Balkan press review

In the spotlight: anger after the train accident in Greece

University students sit on the road in front of the Greek Parliament as they pay homage to the victims of the train crash, in Athens, Friday, March 3, 2023. AP - Petros Giannakouris

Text by: Courrier des Balkans Follow |

Marion Roussey

5 mins

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 After three days of mourning, a strong sense of anger is spreading in Greece.

On February 28, a violent head-on collision between a freight convoy and a passenger train traveling between Athens and Thessaloniki killed more than 50 people and injured dozens.

While the government evokes "

", demonstrations and calls for sanctions are increasing throughout the country.

Railway workers and citizens together denounce years of abandonment of the rail network.

Recently privatized, the Greek Railways are among the most dangerous in Europe.

In Turkey, the government is trying to regain control after the deadly earthquakes of February 6.

The date of the presidential election is maintained on May 14.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has coyly apologized for the slow pace of rescue, while saying those responsible for the poor quality of the collapsed infrastructure will be punished.

About 200 people, building contractors or building owners, have already been arrested. 

The earthquakes have caused at least 45,000 deaths and left 1.5 million people homeless in Turkey.

The Turkish government has decided to relocate some of the victims to dormitories and university campuses.

For students, this means that classes will again be remote until the end of the year.

The measure worries students and teachers, already exhausted by two and a half years of pandemic and online teaching.

► Also to listen: 

Fake news in Moldova

False bomb scare in Chișinău, rumor of a Ukrainian false flag operation against Transnistria, Romanian tanks en route to the Moldovan border... Waves of false information have been spreading on Twitter in recent days.

The Romanian and Ukrainian authorities have denied them and attribute their origin to Moscow.

For disinformation experts, Russia is seeking to maintain a climate of fear in Moldova to maintain control over the separatist Moldovan region of Transnistria, a strategic territory under the control of Moscow since the breakup of the USSR in 1991. Analysis.

In Montenegro, the campaign for the presidential election is launched.

After weeks of suspense, current President Milo Đukanović will finally stand for re-election.

If he wins, he hopes to put his Democratic Socialist Party (DPS) back in the saddle, which has been in opposition since the 2020 legislative elections which ended 30 years of party rule.

Facing him, six candidates are running, including four from pro-Serb parties.

Once again, the campaign reveals the polarization of Montenegrin society, torn between two extremes: on the one hand, the pro-Montenegrin patriots;

on the other, the pro-Serb nationalists attached to Belgrade.

► Also to listen: 

Drug addiction, a scourge without remedy?

In Kosovo, mental health remains a taboo subject.

Few dare to go see a psychologist or talk openly about their traumas.

Drugs appear for many young people as the only outlet to evacuate their dark thoughts.

Ecstasy, mushrooms, but above all cocaine: these substances wreak havoc and public authorities are struggling to offer accessible and appropriate solutions to help consumers quit.

Those who succeed often have to seek private clinics or seek treatment abroad.

Report in Pristina.

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In Serbia, the new law on social services provides for the collection of a large number of personal data of beneficiaries, subject to logarithmic analysis.

The objective would be to better distribute the budget devoted to aid while saving money.

But in less than a year, more than 22,000 people have already been removed from the system.

A network of associations seized the Constitutional Court.

According to them, the law risks reproducing and accentuating discrimination that already affects vulnerable subjects, such as members of the Roma community.

Analysis.

In front of the Belgrade Parliament on Saturday, feminist collectives demonstrated against the authorities' inaction.

Their slogan: "

", and on the signs, the names of the 27 victims identified in 2022. All knew their murderer.

Demonstrators denounce the lack of attention to sexism and violence against women in police stations and the media.

And demand the inclusion in the penal code of the crime of feminicide and the creation of an official body to fight against this phenomenon.

Threats against journalists in Bosnia and Herzegovina

"

chanted dozens of journalists at the end of February in Banja Luka, in the Serbian entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

They denounce the police and judicial relentlessness exercised against a colleague, auditioned as a suspect by the police for having refused to reveal the identity of his sources.

In the two entities of the country, the measures of intimidation against the media are increasing.

The Association of Journalists has listed at least six cases of attacks and threats in one week.

The authorities of the Serbian entity have even adopted a controversial law providing for heavy penalties against the media in the event of defamation.

North Macedonia is emptying.

Between 9,000 and 15,000 people leave the country each year to work in Germany or other European states.

This massive exodus is creating major labor shortages that affect all sectors.

For the unions, the situation is becoming alarming.

They call on the government to facilitate procedures for hiring foreign workers, most of whom come from Asia.

In Croatia, politics mixes with everything, even music.

Four Serbian stars, well known on the post-Yugoslav music scene, were to give a big concert on March 25 in Pula.

But the new mayor of the great municipality of Istria has banned the performance, to preserve the "

" identity of his city.

The organizers denounced his racist remarks on the telephone and the controversy raged.

Many artists recall the need to preserve the common cultural heritage of the Balkan countries.

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