Why I'm Supporting Hillary Clinton for President of the United States

Today Hillary Clinton announces her second run for president of the United States and there are personal and professional reasons why I am enthusiastically supporting Secretary Clinton's historical bid to lay claim to the most powerful office in not only America, but arguably in the world.

As a woman, one has to prepare and train to be a marathon runner in this life as we break ground into the second decade of the 21st century.  No one personifies the 'marathon runner' like Hillary Clinton who catapulted onto the world stage as a leading voice for women's rights in 1995 when she delivered a riveting speech at the UN Beijing Fourth Conference for Women, uttering the refrain that had been coined by international women's groups: "women rights are human rights and human rights are women's rights." Since that moment and even before, she has worked tirelessly to advance equal rights for women and girls, both here and abroad.  In America today, women face violence everyday by those closest to them and continue to face pervasive salary and wage discrimination, despite women superceding men in enrollment and attainment of all university degrees.  To elect Hillary Clinton the 45th president of the United States would advance these issues in unprecedented terms and no doubt would electrify the world.

This is the number one reason why I am supporting Hillary Clinton.

Hillary's personal story and her life and prodigious work ethic illustrated by her significant over achievement -- from making national news as a college graduation speaker to becoming the most qualified candidate for president in the modern era of American politics.  She has done it all -- graduated from some of the best universities in America; worked as a lawyer in Congress, pounded out more than 40 years of public policy work, became a First Lady who effectively participated in substantial public policy debates nationally and internationally; became the first First Lady to hold elective office as a U.S. Senator who forged a number of bi-partisan initiatives; became the first woman candidate for president who garnered 18 million votes during the primaries in 2008 and came close to defeating Barack Obama, the eventual winner.  Hillary demonstrated her classiness and higher calling as citizen, when she was asked by President Obama to serve as Secretary of State, which has not been done since William Seward served in Abraham Lincoln's administration  nearly 150 years ago after losing the election to Lincoln, having been considered the favored candidate prior to the convention.

The most recent example of how it usually plays out recalls Edward Kennedy's challenge to sitting President Jimmy Carter,  who, although he lost to Carter, refused to shake Carter's hand at the Democratic Convention.  Kennedy did very little to support Carter during the campaign, who went onto to lose to Ronald Reagan in 1980.

These instances of unselfishness rarely have occurred in American history -- to not only set aside your ego after a bruising defeat, but to rise above it all and serve your country and the president who defeated you reveals Clinton's solid character and humility.

Above all, she cares about people and issues -- people's lives and the public policies that can improve every American's life has animated her life's work, even when she could have chosen an easier path as a private citizen.  Nothing more exemplifies her sense of duty and commitment to the values of the Democratic Party as when she accompanied Barack Obama to Unity, New Hampshire on June 22, 2008 following her defeat and joined him in solidarity before voters.  She went on to appear for him more than 70 times, helping him make history as the first black man to serve in the highest office of the land.

Hillary's sense of duty, dedication and lack of selfishness is the second reason I am supporting her candidacy for the Democratic Party's nomination.  

On International Human Rights day, December 10, 2010, Hillary Clinton delivered the first speech by a sitting U.S. Secretary of State on behalf of LGBT human rights, articulating the U.S. government's policy addressing LGBT human rights.  It was a profound and insightful speech and as I listened spellbound, I noted the historical moment.  I did weep, as did many people I know, not only from America, but also from around the world.  

Hillary understood the speech's historical significance and chose to deliver this speech in Geneva, the home of the UN Human Rights Council on a deeply symbolic day, declaring a familiar refrain when she said:  "Being LGBT does not make you less human and that is why gay rights are human rights and human rights are gay rights..."  No doubt Hillary Clinton came to embrace LGBT human rights later in her political career, but when she steps up to the task, she has studied the issues and listened to wise advisors and acts, as she did so in Geneva on that special day.  

Hillary's comprehensive support of LGBT human rights is the third reason I am supporting her candidacy for the Democratic Party's nomination.

