with statistics not being a favorite tool of any peacemonger, is that the author seems to object to the fact that Western countries did intervene in Kosovo, not that they did not intervene in Rwanda. In other words, non-intervention in Rwanda seems to have been used here only in support of an argument that Western countries should not have intervened in Kosovo either. Talking about some people (Serbs) mattering more than others (Albanians)! Furthermore, Savo resents the fact that “[i]t was easy to find 1,000 fighter jets to punish Serbia for killing a few thousand [non-mattering] people in Kosovo, but it is impossible to find 24 helicopters to start protecting people in Darfur.” The same pattern again. This sentence, as it is written, means that the failure to protect people in Darfur is wrong only because 1,000 fighter jets were found and used in what Savo believes was the wrongful act of punishment of Serbia. Finally, he concludes that “[i]t is an ugly world we live in.” To use the words of the great man Nelson Mandella himself: “Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies.” And just to be clear, I do not think that Savo the transformed bright scholar has any real reason for resentment here. To sum up, Mr Heleta’s concern about the plight of Rwandans and people of Darfur seems to be quite opportunistic and used in support of making the case for Serbia, as shown above.

His subsequent writings are, among other things, about Hillary Clinton too, who in his view is “a phony pathological liar having no shame” and are generally too predictable to be even remotely interesting. Finally, going back to his Amazon profile, Savo writes: “Since letting go of the need for revenge, I have found common bonds with people from all over the world – India, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Ireland, Trinidad, South Africa and, of course, America. The education and my new friends opened my mind to different perspectives, helping me grow, and persuading me to write about my wartime experience.” Any Bosnians or Albanians impressed by the “transformed discourse” among these “new friends”, huh?           

Chinese Man Records - Racing with the Sun (Courtesy of Koka Kokana)

On the occasion of Professor William Schabas's 60th year

On 9 July 2011, Iain Scobbie posted on the blog of European Journal of International Law (http://www.ejiltalk.org/page/8/) “Call for Papers: Public International Law, International Criminal Law & International Human Rights Law: A Critical Evaluation of the Scholarship of Professor William Schabas”.

On the occasion of Schabas’s 60th year, the editors Dr. Kathleen Cavanaugh, Senior Lecturer, Irish Centre for Human Rights, National University of Ireland and Prof. Joshua Castellino, Professor of Law & Head of Law Department, Middlesex University, London, United Kingdom sought contributions from scholars, practitioners, judges and others that critically engage with the published contributions of Professor William Schabas.

In praise of his scholarship and activism the two editors wrote: „Over the last half a century the discourse of public international law has been enlivened by a growing emphasis on international human rights law, spawning robust debate and discussion, and also the creation of an imperfect system of accountability for crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide. In the last two decades in particular, the scholarship and activism of Professor William Schabas has had a significant impact on the growth of the normative frameworks around these subjects... His sterling role on the Sierra Leone Truth Commission is but one manifestation that his contribution has spread well beyond the realms of the classroom: recognition that is also reflected in the bestowal of the Order of Canada upon him for his contribution to human rights...“

Now, in my capacity of “other” I would like to give my small contribution to this initiative merely by quoting some of Prof. Schabas's writings on issues such as the role of the ICTY, ICJ's Judgment in the Case Concerning Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Bosnia and Herzegovina v. Serbia and Montenegro), Srebrenica and a few others.

On the role of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia: “The ICTY's role is to contribute to peace, accountability and ultimately reconciliation within a context of collective atrocity. Directing its fire at what are really no more than isolated social deviants can only distort the historical record in an unnecessarily provocative fashion.”  

On the ICJ Judgment, Srebrenica and Mladić’s power of improvisation: “Certainly the ICJ endorsed the conclusion that genocide had been perpetrated at Srebrenica. Here too, it followed the analysis of the ICTY, treating the massacre as an isolated and ultimately idiosyncratic event within a broader conflict whose essence was not fundamentally genocidal, a devastating and destructive attack on the Muslims of Srebrenica that was improvised at the last minute by General Mladić.”

On the condition of “Muslim life” (a rather interesting phrase) in Srebrenica in August 2007: “According to recent reports, Muslim life in Srebrenica is more vital and dynamic than ever.”

On those truly bend upon physical destruction of a group and others not so bend upon physical destruction of a group: “Can there not be other plausible explanations for the destruction of 7,000 men and boys in Srebrenica? Could they not have been targeted precisely because they were of military age, and thus actual or potential combatants? Would someone truly bend upon the physical destruction of a group, and cold-blooded enough to murder more than 7,000 defenseless men and boys, go to the trouble of organizing transport so that women, children and the elderly can be evacuated?”

On Milosevic trial and the true nature of relations between Belgrade and the Bosnian Serb leaders: “The unfinished trial of Milosevic never succeeded in joining up the dots to link him to Srebrenica. In fact, much of the evidence in that proceeding pointed to a rift between Belgrade and the Bosnian Serb leaders, rather than to the fabled conspiracy.”

On consistency and coherence: “... if the theoretical construct of the crime of genocide proposed by the ICTY and endorsed by the ICJ is to be sustained, it would have been more consistent and coherent to conclude that Srebrenica, too, was not an act of genocide. Both the ICTY and the ICJ seem to want to have their cake and to eat it too, espousing a rigorous legal analysis of the elements of the crime but nevertheless bowing to the crowd by acknowledging the most outrageous act in the entire war as rising to the level of genocide.”

And finally, on the lost chances: „... the final result [ICJ's Judgment], in February 2007, was really a setback for the Bosnian victims, whose lawyers should have convinced the state to discontinue their case. They probably could have obtained useful political considerations from Belgrade in exchange, but they have now, obviously, lost that chance.”

All the above quotes are from the following two articles by Professor William Schabas:

1. William A. Schabas, Legal Perspectives and Analyses: Was Genocide Committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina? First Judgments of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, Fordham International Law Journal, Volume 25, Issue 1, 2001

2. William A. Schabas, “Genocide and the International Court of Justice: Finally, A Duty to Prevent the Crime of Crimes” Genocide Studies and Prevention 2, 2 (August 2007): 101-122