Bosnia-Herzegovina BY: MICHELLE TABARES & JULIE VASQUEZ

Causes/Conflicts  In 1991, Slovenia, Croatia and Macedonia declared their independence; during the war in Croatia that followed, the Serb-dominated Yugoslav army supported Serbian separatists there in their brutal clashes with Croatian forces.  On April 5, 1992, the government of Bosnia declared its independence from Yugoslavia  The creation of an independent Bosnian nation that would have a Bosniak majority was opposed by Bosnian Serbs  The Bosnians Serbs launched a military campaign to secure coveted territory and “cleanse” Bosnia of its Muslim civilian population.

Causes/Conflicts  The Serbs targeted Bosniak and Croatian civilians in areas under their control, in what has become known as "ethnic cleansing."  During the civil war that lasted from 1992 to 1995, around 100,000 people were killed, 80% of were Bosniaks.  In July 1995, Bosnian Serb forces killed as many as 8,000 Bosniak men and boys from the town of Srebrenica.  It was the largest massacre in Europe since the Holocaust.

The Aftermath  Up to 7,500 men, and boys over 13 years old, were killed. They were trucked or marched to their places of death. Up to 3,000, many in the act of trying to escape, were shot or decapitated in the fields. 1,500 were locked in a warehouse and sprayed with machine gun fire and grenades. Others died in their thousands on farms, football fields, school playgrounds. The whole action was carried out with military efficiency.  Some of the bodies have been found and some of the mass graves opened. Identification has proved almost impossible - just a few hundred have been given names. There are still 20,000 people listed as missing in Bosnia. There was always work for the gravediggers as playing fields and spare areas of ground were turned into cemeteries.

Resolution  The war ended in 1995 with a peace agreement negotiated in Dayton, Ohio. It established two state “entities”: the Serb Republic, which includes Srebrenica, and the Bosnian Federation joined by a weak central government.  In 2001, Serbian General Radislav Krstic, who played a major role in the Srebrenica massacre was convicted of genocide and sentenced to 46 years in prison.  Refugees were guaranteed the right to return to their homes, but only a few of the Bosniak population returned to Srebrenica.

Conclusion  In May 1993, the U.N. Security Council created the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in the Netherlands.  It was the first international tribunal since the Nuremberg Trials in and the first to prosecute genocide, among other war crimes.  Radovan Karadzic and the Bosnian Serb military commander, General Ratko Mladic, were among those indicted by the ICTY for genocide and other crimes against humanity.  On July 11, 2000, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan issued this statement: 'The tragedy of Srebrenica will forever haunt the history of the United Nations. This day commemorates a massacre on a scale unprecedented in Europe since the second world war - a massacre of people who had been led to believe that the UN would ensure their safety. We cannot undo this tragedy, but it is vitally important that the right lessons be learned and applied in the future

Pledge Awareness  The Prime Minister established funds of 1.2 million dollars for additional support to UK charitable initiative Remembering Srebrenica.  Established in 2013 with part funding from the Local Government, and support from the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, the initiative raises public awareness of the genocide that took place; continuing tackle discrimination.  Along with raising awareness; Srebrenica Memorial Day was declared taking place on 11 July in the UK.  Educational ‘Lessons from Srebrenica’ visits to the town were established so that individuals can learn about the genocide and the victims’ lives to increase public awareness.

Citations  herzegovina herzegovina    remember-victims-of-srebrenica remember-victims-of-srebrenica 