Balkans Occidentaux

Entre 275 000 et 375 000 personnes avaient défilé à Belgrade le 15 mars, lors de la plus grande mobilisation de l'histoire récente de la Serbie. Un an plus tard, alors que la répression s'est intensifiée et que le pouvoir refuse toujours des élections anticipées, les étudiants cherchent à transformer l'élan de la rue en force politique durable.

- Articles / Une - Diaporama, Une - Diaporama - En premier, Courrier des Balkans, Vucic, Serbie, Politique

À partir de la lecture de Gioia Battista, … e vivere, dopo tanto, come volevo. Anita Pittoni, Electa, 2026, 96 p.

- Lire et écrire les Balkans. Out of the box • le blog de Christophe Solioz / Blogs - Diaporama

La plateforme Nimfomane met en relation clients et escortes et monétise leur visibilité depuis près de vingt ans. Malgré son apparition dans des dizaines d'enquêtes liées au proxénétisme et au trafic d'êtres humains, le site continue d'opérer sans poursuites directes. Une enquête du média roumain PressOne.

- Articles / Roumanie, Courrier des Balkans, Défense, police et justice, Une - Diaporama, Femmes violences, Une - Diaporama - En premier, Société

Le procès d'Ekrem İmamoğlu et d'un peu plus de 400 co-accusés s'est ouvert lundi. Ils sont accusés d'avoir formé une vaste « entreprise criminelle ». Cette première semaine de procès a été marquée chaque jour par des incidents et des tensions.

- Articles / Courrier des Balkans, Erdogan, Politique, Turquie, Une - Diaporama

In Zusammenarbeit mit MySports präsentiert dir Blick die Highlights der Partie EHC Biel – SC Bern (4:3).

Beim Treffer zum 2:4 des SC Bern, macht Biel-Trainer Dubé eine Coaches Challenge. Diese geht aber leer aus und wird dem EHC Biel so zum Verhängnis.

Kritik an Anna-Maria Ferchichi: Follower stören sich daran, dass ihr erwachsener Sohn Montry sie ständig besucht. Die Ehefrau von Rapper Bushido reagiert und betont, ein enges Familienverhältnis sei für sie auch normal, wenn die Kinder erwachsen seien.

OMV Petrom, filiale roumaine de la compagnie autrichienne, va prendre 25 % du bloc offshore Han Tervel en mer Noire, aux côtés de Shell et de la compagnie turque TPAO. Les ressources énergétiques de la mer Noire attirent de plus en plus de convoitises.

- Le fil de l'Info / Courrier des Balkans, Une - Diaporama, Mer Noire, Bulgarie, Roumanie, Turquie, Economie

Depuis lundi, le service militaire est à nouveau une réalité en Croatie. Les 800 premiers conscrits, parmi lesquels plus de la moitié de volontaires, ont été appelés sous les drapeaux pour une période de deux mois.

- Le fil de l'Info / Une - Diaporama, Courrier des Balkans, Défense, police et justice, Croatie, Une - Diaporama - En premier

Depuis lundi, le service militaire est à nouveau une réalité en Croatie. Les 800 premiers conscrits, parmi lesquels plus de la moitié de volontaires, ont été appelés sous les drapeaux pour une période de deux mois.

- Le fil de l'Info / Une - Diaporama, Courrier des Balkans, Défense, police et justice, Croatie, Une - Diaporama - En premier

Bucarest s'implique davantage dans le conflit au Moyen-Orient. La Roumanie a accepté que des appareils de ravitaillement et de surveillance américains fassent escale sur la base militaire de Mihail Kogălniceanu dans le contexte de la guerre mené par les États-Unis et Israël contre l'Iran.

- Le fil de l'Info / Roumanie, Guerre Moyen Orient, Défense, police et justice, Courrier des Balkans, Une - Diaporama

Conférence-débat organisée par l'IRIS dans le cadre du programme Moyen-Orient/Afrique du Nord, en partenariat avec la direction de la communication de la Présidence de la République de Türkiye.
Les échanges se feront en français et en turc et une traduction simultanée sera proposée.
La Turquie est devenue membre de l'OTAN en 1952, en pleine période de guerre froide. Depuis, la situation internationale s'est radicalement modifiée et de nombreuses interrogations se posent quant à l'avenir (…)

- Agenda / Turquie, Région parisienne

Présidence chypriote du Conseil de l'UE : « Une Union autonome – ouverte sur le monde » Mercredi 11 mars de 18h30 à 20h
Depuis janvier 2026, Chypre occupe le siège de la présidence tournante du Conseil de l'Union européenne. Sous la devise « Une Union autonome. Ouverte sur le monde. », Chypre entend mettre l'accent sur le renforcement de l'autonomie stratégique de l'Union européenne, promouvant en même temps l'ouverture, la coopération et l'engagement mondial.
La présidence chypriote (…)

- Agenda / Région parisienne

Nach dem Postauto-Drama von Kerzers stellt sich die Frage, warum sich die Opfer nicht mehr rechtzeitig aus dem Bus retten konnten. Der Brandursachenermittler Markus Knorr liefert eine Erklärung.