What strikes me as a consistent theme throughout Hillary's life is her intellectual curiosity and penchant to learn, study the issues, absorb the data and subsequently apply this new knowledge to public policy.  This became self evident when she was Secretary of State she articulated "that which is measured is what matters." Every USAID officer had to be prepared to brief Secretary Clinton on a country's data ranging from childhood and maternal morbidity, epidemiology of diseases, crop yields to educational attainment.  From a lifelong study of preschool education and childhood development policies, women's rights, healthcare, including the national Children's Health Insurance Program which was adopted by President Clinton, following Hillary's failed attempt to advance national health care for all Americans. The grass does not grow under Hillary Clinton's feet. She continues to learn.  Since leaving government, she has launched Clinton Foundation initiatives such as "Too Small to Fail," "The No Ceilings Full Participation Project," and one of my favorites is the Clinton Global Initiative commitment project to "Stop Poaching and Trafficking of Ivory," which she launched with daughter Chelsea that has established the connections between poaching of elephants and funding of terrorism in Africa.

Our country desperately needs continued leadership that calls on a wise and knowledgeable leader who embraces ideas, is not afraid of studying the data, particularly now in the face of the Republican party's embrace of full-on ignorance, the rejection of science and its gross disregard for verified facts through social science and scientific research.

Hillary's embrace of lifelong learning, her continued thirst for knowledge and how it can be applied to improve people's lives is the fourth reason why I support her candidacy for president of the United States.

On June 22, 2008 after Hillary appeared in Unity, New Hampshire with Barack Obama, holding their hands together in a joint march to victory in November 2008, she slipped away, flying back to New York City where she appeared before the first graduating class at the Eagle Academy, a charter high school  she helped establish for young black men in New York City.  The ceremony was held at Columbia University and she kept a promise made to a member of the class that she would speak at his graduation (I was present at the ceremony in my former communications role at Columbia).  The ceremony was quite emotional.  She discussed the day's events in Unity and told the life story of Barack Obama and the importance of electing him to the presidency before a majority black audience.  It was heart felt talk on a day of great importance to the families of the graduates.

After she concluded her remarks,  the school's leadership physically encircled her and with great praise and gratitude as the board chair presented a gift to her, he said:  "Hillary Clinton, God has plans for you and your work is not yet done."

On this day a new campaign is to be launched.  Hillary Clinton, the marathon runner, the principled moral leader on human rights, the life long learner has one more job to undertake.  She will take this campaign to the American people and listen to our fellow citizens and ask for their support and their votes.  She will fight for the average American, who only wants a decent quality of life by working in a good paying job with fair benefits;  who can raise a family and send their children to school without succumbing to numbing debt.  She has the strength of principle and compassion, coupled with the knowledge and wisdom to move our country forward to be able to meet the challenges of the 21st century.  

Tanya Domi is an adjunct professor of international and public affairs at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs, where she teaches human rights at the Harriman Institute.

Belgrade's Ill Fated Gay Pride March: Will it Be a 'Brussels' or 'Moscow' Outcome in 2014?

 

                                           

Once again Belgrade Gay Pride has been scheduled to take place on Sunday, September 28th.  And once again, likely obfuscation appears in the guise of a pending police strike, conveniently expected to take place on the 26th.

The fix is in and a lot of people smell something rotten in the Vucic government. LGBT leaders such as Jovanka Todorovic, a leader of Labris, is skeptical and quoted as saying: "We always support all the requirements of the police, but with a certain amount of skepticism I have to ask the question the timing of this strike. This period coincides with pride and why we act as some kind of obstruction."

Belgrade is not only thumbing its nose at Brussels, but no doubt the government will gladly accept a police strike to avoid confronting a violent right-wing contingent of its population and continue to avoid upholding Serbian national law that guarantees the right to free assembly; not to mention the European Convention on Human Rights--a social and political legal compact that Prime Minister Vucic allegedly aspires to ascend and yield to -- just not this year and maybe, not anytime soon.

