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Bosnia & Serbia

Mladic's Legacy - A tour of Bosnia and Serbia

Louis Sell, the former State Department diplomat and author leads our new tour with contributions from the renown British correspondent Kate Adie.

May 19-27, 2012

Cost: £2400.00

Single Supplement: £250.00

Sarajevo Under Siege - A slideshow by: Rikard Larma

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Experts

Louis Sell

A retired Foreign Service Officer, Louis Sell worked for 28 years with the U.S. Department of State, including eight years each in Yugoslavia and the former Soviet Union and Russia. He served as US representative...

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Kate Adie

Kate Adie, author and broadcaster, became a familiar figure to viewers through her work as the BBC’s Chief News Correspondent. She is considered to be among the very finest reporters, as well as one...

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Tour

“An extraordinary new guided tour… giving visitors an inside view of both nations.” The Sunday Times.

Twenty years after the wars that broke up Yugoslavia first began, leading international correspondent Kate Adie is visiting Bosnia to help outline some of the events that tore the country apart.

With insight from her and other experts on the region, this tour is designed to explain the recent history of the region and look at how the lives of Bosnians and Serbs have changed since then.

Leading international and local analysts examine where both Bosnia and Serbia are headed today. The tour comes a year after the arrest of the Bosnian Serb war crimes suspect Ratko Mladic, a move which has taken Serbia closer to EU membership. Bosnia on the other hand remains deeply divided.

Participants will also see Bosnia’s stunning countryside, enjoy wonderful local cuisine, as well as visit key sites in Bosnian and Serbian history. The tour ends in Belgrade, the capital of former Yugoslavia and home to some excellent dining and nightlife. This is set to be a fascinating and highly rewarding tour.

Other highlights include:

A tour of Sarajevo’s former front lines, and the tunnel that acted as a conduit for goods in and out during the siege, which is now a popular museum.

A visit to Tito’s bunker complex outside Sarajevo, and only recently opened to the public.

Briefings from leading international officials and local politicians on Bosnia’ s constitutional crisis, and Serbia’s handover of Mladic.

Briefings on the Srebrenica massacre, including accounts by survivors, and how it ultimately prompted an end to the war.

A visit to the war crimes tribunal where Mladic was held before his transfer to the Hague – The same court has tried numerous other Serb war crimes suspects.

Meetings with nationalist groups critical of Serbia’s co-operation with the tribunal.

This tour will number between 8 and 18 persons. If we do not meet the minimum required number we may cancel the tour and your money will be returned.

Itinerary

Day 1 Saturday Arrival in Sarajevo

Pick up from airport from Lufthansa/Austrian airlines flight. Check in to Hotel Europe.

Dinner and Introduction to tour by Political Tours staff.

Day 2 Sunday Sarajevo Modern History and Under Siege.

Brief walk through old town with our guides who lived and worked in Sarajevo during the siege.

Tunnel Museum + Bus Tour of Front Lines A former Bosnian soldier and now journalist gives guided tour of the former front line. Includes a visit to the tunnel under the airport that acted as a conduit for food and supplies into the besieged city. Today it is a small museum owned by the Kolar family whose backyard was used for tunnel entrance.

Late Lunch in hills overlooking the town. From here one can see how easy it was to besiege Sarajevo.

Return to hotel – Time off to explore old town. Optional guided tour of old town.

Dinner Kate Adie talks about reporting during the war. Second speaker Kurt Bassuener, an American political analyst based in Bosnia. He will look at the legacy of the Dayton Peace Agreement, and its impact on Bosnia.

Day 3 Monday

Visit to National Library with Kate Adie – Destroyed in December 1992 by Serbian shelling. The library was a symbol of multi-ethnicity in Bosnia and housed collections of Bosnian, Serbian, and Croat literature and records dating back to early Ottoman times. Kate reported on it at the time. It is now finally being restored 16 years after the wars end.

