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On June 7, the German Marshall Fund of the United States and the Heinrich Boell Foundation co-hosted a luncheon that featuring a speech by Natasa Kandic, the founder and executive Director of the Humanitarian Law Center in Belgrade.   The luncheon speech, entitled “The role of civil society in democratization and transformation processes in Southeastern Europe,” tackled topics such as the former Yugoslavia, the Truth Commission in Bosnia, and the Serbia-Kosovo conflict.  Kandic worked extensively with victims of war crimes in the former Yugoslavia.   Kandic noted that judges and the trials during the Truth Commission in Bosnia have been professional and objective.  However, she explained that prosecutors have chosen to try perpetrators who are not high-level officials because of their importance in the Serbian government.  Kandic also said that domestic Truth Commissions are hindered by difficulties to try Serbian citizens for crimes committed in Bosnia.   Kandic fielded questions on public opinion in Serbia, Serbia-Kosovo relations, and future efforts in the region.  She and many of the participants voiced disappointment at Serbia’s unwillingness to recognize Kosovo as an independent nation.  Kandic also drew attention to Kosovar Serbs and stressed the importance of changing their opinion on Kosovo as an independent state.

Kandic explained how Serbs became more skeptical of their government and press after a video of a massacre by Serbs was released.  However, she said the radical party was still in power in Serbia and quickly retaliated with video of crimes against Serbs.  In response to a question, Kandic felt that one way to help the former Yugoslavia in the future is to preserve accurate documentation of events in the Balkans in a safe place outside of the region, but also keeping copies in the region.