The stakes for Serbia's path to Europe were raised substantially on September 13th when a German citizen was attacked in Belgrade while attending an international LGBT conference. He was beaten so badly with a glass ashtray by the perpetrators that brain surgery was required (and has since recovered from the surgery). Police are now investigating the attack following the arrests of three alleged assailants. Xenophobia seems to loom as largely the motivation for this disturbing event. Indeed, the German Ambassador in Belgrade, Heniz Wilhelm, was quoted as saying that the attackers’ comments “gave a new xenophobic dimension” to the assault. It remains to be seen if the attack also had a homophobic aspect, but it would not be a stretch to think that gay bashing was also a motivation.  

This is Belgrade after all. Its history is replete with documented anti-gay violence that stretches back to 2001 and despite police protection for Pride in 2010, right-wing nationalist groups launched a broadsided violent attack on marchers and police alike, sending nearly 100 people to the hospital.

And here's the rub: the Serbian government is recalcitrant in its constitutional inability to admit responsibility for past war crimes.  Serbia's political leadership persists in the repulsive assertion that the Srebrenica massacre that occurred in Bosnia in 1995 resulting in the murders of 8,000 men and boys was not genocide, despite the judgement of the International War Crimes Tribunal of the Former Yugoslavia. Indeed, Srebrenica is nearly universally recognized as a genocide  with the exception of maybe Russia, North Korea and China, a stellar lineup of human rights abusing regimes. Serbian officials demonstrate over and over again a lack of political will, if not outright refusal to vigorously address an ad nauseum list of unresolved war crimes cases, which includes the cold blooded 1999 execution of the three American Bytyqi brothers in Kosovo, is just one glaring example of dozens of cases yet to be prosecuted.    

Balkan scholar Eric Gordy aptly summed up Serbia's impunity following the attack with a tweet:

Violence against the Labris conference is related to postwar impunity. No justice = continued politics by violence.
— Eric Gordy (@EricGordy) September 13, 2014

Why should Vucic care at all about European standards, when the European Union itself seems less than committed to further enlargement? As Florian Bieber, a noted scholar on the Balkans pointed out earlier this year, the European Commission's enlargement office was moved out of its main building to a nondescript office a block away, perhaps a metaphor for its lackluster policy approach. Jean-Claude Junker, President of the EU Commission has since announced that "The EU needs to take a break from enlargement" but this is somewhat misleading, as Dr. Bieber pointed out, Junker's announcement could actually translate into a significant slow down in enlargement because it already had extended enlargement timelines for candidate states at least five more years anyway. Serbia just undertook the process within the last year and it remains to be seen just when Serbia could actually qualify as a new EU member.

Slowing down EU enlargement is not the right approach for Serbia and in particular with respect to the Vucic government, which has grossly strayed from rule of law practices on the issue of LGBT human rights, let alone its failure to address its macabre past.  

A Serbian consortium of human rights groups announced in June by the Humanitarian Law Centre, will monitor and periodically issue shadow reports on the Serbian government and the EU accession process on the key issues of transitional justice and the rule of law. This is an entirely appropriate role of civil society organizations in the midst of the EU process. Civil society leaders in Serbia have quietly raised questions about the EU accession role and whether Brussels will truly keep Serbia accountable to the process. Serbia has a long way to go toward implementing and demonstrating respect for the "rule of law".  In its most contemporaneous record on these matters, the Serbian government's failure to address an entrenched right-wing and afford rights and protections to its LGBT citizens, is one of its most glaring failures.  So much for the path of accountability on the way to Brussels.

Another deep concern about Serbia and a poor human rights track record is its opportunistic relationship with Russia -- not just your average Russia, but Putin's Russia. Next month, Vladimir Putin will visit Belgrade on October 19 and take part in ceremonies marking the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Belgrade during World War II. 