Departure for Vitez or Gorazde with Kate Adie Scarred by fierce inter-ethnic conflict during the war – we look at how the two communities have reconciled, and the important role of the economy in rebuilding ties. Lunch in Vitez/Gorazde with local guests. Kate Adie provides accounts of conflict during the war, and her reporting of it. We meet with same communities to see how their lives have changed since.

Return to Sarajevo and rest

Dinner with local guests.

Day 4 Tuesday

Bosnian Parliament An overview of Bosnia’s complex governing structure and introduction to the current political crisis.

Briefing at Office of the High Representative In Grbavica with an OHR representative, the main body that has overseen the Dayton Peace Accords and Bonn powers.

Short Lunch in Old Town.

War Crimes Court Visit State Court and Prosecution, war crimes departments. Meet with court and the prosecution officials, possibly president of the Court and one prosecutor, visit courtroom possibly during a hearing.

Research & Documentation Centre Research and Documentation Centre (RDC), an NGO that made database about victims of war, giving exact number of war victims (very interesting presentation when they explain the method they developed for this purpose).

Day 5 Wednesday

Free Day Various optional trips. A visit trip to Mostar + Tito’s former nuclear bunker. (Transport to Mostar is included in the tour price). Other options include trip to rural village in mountains, and rafting on the Nevetva River. (Separate charges apply) Or remain in Sarajevo to explore the city further – guides can be arranged.

Day 6 Thursday

Early departure for Pale, the wartime capital of the Bosnian Serbs. Picnic in mountains en route to Srebrenica.

Srebrenica Visit to Potocari memorial centre and cemetery. Meet with Director of the Potocari memorial site, and Hatidza Memedovic. She survived Srebrenica but lost almost all family members: Presentation of film. A broader talk on impact of war and forced movement of populations

Dinner “At Omer’s” restaurant run by Omer and Dzemila Spahic. Guests include survivors and current residents of Srebrenica.

Departure for Belgrade by bus/Overnight in Srebrenica. (TBC)

Day 7 Friday

Breakfast with Neil MacDonald, The Financial Times’s Balkans Correspondent. An overview of Serbia today and the changing relationship with it’s neighbours.

Visit to State War Crimes Court Tour of court and introduction with prosecutor. This is the court from which Mladic was extradited. It has its own high profile war crimes trials. If trials are in progress we may sit in the gallery.

Lunch at Writer’s Club with correspondents in Belgrade. Followed by briefing from ministry for European Integration. (TBC)

Brief political tour of Belgrade Highlighting the key events in the last decade. Includes visit to Novi Beograd (New Belgrade) where both Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadzic hid while on the run from the ICTY. We visit Ludo Kuca, or Crazy House, the bar where Karadzic used to drink.

Dinner in Zemun with invited guests fro NGO community a small town with views across the Sava to Belgrade.

Day 8 Saturday

Meeting with Students from across Balkans The Youth Initiative for Human Rights works to bring young people from across former Yugoslavia together, seeking to overcome new divisions created since the end of the wars.

Humanitarian Law Centre Meeting with the NGO that has done more to raise awareness of warcrimes and promote reconciliation than any other organization in the Balkans.

Lunch

Football Match. From Basketball to tennis and football sport plays a large role in modern Serbian identity. We give a talk about sports role in Serbian politics and then attend a football match for those who want it. For those who would prefer not to we can arrange separate tours of the city.

Farewell dinner

Day 9 Sunday

Breakfast and departure for airports.

If you would like to book a tour please fill in the booking form, which can be obtained by clicking the Book Tour button. Or call us on 0843 289 2349 to find out more.

Essential information

How to make your booking.

You can make a booking by contacting Political Tours directly by phone on 0834 289 2349 or by filling the booking form on the Book Tour button.

To reserve a place on a tour please complete the booking form and send it to Political Tours Ltd together with your non-refundable deposit of 15% of the total holiday cost or £250 per person (whichever is the greater) made payable to Political Tours Limited.

If you are booking less than 8 weeks prior to departure the full cost of the tour is payable.

If you would like to contact Political Tours’ Director, Nicholas Wood, he can be reached by email at nicholaswood@politicatours.com or by mobile phone on +44 7855 266 151.

