peacekeeping – Página 3

Flying in the No Fly Zone – Bosnia 1995

During the conflict in Bosnia, the UN had imposed a No Fly Zone (NFZ) over the country. Only with a previous authorization by the UN could someone fly over Bosnia. In order to assure that NFZ the UN gave a mandate to NATO for the implementation of the necessary measures and, simultaneously, deployed UN MilitaryContinuar lendo “Flying in the No Fly Zone – Bosnia 1995”

“The need sharpens the ingenuity” (Gorazde 1992/95)

Bosnia Herzegovina – Right after the Cease Fire became in force (11OCT95), the UNMO team of UNPROFOR HQ (Sarajevo) got tasked to verify and monitor its implementation on the roads Sarajevo – Pale – Gorazde. Gorazde was a besieged city; there was no one to collect the garbage and nowhere to deposit it. Only theContinuar lendo ““The need sharpens the ingenuity” (Gorazde 1992/95)”

The way I saw the events in Srebrenica 1995

In July 1995, the most discussed issue in UNPROFOR’s corridors was Srebrenica. After the fall of Krajina’s Sector West, in May 1995, the entire situation in Bosnia reached a tipping pint; for the worst! The Serbian residents of the other sectors of the Krajina started to abandon their lands, fearing the same destiny as SectorContinuar lendo “The way I saw the events in Srebrenica 1995”

O massacre de Srebrenica

Em julho de 1995 o assunto mais sério que se debatia na UNPROFOR eram os acontecimentos de Sebrenica. No início da guerra na Bósnia, em 1992, a pequena Cidade de Sebrenica estava dentro dos domínios da República Sérvia da Bósnia, e sob controlo das forças do Exército Sérvio (VRS). Posteriormente foi tomada pelo Exército (muçulmano)Continuar lendo “O massacre de Srebrenica”

Some lessons, you have to learn the hard way (Bosnia)

In my first land trip to Sarajevo (early August 1995), I was travelling in a UN vehicle with a Brazilian UNMO comrade. We’d been driving during the night, which was not advisable to do during the Bosnian War; hence we decided to stop and spend the night at the UNPROFOR Malayan Battalion (MALBAT) in Konjic.Continuar lendo “Some lessons, you have to learn the hard way (Bosnia)”

Miúdos criados na Guerra

Guerra da Bósnia Herzegovina – missão de Manutenção de Paz UNPROFOR – 1995. No dia 18 de agosto choveu bastante durante praticamente todo o dia. Numa situação normal, a pesada chuva seria indício de um dia mais calmo na frente de batalha, com os combatentes recolhidos nos seus abrigos. A inclemência meteorológica é, regra geral,Continuar lendo “Miúdos criados na Guerra”

Birds violating the Bosnian No Fly Zone (1995)

On night of 24 February 1995, I was on duty at the UNPROFOR radar console assigned by the Yugoslav authorities at Belgrade’s International Airport Area Control Centre (ACC). At about 02H00 in the morning, four large targets pumped-up flying over Bosnia, with a separation between radar contacts of about 10 Km (some 20 minutes betweenContinuar lendo “Birds violating the Bosnian No Fly Zone (1995)”

Balkans – people with more History than they can hold.

Once, a Yugoslav intellectual told me that, the people in the Balkans would always be fighting each other, because they had more History they could hold. –“You’re Portuguese; you will never understand the Bosnian problematic, because you’re the cultural result of “one single tribe in one same territory”. Here, people are from different tribes inContinuar lendo “Balkans – people with more History than they can hold.”

Portugal – uma única tribo num só território

Alguém me disse um dia, que os povos dos Balcãs haveriam de estar sempre em conflito, porque tinham mais História do que podiam aguentar. – “Vocês, os Portugueses, nunca irão entender isto; … sois o resultado cultural de “uma única tribo num só território”. Aqui as coisas são diferentes, existem várias tribos dentro do mesmoContinuar lendo “Portugal – uma única tribo num só território”

War Tourism – Bosnia 1995

In August 1995, during the Bosnian conflict, I witnessed something I had never seen before – War Tourism. It all started with a simple Military Observers’ (UNMO) patrol, in Mont Igman (Sarajevo), while driving on a dirt road I hadn’t travel through before. Inside the UNMO vehicle traveled three UNMO (a Portuguese, a Dutch andContinuar lendo “War Tourism – Bosnia 1995”