Vucic visited Moscow in July and Milorad Dodik, president of the Serb entity in Bosnia and Herzegovina, has been burning up air miles between his Banja Luka outpost and Moscow (dubbed as "Moscow's Man in Banja Luka" by colleague Jasmin Mujanovic) with regularity, garnering Russian honors and soliciting rubles to help bolster Banja Luka's woefully parched economy (since he refuses to participate in the Dayton peace process). These brothers across the Danube are getting a little help from their Slavic friends, while Putin fouls the air domestically and internationally.

Serbia is playing with fire by cozying up to Putin, who has unleashed homophobia, a new round of xenophobia and all out war in Eastern Ukraine during his latest return to the Russian presidency.  A hint of Putin's nasty legacy that is seeping into Europe is evidenced in a previously held  secret meeting in Vienna last summer organized by anti-gay Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofeew, for the expressed purpose to take on Europe's "gay lobby" and progressive liberalism. This meeting of right-wing parties in Europe  should be recognized as a burning red flag by Brussels and serves as a cautionary tale.

But Vucic apparently has not received a missive from Brussels, which should read: "stay in your backyard and clean up the mess."

Whether Belgrade Pride is successfully carried off this year, remains to be seen. But whatever the outcome, it remains abundantly clear, the LGBT community in Serbia has a steep upward climb before it can achieve a measure of equality and dignity.  For this nascent movement to succeed, it must join forces together with a broader progressive and inclusive human rights movement, that is animated by respect for the rule of law as enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights.  The LGBT human rights movement in Serbia and throughout the Western Balkans, is the first political and social movement to emerge post conflict.  Those who identify as LGBT are in many instances supported by heterosexual allies, who also embrace fundamental human rights principles. Together, they must bear the burden and make the case for expanding rights to the Serbian government and the public that LGBT rights are human rights. It will not be easy. It will be a struggle for some time to come. But with engaged and proactive EU support by insisting that Belgrade remain accountable during a likely extended enlargement period, this approach will go a long way toward addressing the crimes of Serbia's past and move into a future that enables LGBT people to live full, authentic and vibrant lives without fear of reprisal and retribution.

Tanya Domi is an Adjunct Professor of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs. She is a faculty affiliate of the Harriman Institute and a Fellow at the Emerging Democracies Institute based in Washington, D.C.  She is currrently wriiting a book on the emerging LGBT human rights movement in the Western Balkans.

Domi Calls on Serbian Authorities to Swiftly Investigate and Prosecute Those Responsible for Murdering the Bytyqi Brothers

SARAJEVO, BiH, July 7, 2014 -- Tanya L. Domi, a professor of human rights at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs and an affiliate faculty member of the Harriman Institute, called on responsible Serbian authorities today to swiftly investigate and prosecute those individuals who were responsible for the execution of the Bytyqi brothers, American citizens, who were murdered in 1999 near the end of the Kosovo War.

Ylli, Agron and Mehmet Bytyqi, hailed from Hampton Bays, New York.  They had returned to Kosovo in 1999 to help family members whose lives were endangered in the midst of a war, when the brothers were executed.  According to eyewitness accounts, the brothers were helping people flee a combat zone when they accidentally ventured into Serbian territory on July 7, 1999.  They were driven away, hands bound with wire. Today marks the 15th anniversary of their deaths.

Domi issued a statement in support of Congressman Tim Bishop (D-NY), who has offered a Congressional resolution calling for justice in resolving the Bytyqi brothers' deaths. Former U.S. Ambassador (ret.) Robert Barry is representing the Bytyqi family and has called on the Vucic government to take appropriate steps to adjudicate the Bytyqi murders.  

Rep. Bishop is commemorating the murders of the brothers today in Hampton Bays, New York.

Professor Domi's statement:

"It is imperative for the Vucic government to undertake swift action to properly investigate and prosecute all parties who were involved in ordering and carrying out the murders of these Americans. As Serbia further deepens its EU accession process, it is critical that it demonstrate respect for the rule of law. The just resolution of the murders of the Bytyqi brothers would demonstrate the Serbian government's commitment to the rule of law.  It would also remove a stain of impunity from the current government's leadership. To act now to resolve this heinous crime, could not be a better time for the Vucic government to demonstrate its deep commitment to the rule of law by solving the murders of the Bytuqi brothers."

