History, Breakup, & Ethnic Cleansing Yugoslavia History, Breakup, & Ethnic Cleansing

Establishment of Yugoslavia Existed as Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes after WWI (1918) Gained international recognition as Yugoslavia in July 1922 Renamed Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1939 Reformed as Federal People’s Republic of Yugoslavia in 1946 with a communist government Acquired territories from Italy Ruled by Josip Broz Tito until 1980 Renamed again to the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1963

Tito’s Rule Ruled 14 January 1953 – 4 May 1980 Led Partisans in WWII – regarded as most effective resistance movement in occupied Europe Presidency criticized as authoritarian, but seen by many as a ‘benevolent dictator’ Successful economic & diplomatic policies Less repressive than other Eastern European communist states Popular in Yugoslavia & abroad Unifying symbol (suppressed nationalist sentiment in favor of brotherhood) Maintained peaceful coexistence of Yugoslav federation’s nations Chief leader of the Non-Aligned Movement Jawaharlal Nehru (India) Gamal Abdel Nasser (Egypt) Sukarno (Indonesia)

Tito-Stalin Split Yugoslavia emerged as a communist country unlike other postwar Eastern European states Limited help of Red Army Strong leadership in Tito Formally, Stalin & Tito were allies Soviets set up spy ring early as 1945 Uneasy alliance Bitter fights  Stalin arranged several assassination attempts Titoism threatened Stalin’s rule Policies & practices based on principle in each country (Yugoslavia) not by a pattern set in another country (USSR) Khrushchev sought to normalize relations in the de-Stalinization process Tito not enthusiastic Brezhnev chilled relations again Image = May Day Parade, Belgrade 1946 Stalin (left) & Tito (right)

Breakup: 1990-1992 Several Factors Cultural & religions divisions [Christians vs. Muslims] Memories of WWII atrocities Centrifugal nationalist forces Political events eroded political stability Death of Tito, 1980: collective presidency of 8 provincial representatives held little control over economic, cultural, & political policy Collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe, 1989: removal of Soviet threat erased incentive for unity & cooperation Unification of Germany, 1990 Democratization of Eastern Europe influenced own elections Slovenia & Croatia gave non-communist parties control in 1990 Slovenia declared “sovereignty” 1990, followed by Croatia Efforts began to form a confederation instead of federation Independent republics declared Violence erupted Serbs attempted to gain independence within other nations & join Serbia, sparking violence In the end, hundreds of thousands dead + millions displaced due to conflict related to independence movements

Breakup: Map

Slobodan Milosevic President of Serbia 1989-2001 Began as banker in Belgrade Part of politics in mid-1980s Head of Serbian Communist Party 1986 Symbol of Serbian nationalism & gained popularity Took advantage of power vacuum in Yugoslavia to develop Serbian ultra-nationalism Fanned flames of future conflict Gained legitimacy at home Moved to take away autonomy of Kosovo and Vojvodina (in Serbia) by using mass rallies to force leaders to resign Reintegrated by 1989 Headed by Milosevic allies Led ethnic cleansing program in the Balkans Arrested & turned over to the International Crimes Tribunal Died in prison in 2006, before trial concluded

Bosnian Genocide Bosnia-Herzegovina declared independence from Yugoslavia April 1992 Bosnian Serb forces, backed by Serb-dominated Yugoslav army, tarageted Bosniak & Croatian civilians 100,000 people estimated dead by 1995 Worst act of genocide since Holocaust Ethnic tensions Muslims largest single population group initially in Bosnia More Serbs & Croats emigrated over next few decades 1991: 44% Bosniak, 31% Serb, 17% Croatian Government was roughly equal in representation, but Serbs formed Serbian National Assembly & declared Bosnia’s independence in 1992 Sought joining a dominant Serbian state Milosevic support Image – bosnian genocide memorial

Bosnian Genocide – Continued Bosnian Serb forces, backed by Yugoslav army (Milosevic), attacked Bosniak-dominated towns & bombed Sarajevo Forcibly expelled civilians Bosnian government tried to defend territory, sometimes aided by Croatian army, but failed Bosnian Serb forces controlled ¾ of country by end of 1993 Most Bosnian Croats left the country Bosniak population remained only in smaller towns Peace proposals failed UN refused to intervene Did have humanitarian campaign to aid displaced, malnourished, & injured victims though Image 1 – uncovering mass grave Image 2 –non-Serbs wait in line at detention camp during staged lunch for the press

Srebrenica, July 1995 3 towns in eastern Bosnia remained in control of Bosnian government by summer 1995: Srebrenica, Zepa, and Gorazde UN declared them safe havens in 1993 Disarmed & protected July 11 – Bosnian Serb forces attacked Overwhelmed Dutch peacekeeping forces Serbian forces separated civilians Women & girls bussed to Bosnian-held territory 381 concentration/detention camps Beatings, torture, mass executions Raped or sexually assaulted – estimated 2,000 Men & boys killed or bussed to mass killing sites 7-8,000 estimated killed

International Response Increased violence gained international attention Captured Zepa in July too Exploded a bomb in Sarajevo market Serbs refused to comply with UN ultimatum in August 1995  NATO joined efforts with Bosnian & Croatian forces 3 weeks of bombing in Bosnian Serb positions Ground offensive Trade sanctions on Serbia Milosevic agreed to enter negotiations in October Peace talks in Dayton, Ohio held November 1995 Result = federalized Bosnia divided between Croat-Bosniak federation and a Serb Republic 60,000 NATO troops stationed to maintain peace Left region unstable & factious ever since UNSC created International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia at the Hague First since Nuremberg Tried military commanders for genocide & other crimes against humanity Milosevic tried in 2002 Served as own defense lawyer Poor health delayed trial Found dead in cell in 2006 Image – 175 newly identified Srebrenica massacre victims laid to rest – 2014 Daily Mail UK