Blossstellung oder Schutzmassmahme? Die frühe Auswechslung von Tottenham-Goalie Antonin Kinsky erhitzt die Gemüter. Servette-Keeper Joël Mall findet deutliche Worte.

Heidi Klum packt im grossen Interview mit der Frauenzeitschrift «Glamour» über ihre Karriere-Anfänge aus. Das Model erzählt, wieso Star-Designer Karl Lagerfeld ihr damals Steine in den Weg legte.

Bayern München deklassiert Atalanta mit 6:1 im Achtelfinal-Hinspiel der Champions League. Für Diskussionen sorgen jedoch die Gelben Karten für Kimmich und Olise wegen Zeitverzögerung. Die Szenen könnten für die beiden ein Nachspiel haben.

By CIVICUS
Mar 11 2026 (IPS)

 
CIVICUS discusses the situation in Venezuela following US intervention and the ousting of President Nicolás Maduro with Verónica Zubillaga, a Venezuelan sociologist who specialises in urban violence, state repression and community responses to armed violence.

Verónica Zubillaga

In late January, the interim government led by Delcy Rodríguez announced an amnesty for political prisoners, coinciding with a rapprochement with the USA driven by oil interests. It is unclear whether this represents the beginning of a genuine opening or is an attempt by the government to gain international legitimacy without relinquishing power. In a country with millions of migrants and exiles, a historically fragmented opposition and a civil society that has faced brutal repression for years, it remains to be seen whether recent changes will create space for democracy or lead to the consolidation of economically stable authoritarianism.

Is the recently announced amnesty a real opening or a strategic manoeuvre?

We are at an unprecedented crossroads. Venezuela and its Chavista regime, under US tutelage and despite two decades of anti-imperialist rhetoric, are reconfiguring themselves in such a way that some opening could result. However, there is still a risk that an authoritarian model will be consolidated, with economic and humanitarian concessions, but without real democratisation.

The release of political prisoners — a constant demand in all negotiations with international support, and a low-cost form of early opening for the interim government that has taken over from Maduro — could function as a stepping stone towards democratisation. The restoration of civil, political and social rights will be a difficult and lengthy struggle in this context of such deprivation, in which our rights have been violated for so long.

In the first half of February, there were partial and gradual releases, but hundreds of people remained in detention. The enactment of the Amnesty Law on 19 February has accelerated the releases.

The announcement was presented as a political concession, not as a recognition of the extensive human rights violations committed by Maduro’s government. There has been no mention yet of initiating processes to seek the truth, hold those responsible accountable, provide reparations or dismantle the repressive apparatus, which are urgent.

We therefore need to react with caution. The release of people deprived of their liberty for political reasons is essential, but it cannot replace a broader agenda of justice, reparation and institutional transformation.

How has civil society worked to keep this issue at the centre of the debate?

The cause of political prisoners is cross-cutting. There are detained people of different ages, social classes and political backgrounds. In a society as polarised as ours, this is one of the few causes around which there is broad consensus.

After the results of the presidential election of 28 July 2024, which the opposition clearly won, were disregarded, it was mainly people from the working classes who took to the streets to protest. Many young people, including teenagers, were arrested and imprisoned. This situation significantly deepened the social dimension of the problem, highlighted the break between the ruling party and its traditional base and consolidated the brutally authoritarian nature and illegitimacy of Maduro’s government.

There is also an important gender dimension. While many young men are in prison, it is women – mothers, sisters and other relatives – who have organised committees, vigils and public actions demanding their release. Symbolically, the figure of the grieving mother demanding the release of her children is particularly powerful. It is a symbol that appeals to the Latin American imagination about women and their cries for democratisation, justice and reparation in the context of crumbling authoritarian regimes.

Recently, the demand for the release of political prisoners has also been raised by the student movement in its call for a rally at the Central University of Venezuela. After a year and a half of brutal repression following the 2024 election, which emptied the streets and created a climate of widespread fear, any public demonstration is a significant sign that could trigger a chain of progressive demands and the vindication of civil, political and social rights.

What has been the impact of the USA’s renewed interest in Venezuelan oil?

It is clear that the Trump administration is fixated on oil and investment opportunities and completely disregards democracy and human rights. The part of the opposition represented by María Corina Machado has been stunned by its exclusion from key decision-making despite its efforts to gain Donald Trump’s attention. This exclusion has altered the internal political balance.