Last week in Belgrade, a consortium of Serbian domestic NGOs , led by the Humanitarian Law Centre, called on the government of Serbia to actively support the EU accession process, by showing particular adherence to and respect for transitional justice within Serbia.  The consortium intends to closely monitor the Serbian government and the EU accession process and will issue "shadow" reports in conjunction with the monitoring efforts.

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Speaking on Capitol Hill, Friday, May 9 on Human Trafficking

I will be speaking about human trafficking in Washington, D.C. this Friday on behalf of the Advisory Council for Bosnia and Herzegovina, to commemorate Bosnian Women's Day.

I am very pleased to be invited by the Advisory Council for Bosnia and Herzegovina, which advocates for Bosnian Americans, their families and on US foreign policy on Bosnia and Herzegovina.

It is a honor to return to Washington, D.C. to speak on human trafficking, a terrible and growing human rights global crisis.  There is so much work to be done to address the scourge of modern day slavery.  

Sterling: Banned for Life

The NBA Commissioner Adam Silver announced today a series of sanctions directed at Donald Sterling, the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers basketball team that included the death penalty with a "lifetime ban;" a maximum fine permitted by the NBA of $2.5 million and a directive to the NBA's Board of Governors to force Sterling to sell the Clippers' franchise. 

Sterling was outed as a racist when a leaked recording of a conversation he had with a former girlfriend (who happens to be multi-racial) was published by the salacious news website TMZ.com sports.

All these sanctions issued by Silver are appropriate and long overdue for a racist and a hater, who has been previously found guilty of racial discrimination under housing and employments laws and was also successfully sued for sexual harassment in a trifecta of just plain ugliness.

Sterling was a repeat offender, found guilty under law for engaging in racist and sexist practices, but never addressed by the NBA league under former commissioner David Stern.  His silence today is deafening.

Although Commissioner Silver said the sanctions he initiated were for a singular event, no doubt he was aware of Sterling's well documented history of systematic discrimination. 

Silver's leadership was widely applauded by members of the NBA community and among them included Earvin Magic Johnson:

Commissioner Silver showed great leadership in banning LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling for life.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) April 29, 2014

I support Commissioner Silver's actions and comments.  Let's support a genuine effort in this country to confront blatant racism institutionally.  

When I was growing up during the civil rights movement, there was so much peer pressure, most racists kept their thoughts to themselves--they hid their racist attitudes. But not anymore.  

I am shocked by not only Mr. Sterling's grotesque intolerance of people of color, but also the offensive comments made by the ignorant Cliven Bundy, a rancher who is in violation of federal law by refusing to pay grazing fees.  I find their racist views to be repugnant and have no place in our increasingly diverse country.  

Anonymous on-line communications has emboldened many haters who possess unconscionable views that are blatantly racist and shock the conscience of people who embrace a civil society imbued with respect, tolerance and respect for others.  I share the sentiments of the NBA's initial push back to the Sterling revelations:

#WeAreOne pic.twitter.com/H0DxN61ITK
— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) April 29, 2014

Today we applaud Commissioner Silver's leadership and we reafirm the dignity of all Americans and all those who seek a legal and safe residence in our country.  Indeed, we are one -- out of many -- one nation, a majority united in opposition to hatred of others.

UPDATE: How the "Putin Project" is Affecting LGBTI Human Rights in Russia's Near Abroad

Right Wing Watch posted a story after attending the panel discussion:

Russia's ban on gay "propaganda" and copycat laws throughout the region have created a "license to commit violence against" LGBT people, "give the permission" for "street violence" and "create legitimacy for violence," according to human rights advocates working in Russia, Ukraine, Moldova and Kyrgyszstan who spoke last night at a panel at Columbia University. Russia's spate of anti-gay laws has quickly influenced neighboring countries, part of what Columbia professor Tanya Domi called "the Putin project" of solidifying Russia's influence in the region.  

