Friday, October 14, 2011

Two Days Till Peace

I have been traveling a bit, hence the light posting. Last week, I was in the Canadian capital, at the promotion of a book.

"Two Days Till Peace" is an extraordinary war memoir, based on the journal kept by Mile Jovicic, the last antebellum director of the Sarajevo Airport. He jotted down the events that unfolded around him as he struggled to keep the airport open and assist with the evacuation of almost 30,000 people from Sarajevo, as Bosnia descended into (un)civil warfare.

Given his duties, Jovicic actually met most of the civilian and some military leaders involved in the early days of the war, who passed through his airport on the way to doomed negotiations and botched prisoner exchanges. His book is a testimony of a chaotic time in early 1992, and the many missed opportunities to avoid the bloodshed that ensued. It is very much a forgotten tale, since it doesn't fit the official narrative, and I'm glad he saved it from oblivion with this memoir.

The headline presenters were Ambassador James Bissett, the last Canadian envoy to the old Yugoslavia, and Maj. Gen. Lewis MacKenzie (Ret.), commander of the UNPROFOR staff in Sarajevo at the time (and chiefly responsible for the airport re-opening eventually). The third speaker was yours truly. All three of us had reviewed the book, and our comments are on the back cover. It isn't often an author can round up three of his reviewers at a book launch!

The venue was pretty full, and the books in the lobby sold out quickly. If you are interested, you can order the book from the publisher website, or through Amazon.

8 comments:

kapetan Mile said...

I'm am glad to see you didn't suffer the same faith as Dr. Trifkovic did when he came (NOT) to canada as he was refused entry for some obscure reasons.

CubuCoko said...

As am I. Whether that means I'm a much less prominent target or that the people that agitated for Trifkovic's rejection had their ears boxed in since, I can't rightly tell.

Doot said...

"less prominent target"

Yes. That's right. You weren't refused entrance because you're a nobody.

CubuCoko said...

Ah, "Doot." If I am a nobody, then why are you commenting here? Why do you care what I say? Why would your ilk bother shrilly denouncing me? Why mount a character assassination campaign against me, threaten my family, Google-bomb me, create false identities, false blogs, etc.? For a nobody? So, either I'm not a nobody, or you people are the most paranoid, hysterical bunch that's ever lived.

As an aside to SGB: what makes you think I'll ever post any of your comments here? I already know you are shameless, but can you really be that stupid as well?

robert49rml said...

Is Doot's real identity Mujo or Haso?

CubuCoko said...

According to his blog, he's an American Serb who lives in Serbia and hates it. A lot. The whole purpose of his blog is to share that hate. Not sure where hating me fits into that, but there you have it.

Laki said...

I just finished the book last night. Excellent read, I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in an unbiased, first hand account of the events that lead to the bosnian war.

Anonymous said...

@Grey Falcon

Watch this!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBqBSrrTyzo

Reason why the Egyptian uprising was supported and the Serbs are not.

Perhaps antiwar.com should evaluate its sudden friendly shift towards Islam and the Mid East and focus again on the Balkans, Eurasia and developing events regarding Turkey.

In the end I also think Wikileaks is a orchestrated event given that it cements myths which on the surface like the fall of Mubarak would seem to embarrass the US and omitting info that you would expect to be in the cables that has even become public.

@robert49rml

Is Doot's real identity Mujo or Haso?

Maybe he is an Otpor agent.