Historically, there has been tension within the Venezuelan opposition between those who favour resorting to external pressure and those who prioritise internal negotiation strategies. Since 2014, two main strategies have coexisted: one that is more confrontational, demanding the immediate end of the government, and another favouring negotiation or elections. Civil society mirrors these same divisions. One of the difficulties of the Venezuelan process is this constant fragmentation and internal disagreements within the opposition. As the government has become more authoritarian, these divisions have prevented more powerful coordinated political action. It is important for the opposition to coordinate strategies and, instead of wearing itself down in these disagreements, coordinate efforts to move strategically between confrontation and negotiation.

Whenever the opposition has managed to coordinate, as in the 2015 legislative and 2024 presidential elections, it made significant gains. During the 2024 campaign led by Machado, the opposition achieved an unprecedented level of coordination, generating enormous collective hope, particularly with regard to the prospect of family reunification in a country with over eight million migrants. This situation affects people of all social classes and political ideologies. But in response, the government redoubled its repression and consolidated the dictatorship. This led to frustration, demobilisation and further fragmentation. The opposition lacked a long-term strategy to sustain its gains and withstand setbacks. This is still one of the biggest challenges today.

What should the international community do to contribute to real democratisation?

The international community, and Latin American states in particular, could have taken a firmer stance after the 2024 electoral fraud. Silence and a lukewarm approach weakened the defence of democracy. Now it should not repeat that mistake. Beyond Maduro’s profound delegitimisation, the US military operation in Venezuela is a sign of what could happen to any Latin American country under the US government’s new national security strategy.

With the USA as an imperial power primarily concerned with its geostrategic interests and oil resources, demands for democratisation may take a back seat. An authoritarian model that is economically stable but without real democratisation could become entrenched.

In this context, the USA’s prioritisation of energy interests is worrying. It is an unprecedented scenario in which external intervention and the permanence of the ruling party in power coexist. The situation is highly volatile, and this has only just begun. A period of instability and political violence could follow if the civil-military coalition in power breaks down, which may happen given the tradition of anti-imperialist discourse rooted in the armed forces during the two and a half decades of Chavista rule.

Ironically, the USA’s focus on energy interests could result in the defence of sovereignty becoming a new unifying cause for the Venezuelan opposition, potentially leading to basic agreements between the ruling party post-Maduro and the opposition to defend Venezuelan oil interests. What’s at stake is recovering politics as an exercise involving conflict and struggle, as well as recognition and exchange for democratic coexistence — something we have lost, particularly over the past decade.

CIVICUS interviews a wide range of civil society activists, experts and leaders to gather diverse perspectives on civil society action and current issues for publication on its CIVICUS Lens platform. The views expressed in interviews are the interviewees’ and do not necessarily reflect those of CIVICUS. Publication does not imply endorsement of interviewees or the organisations they represent

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SEE ALSO
‘Although the repressive architecture remains intact, a small window of hope has opened’ CIVICUS Lens | Interview with Luz Mely Reyes 05.Feb.2026
Venezuela: democracy no closer CIVICUS Lens 29.Jan.2026
‘We are seeing an economic transition, but no democratic transition’ CIVICUS Lens | Interview with Guillermo Miguelena 26.Jan.2026

 

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La route des Balkans reste toujours l'une des principales voies d'accès l'Union européenne, pour les exilés du Proche et du Moyen Orient, d'Afrique ou d'Asie. Alors que les frontières Schengen se ferment, Frontex se déploie dans les Balkans, qui sont toujours un « sas d'accès » à la « forteresse Europe ». Notre fil d'infos en continu.

- Le fil de l'Info / Bosnie-Herzégovine, Albanie, Kosovo, Bulgarie, Questions européennes, Populations, minorités et migrations, Migrants Balkans, Courrier des Balkans, Croatie, Turquie, Grèce, Moldavie, Macédoine du Nord, Monténégro, Slovénie, Roumanie, Serbie, Gratuit, Grèce immigration

La route des Balkans reste toujours l'une des principales voies d'accès l'Union européenne, pour les exilés du Proche et du Moyen Orient, d'Afrique ou d'Asie. Alors que les frontières Schengen se ferment, Frontex se déploie dans les Balkans, qui sont toujours un « sas d'accès » à la « forteresse Europe ». Notre fil d'infos en continu.

- Le fil de l'Info / Bosnie-Herzégovine, Albanie, Kosovo, Bulgarie, Questions européennes, Populations, minorités et migrations, Migrants Balkans, Courrier des Balkans, Croatie, Turquie, Grèce, Moldavie, Macédoine du Nord, Monténégro, Slovénie, Roumanie, Serbie, Gratuit, Grèce immigration