Read the entire article here.


http://harriman.columbia.edu/event/how-putin-project-affecting-lgbti-human-rights-russias-near-abroad-ukraine-kyrgyzstan-and

I will be moderating a panel at The Harriman Institute, Columbia University, on Monday, April 14th, 6:15 p.m. Joined by Olena Shevchenko, chairman of Insight, and advocacy organization for LGBTI human rights that is based in Kyiv; Anna Kirey, a researcher on LGBTI human rights, Human Rights Watch and Matthew Schaff, a program officer at Freedom House who reports on LGBTI issues.  This is so timely, especially given the xenophobia exacted against the LGBTI community in Russia,which is having a negative effect in the "near abroad" of Russia.  If you are in New York City, stop by the Harriman Institute to hear the conversation by these human rights defenders.

Putin Exacts His Revenge for the "Brothers Across the Danube"; Is Kosovo Crimea Now?

During Vladimir Putin's remarks before the Russian parliament this past week to declare his annexation of Crimea successful in the aftermath of a plebiscite with winning results in excess of 90 percent, he revealed a newly embraced nationalism for a resurgent Russia.  He also announced his exacted vengeance for Serbia's loss of Kosovo in the crudest terms.

Putin mentioned Kosovo frequently throughout his speech; and exacting his revenge for Serbia's loss was apparently a desire he had harbored for a number of years. 

He crudely referenced the American bombing by referring analogously to it as "screwing everyone" but not asking for their permission. According to journalist Masha Gessen in her Slate report, who wrote: "The expression Putin used, however, was "vsekh nagnuli," street slang for having had non-consensual anal sex with everybody, rather than for having everybody agree."

Columbia Professor Kimberly Marten pointed out Putin's unvarnished embrace of Russian nationalism during his Duma speech when he referred to Russians as "Russkii" for exclusively ethnic Russians, as opposed to the customary reference of "Rossisskii" when acknowledging anyone who had a a Russian passport, in other words, a Russian citizen, irrespective of ethnicity.

Marten drew a plausible parallel to Slobodan Milosevic's ethnic nationalism project to violently create a "Greater Serbia" as he led Serbs through a series of wars that slaughtered thousands of people and destroyed Yugoslavia. 

It remains to be seen how far Putin will take his Crimea odyssey.  Will he venture into Eastern Ukraine?  Will he venture further afield to establish a Putinesque Russian empire?

But now a resurgent Russia has fully emerged, led by strong man Putin who appears to be not only omnipotent, but is bent on righting past wrongs carried out against Russia. His paternal declaration of protection for his Serbian slavic brothers was an unparalleled throw down and upends Europe's previous policy overtures to draw Russian into its organizations as a western leaning partner.  

These revelations should be a wake-up call for the Europeans.

Herein lies a defining fulcrum -- that of the historical slavic ties between the Russians and Serbs that runs deep with several centuries shared between them and notable for opportunistic manipulation of one another. Harkening back to the Vienna Congress of 1815, is just one example when Russian Tsar Alexander made clear in a diplomatic note circulated to delegates:

...calling attention to Turkish atrocities in Serbia, Alexander stated that [as] the emperor of Russia [he]was the natural protector of the Orthodox Greek Christians under Ottoman dominion...and the note concluded that Alexander was obliged by his religion and the voice of conscience to go to the aid of the oppressed Serbian people.

Timing is everything in geopolitical affairs.

The Crimean referendum was not the only election held on March 16.  On the same day a new Serbian government was elected that is expected to be led by Aleksandar Vucic, a populist and a political son of Slobodan Milosevic (Vucic was his spokesperson).  Vucic, a former nationalist hawk, ran a campaign that called for Serbia to join with Europe and resolve the Kosovo issue, a sharp juxtaposition with Putin's claims that his violent takeover of Crimea was an action to settle scores over on behalf of Serbia.