What is included in the tour.

The price includes accommodation in 3-4 star hotels in Sarajevo as well as all meals during the visit. All the accommodation includes private bathrooms.

Please be aware that Political Tours is a land only tour operator. Our clients travel from many countries and the costs of flights to and from the destination are not included in the price.

How to reach the destination.

There are regular daily flights between Sarajevo International Airport and Vienna, Istanbul, Zagreb, Budapest, Munich, Belgrade and Ljubljana, and twice a week to Frankfurt, Köln, Goteborg, Amsterdam, and Zurich. During summer, regular weekly flights operate to Oslo, too.

Climate + Clothing suggestions

Bosnia and Herzegovna has hot summers (over 25 C) and cold winters (under -5). There is occasional rainfall during the summer and more frequent rainfall during the rest of the year.

Passports, Visa and Health

All clients are personally responsible for ensuring that they have a valid passport, relevant visa/s and conform to the health regulations required by the country/s that will be visited during the tour.

No visa is required for citizens of the US, Canada, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, and European Economic Area countries, as well as most of the Balkans region, with the exception of Kosovo. Please check with Bosnia’s ministry of foreign affairs website for further details. http://www.mfa.ba/default.aspx?pageIndex=1

Advice on health requirements may be obtained from your GP, or alternatively from the Department of Health leaflet Advice on Health for Travelers, which may be obtained from us, or the Department of Health in the UK. For further information on vaccination requirements, health outbreaks and general disease protection and prevention you should visit the websites of the NaTHNaC or NHS Scotland’s Fit for Travel or call NHS Direct on 0845 46 47.

Personal Safety

Bosnia and Herzegovina is regarded as the most mine-contaminated country in Europe and one of the worst in the World. Most of the places are marked. However, one should not go into abandoned houses or walk off footpaths or tracks, unless accompanied by someone familiar with area. For further information see http://www.mine.ba

Recently, Bosnia has experience an increase theft and street crime, especially in the cities, and it is advised to be vigilant and not carry large amounts of money, visible jewelry or electronic equipment.

For further information check the Foreign Office’s travel advice website before departure.

http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/travel-advice-by-country/europe/bosnia

Insurance

Appropriate and adequate travel insurance is essential and is a condition of travelling with us. Your policy must include comprehensive medical cover including the cost of evacuation and repatriation from the remote destinations included in your tour in the event of illness or accident in addition to other medical requirements.

Please provide us with confirmation of the name of your insurance company, the policy number and the insurers’ emergency contact telephone number for use in a medical emergency no later than 8 weeks prior to the tour departure. If you fail to do so, we are entitled to cancel your booking and apply the cancellation charges shown below.

You must also ensure that the policy will protect you in the event that you travel to an area against the advice of the Foreign Office.

Hazards Inherent in Our Tours

It is in the nature of the itineraries we offer that the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office may have issued advice against all travel or all but essential travel in relation to the country or parts of the country we are intending to visit prior to confirmation of your booking. Where the FCO issues such advice, we may as a result cancel your tour or make changes so as to avoid the area concerned (see clauses 10 and 12 of our Terms and Booking Conditions). Alternatively, we may ask you to sign a form confirming you wish to proceed with the tour notwithstanding the FCO advice.

Our Cancellation Charges

If you feel you need to cancel a tour before departure we reserve the right to make the following charges.

Period before departure within which written notification of cancellation is received by us.	Cancellation charge per person cancelling.
Up to 56 days55 to 28 days27 to 15 days14 days or less	The Deposit50%75%100%

On receipt of your booking form and deposit we will confirm your booking in writing, then approximately 8 weeks before departure we shall send you further information relevant to your tour together with a final invoice.

Please pay the invoice within 10 days of the invoice date otherwise we reserve the right to treat the booking as cancelled and apply the cancellation conditions as set out below. Your travel documents are dispatched about 7/10 days before the tour departs.

Booking Terms and Conditions

Full details of our terms and conditions can be viewed by clicking this link.

UK: 0843 289 2349 | Int: +44 843 289 2349