The Bosnian Genocide
Logan Beddes: 2nd Period
1991-1995 / Death Toll: 8,000
1991
Yugoslavia is beginning to fall apart, breaking up along their ethnic lines. Political leaders like Slobodan Milosevic began to use nationalist sentinels as a political tool. The Slovenian independence was relatively bloodless, but Croatia's declaration sparked a civil war. Troops from the mostly Serb Yugoslav army entered Croatian territory and committed widespread human rights abuses, including the siege of Vukovar. At this time the Serbians have began to classify the Croatians and going all the way to dehumanizing them.
February 29-March 1, 1992
Bosnia's population of Muslims and Croats vote for independence in referendum, but was boycotted by the Serbs. This is the time the Serbs would be organizing. This vote for independence has also further pushed the ethnic groups apart. Organization and Polarization are occurring (steps 4 and 5)
April 6, 1992
The European Union recognizes Bosnia's independence. The Serbs, under the leadership of Radovan Karadzic, took over the capital Sarajevo and eventually occupied 70% of the country. They killed and persecuted the Muslims and Croats. They wanted to exterminate them and carve out a Serb Republic. The republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina became the center of the fighting between Serbs, Croats, and Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims). The Croat soldiers used rape, torture, and executions to "ethnically cleanse" the areas under their control. Death lists are made and Preparation begins for genocide.
Bosnian Geoncide Video
STOP AFTER 2 MIN 40 SECONDS. IT DOES GET GRAPHIC AFTER THAT POINT. THERE IS ONE SCENE WHERE IT SHOWS FOOTAGE OF VICTIMS OF THE GENOCIDE.
May 1992
U.N. sanctions are imposed on Serbia for backing up the rebel Serbs in Bosnia and Croatia. The massacres at Foca, Tuzla, and Visegrad take place in 1992.
January 1993
Bosnia peace efforts fail, and war breaks out between Muslims and Croats, who were previously allied against the Serbs.
March 1994
U.S. brokered agreement ends the Muslim-Croat war and creates a federation.
March 1995
Bosnian Serb president Radovan Karadzic orders that Srebrenica and Zepa, two U.N. safe-areas, be entirely cut off and aid convoys be stopped from reaching the towns.
July 1995
The Serbs' preparation has come to a climax as Karadzic issues a new order to conquer Srebrenica. The extermination begins as Bosnian Serbs troops capture the eastern enclave and U.N. safe area of Srebrenica, killing about 8,000 Muslim males in one week. NATO starts air strikes against Bosnian Serb troops.
November 21, 1995
The Bosnian president, Croatian president, and Serbian president agree to a U.S. brokered peace deal in Dayton, Ohio. They sign the peace accords in Paris on December 14, after which 66,000 NATO peacekeeping force landed in Bosnia. Karadzic is forced to quit as Bosnian Serb president, and nationalist parties win first post-war election, confirming Bosnia's ethnic division. The Bosnian Serb government denies endlessly of what happened in Srebrenica, and did not admit the genocide until 2004. Milosevic is found dead in jail in 2006, and Karadzic is arrested in 2008.
Summary
The Bosnian genocide happened in Yugoslavia, Bosnia, and Croatia. Slovenian independence wasn't very violent, but Croatia's declaration of independence triggered a civil war. In 1992, Bosnia declared independence and the region became the central area of fighting. The U.N. safe zone in Srebrenica was where the main genocide happened. The Bosnian Serbs killed 8,000 males there, striving towards an "ethical cleansing."