bosnia genocide
Dates
1992-1995
DIFFICULT LIFE CONDITIONS
During World War II, Croatia was pro- Nazi led by Ante Pavelic and his fascist Ustasha party. Serbs and Jews living in Croatia were the targeted in Ustashan massacres. In concentration camps, 10,000 Serbs were killed. In 1991, a new leader of government came in for Croats, Franjo Trujman, who revived fascism and who passed discriminatory laws targeting Serbs.
SENSE OF SELF/ WAY OF LIFE THREATENED
In 1992, the US and European community chose to recognize the independence of Bosnia, where the majority of the population were muslims with a minority of Serbs. Milosevic, the Serbian president, felt threatened by this, and had to act on it, by turning on Bosnia for war. Milosevic, responded to this by attacking Sarajevo, Bosnia's capital, Milosevic wanted to take their independence away. The Serbs didn't like the multiculturalism, between the various countries gaining independence, they wanted a homogeneous population that they could gain power over.
US VS. THEM MENTALITY
When the Serbs began attacking, their target group were the Bosnian Muslims. The Serbs blamed the economical and political problems on the Muslims in Bosnia.
CONTINUUM OF DESTRUCTION
The Bosnian Muslims were easily out gunned by the Serbs. As the Serb armies expanded on Bosnian ground, they began rounding up all the Muslims into scenes, similar to those of the Nazis in World War II, they included mass shootings, forcing muslims to move away from their towns and homes, sending men and boys to concentration camps, and rape was used as a weapon towards girls and women. Muslim Mosques and historic architecture were being destroyed. On February, 6 1994, the Serbs struck Sarajevo with a mortar shell, killing 68 people and injuring 200. When the UN peacekeepers stepped in to help the the Muslims, by establishing Safe Havens, the Serbs began to destroy the safe havens and the UN peacekeepers. The Serbs took the UN peacekeepers and turned them into hostages and used them as human shields. The Bosnian Genocide is considered to be the worst mass murder in Europe since World War II, with 200,000 deaths.
ROLE OF BYSTANDERS
Through out the destruction that was taking place, the UN remained indifferent. The UN responded by placing economic sanctions on the Serbs, and sent their troops to protect the food and medicine distribution to Bosnian Muslims. However, the UN prohibited their soldiers from interfering militarily against the Serbs. They stayed neutral regardless of how bad things got. When Bill Clinton became president in 1992, he promised to stop the ethnic cleansing in Bosnia. Clinton issued an ultimatum through the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, demanding that the serbs withdraw from Sarajevo. The US made efforts to united the Muslims and Croats against the Serbs. This didn't help the situation at all, the Serbs attacked Muslim towns established as Safe Havens. The Serbs then began to attack UN peacekeepers, so the NATO forces launched air strikes back at the Serbs.The Serbs responded by keeping the Peacekeepers as hostages and turned them into human shields. In 1995, the US led a bombing campaign against the Serbs. After the Serbian power was taken down by the bombardment by NATO force, Milosevic was ready to make peace. He and Trudjman went to the US to make an agreement, the outcome was an agreement that declared dividing Bosnia into two main parts, Bosnian Serb Republic and Muslim- Croat Federation. Democratic elections in Bosnia were also an outcome from the agreement.
Cultural CHARACTERISTICS
Serbs considered it was Ethnic cleansing of the Muslims. Their intent was to "cleanse" all of the Muslims from Bosnia, so only the Serbs and their ethnicity was left. In the old Yugoslavia, Serbs, croats and muslims were all in the same place, which resulted in disagreements with them all.
Leaders and FOLLOWERS
Radovan Karadzic (president of Bosnia), Milosvic (president of Serbia), Ratko Mlidic (leader of Serbian military in Bosnia) were the leaders of the Bosnian Genocide. They provided the concepts of nationalism and ethic cleansing to the Serbs.
use of state power
The state had a lot of involvement with this genocide, the had systematic killing of men, women, kids and confinement in concentration camps. The media was also involved in this, making propaganda saying the killing was just. The Genocide started with a goal form the State, wanting to get rid of the Muslims
Result
The Massacre in Bosnia should be considered a Genocide because it fallows the Staub Model for determining if it is a genocide. There was systematic killing from the government, there was a continuum of destruction, and there was a targeted group of people. Another characteristic that it had was religious and ethnic aspect of it, they killed people based off of their religion, similar to the Holocaust. There was a result of 200,000 people.
primary source
"We are not authorized to enforce law and order. The real responsibility for the apprehension of indicted war criminals lies with the local authorities”
Connection: This shows the role of the bystander and how they try to avoid helping in genocides, so they don't get involved. Also it connects to that it is the State who is causing this and they are the criminals.
Connection: This shows the role of the bystander and how they try to avoid helping in genocides, so they don't get involved. Also it connects to that it is the State who is causing this and they are the criminals.
Primary Sources
"Serbs and Muslims are like cats and dogs, They cannot live together in peace. It is impossible"- Radovan Karadzic
Connection: This shows one of the reasonings that people had for this genocide. Disagreements were already occurring from their different religions, and they couldn't life together peacefully in Old Yugoslavia. One of them had to be eliminated, and the Serbs were more powerful so they took charge in eliminating the Muslims.
Connection: This shows one of the reasonings that people had for this genocide. Disagreements were already occurring from their different religions, and they couldn't life together peacefully in Old Yugoslavia. One of them had to be eliminated, and the Serbs were more powerful so they took charge in eliminating the Muslims.
primary source
“Over 2 dozen soldiers had been taken prisoner by the Serbs and no-one wanted to take action that might endanger the hostages’ lives.”
Connection: This connects to the role of the bystander and how no one wanted to take action because of the effect it might have on their safety and the hostages safety. No one wanted to endanger themselves.
Connection: This connects to the role of the bystander and how no one wanted to take action because of the effect it might have on their safety and the hostages safety. No one wanted to endanger themselves.