Will Serbia now choose to move forward and engage in a series of reforms required of future European Union members? Will they make peace with Kosovo while a resurgent, saber rattling, nationalistic Russia patron is on the move?

On the issue of Kosovo, the Serbs have always been supported by the Russians as evidenced in the UN Security Council during the Balkan wars where the Russians effectively used their veto powers to block action, or watered down resolutions against the Milosevic regime. 

Likewise, Russia has played a similar role in the permanent council of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, which operates on the basis of consensus.  Russia has effectively blocked Kosovo's OSCE membership despite years of reform and international oversight that was carried out before its independence was declared in 2008.

It appears that Belgrade is juggling its European agenda while maintaining a friendship with Moscow. 

Over the years, but more frequently since 2012 when Putin returned to the Russian presidency, officials from Moscow and Belgrade have been frequent fliers in a concerted effort to curry favor and deepen their ties. 

Awkwardly at times, Bosnian Serb interloper Milorad Dodik, the premier of the Serb entity in Bosnia and Herzegovina has also been a presence in Moscow.

In the week before the Crimea referendum, Dodik traveled to Moscow where he was presented an award by the Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill "for his outstanding contribution to improving the unity of Orthodox Christian peoples and consolidating and promoting Christian values in society." 

Justification for the the award was also attributed to Dodik's leadership of Bosnian Serbs and its relationship to the “Serb Republic [as the only] legal option to ensure safety of the Serbs west of the Drina River, which divides them, or more accurately connects them to Motherland Serbia.”

Not surprisingly, but nonetheless bizarre, Emir Kustrurica, the Serbian film director who is originally from Sarajevo and had once been a secular Bosniak, was in attendance at the ceremony held in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, along with a number of Russian diplomats and officials.  Kusturcia, who converted to the Serbian Orthodox faith in 2005, has made frequent trips to Moscow and attended the May 2012 Putin inauguration.

While many dismiss Dodik as desperate to maintain power and should not to be considered seriously, he nonetheless has the attention of major political players in Moscow. So no surprise that he would issue a solicitous statement of congratulations to the people of Crimea, calling the referendum a "legitimate and democratic referendum in keeping with the Constitution, international law and the UN Charter on the Right of People to self-determination." Russian ambassador to BiH Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko stood by his side as a proud and grateful witness.

None of Dodik's activities with the Russians advances the interests of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina to be improved, or to enhance responsiveness to the needs of its citizens. Dodik is using these meetings and relationships with Russians to affirm Bosnian Serb autonomy while invoking their "frail" position within BiH who must seek protection from their brethren in Moscow and Belgrade.

A more serious meeting between the Russians and the Serbs took place in April 2013 when Ivica Dacic, the prime minister of Serbia met with Putin to agree to become a "neutral" observer to Russia's Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a post Cold War organization, viewed as a successor to the Warsaw Pact. Other members include Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. The agreement was hailed as a geopolitical advance in the Russian media and forecasted that when Serbia becomes a full-fledged member of the CSTO, the organization could speak on behalf of Serbia on Kosovo issues. 

And while official Serbian soldiers have not been deployed to Crimea, at least for now, Serb Chetnik volunteers have shown up for duty in Crimea.  They were interviewed by Vice media journalist Simon Ostrosky, while working at a checkpoint located on a Crimean highway.  

Ostrosky approached Bratislav Zivkovic (second from the right) who hails from "central Serbia, where he said "Czar Lazar started his campaign for Kosovo" and was in Crimea to help the Russians because "we have been helpful to each other through the ages." He added:  "We have come to help share our experiences from the barricades in Kosovo and Metohija."  Enough said. Apparently Kosovo is Crimea now.  Just ask Vladimir Putin and Bratislav Zivkovic.

Photograph of Vladimir Putin, courtesy of the Kremlin website. Photograph of Serbian Chetniks, courtesy of Twitter.

Tanya Domi is a Fellow at the Emerging Democracies Institute, Washington D.C. She is also an adjunct professor of international and public affairs at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs and Harriman Institute.