Steven D.
Roper
Bosnia and Herzegovina
I was in Sarajevo in
July 2006 working on a project investigating the devolution of cases
from the ICTY to the national court system of Bosnia as well as the
state of originating cases in the state. I was able to attend trials at
the War Crimes Chamber in the State Court of Bosnia as well as meet
with judges, prosecutors and defense attorneys. Here are some select
photos from the trip (click on the photo for a larger version). Because
of the busy meeting schedule, I was not able to get out too much.
The first
photo was taken outside the gym of our hotel (Holiday Inn). I have
never seen guns prohibited in a gym before. The second photo was taken
outside a bank in downtown Sarajevo. Notice that guns, dogs, cell
phones, smoking and most of all ice cream are prohibited! Last photo
was taken outside the Holiday Inn. This was the first Western hotel in
Bosnia built for the 1984 Olympic games (notice the Olympic emblem
engraved in the building). Looks like a Pez dispenser on drugs.
This second group of
photos is more somber. The first photo shows a grave site on one of the
hills that flanks the city. Not surprising given the number of people
that died in the war in the 1990s, there are newer, seemingly
make-shift cemeteries that ring the city. The second photo shows the
toll that the shelling took on buildings and infrastructure. After 10
years and billions of dollars, Sarajevo generally looks pretty good. Of
course once you venture outside the capital, the amount of restoration
work is noticeably less. I think that the last photo speaks for itself.
A helicopter
used during the war that is now part of a park in downtown Sarajevo.
