The Bosnian Genocide
Genocide: the deliberate, systematic killing of a large group of people
Ethnic cleansing: the mass removal of an unwanted ethnic/religious group's members, which may overlap with genocide The Bosnian genocide was an ethnic cleansing of Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims) from July 11, 1992 through July 13, 1995 by Serbians. There were at least 100,000 deaths during this time, 80% of them Bosniaks, and over 2,000,000 people were displaced.
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The genocide first budded under the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, which encompassed the nations of Bosnia, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Macedonia, and Montenegro. Ethnic groups wanted independence from the broad term of Yugoslavia, and these feelings were intensified for Serbs when Slobodan Milosevic became ruler of Yugoslavia as he made a government that favored Serbs. This included constitutional changes, a military made up of 90% Serbs, and by influencing Serbian mindset by saying that other ethnic groups were threatening their rights.
In 1991, economic instability led to the downfall of Yugoslavia which heightened ethnic tensions even more. Bosnia's independence in April of 1902 was followed by Serbian and Bosnian Serbs attacking the capital of Bosnia, Sarajevo. Called the "siege of Sarajevo," over thousands were killed; there were mass executions, prevalent rape, forced displacement, and concentration camps all occurring. Women and young girls were raped and beaten, and numerous Bosniaks were also tortured at concentration camps. Guards beat them with rifle butts, metal and wooden sticks, and other objects they had access to. Other attacks were on towns including Zvornik and Foca, with over 75% of Bosnia controlled by Serbia at the end of 1993. Serbs initiated this ethnic cleansing because they felt that their rights as a free people and safety were at stake. The ethnic cleansing, through both displacement and genocide, was a means of protection in their perspective. |
International intervention began when the massacres were increasing and gaining attention. Serbian killings were recognized by nations all over the world, and groups like the United Nations started getting involved. The UN responded after Serbs bombed a Sarajevo market and took over Zepa. NATO, Bosnian, and Croatian forces used aerial bombing when Serbs didn't cooperate. The Dayton Accords in November of 1995, signed in Dayton, Ohio, officially ended the Bosniak war. It established the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina (mostly controlled by Bosniaks and Bosnian Croats) and the Republika Srpska (controlled by Serbs) that allowed each entity to have their own economies, education systems, and political implementations through one central government. UN agencies, foreign governments, aid organizations, and over $14 billion helped reconstruct the crippled Bosnia. The UN Security Council created the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY, to prosecute those with war crimes and to allow survivors to have a voice in what happened. Bill Clinton created the International Commission on Missing Persons, ICMP, in 1995 to help find and identify missing persons, and it has successfully identified around 7,000 bodies from Srebenica.
After this traumatic event, survivors were scarred for the rest of their lives. The crimes committed against them and those that were murdered were denied by Serbia. This denial of such a heinous act created indescribable feelings of sorrow and hopelessness. Through data, we can estimate how many people were affected through killings and displacement, but we cannot account for the numerous people that lost families, friends, their homes, and their livelihoods.
After this traumatic event, survivors were scarred for the rest of their lives. The crimes committed against them and those that were murdered were denied by Serbia. This denial of such a heinous act created indescribable feelings of sorrow and hopelessness. Through data, we can estimate how many people were affected through killings and displacement, but we cannot account for the numerous people that lost families, friends, their homes, and their livelihoods.
The 10 Stages of Genocide
- Classification - the two groups were Serbs/Bosnian Serbs vs Bosniaks
- Symbolization - anyone that was not Orthodox Catholic Christian was labeled Croat/Bosniak
- Discrimination - Slobodan Milosevic created laws that favored Serbs over Bosniaks
- Dehumanization - hate speech by Serbs reduced Bosniaks to lesser beings
- Organization - leaders planned out detailed acts of execution and horror
- Polarization - government-instituted propaganda created tension and hate between Bosniaks and Serbs
- Preparation -Serbs prepared armed forces and weapons for their attacks
- Persecution - after determining Bosniak identity, Bosniaks were sent to concentration camps, tortured, and killed
- Extermination - a mass ethnic cleansing and genocide over the whole country of Bosnia occurred for three years
- Denial - leaders and those involved denied the genocide's occurrence