THE Bosnian War it was a conflict between 1992 and 1995 and part of the disintegration process of Yugoslavia. This conflict was the biggest that happened in Europe after the Second World War and resulted in thousands of deaths. The Bosnian War was also marked by the genocide policies promoted by the Serbs. This conflict was one that shook the Balkans during the 1990s and resulted in the death of about 100,000 people.
Origin
First, before approaching the conflict itself, a short recap of the history of the Yugoslavia. This country emerged right after the First World War and it was the result of the nationalist movement of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes who struggled to get rid of the austrian domain.
In 1918, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes which, from 1929, became the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, a multi-ethnic state formed by Serbs, Croats, Slovenes, Montenegrins, Bosniaks, Albanians etc. This state underwent brief fragmentation during World War II and was reunified in the Federal Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia who was under the leadership of Josip Broz Tito, an old partisan.
Do not stop now... There's more after the advertising ;)
From 1945, therefore, the country was under the command of Tito, who, through an authoritarian government, managed to keep Yugoslavia as a cohesive nation, in which the nationalisms they were subjugated by the authority of the state. With the death of Tito, in 1980, this cohesion disappeared, and, from that period, Yugoslavia began to collapse.
The political discourse of the 1980s in Yugoslavia was dominated by nationalist movements. Different peoples in the region began to align their speeches with nationalist issues, and self-determination of these peoples (that is, their independence in national states of their own) began to gain strength.
Driven by the nationalist discourse, three big names emerged in Yugoslavia, each advocating the self-determination of a different ethnicity. jettison Izetbegovic represented the Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims); bangstudman, the Croats; and SlobodanMilosevic, the Serbs.
The Bosnian War, in this sense, was a direct result of the struggle of these peoples for self-assertion and for their defense of a national state. Thus, the old idea of the existence of a multi-ethnic national state began to lose space for the the need for fragmentation and the formation of national States that would represent each of these peoples many different.
Radovan Karadzic was president of the Bosnian Serbs and one of the great opponents of Bosnian independence.*
The need for this self-affirmation, which led to the growth of nationalisms, revived the resentmentsethnic that existed in Yugoslavia. The affirmation of collectivities in Yugoslavia took place through culture, language, religion, etc., precisely because the region had historically been dominated by foreigners (Ottomans and Austrians).
Also access:Discover the history of the Croatian party that carried out the genocide of Serbs in World War II
These resentments were underpinned by circumstances such as the fact that, historically, the politically hegemonic group in the region had been the Serbs. This led Croats and Slovenes initially to demand greater representation in Yugoslavia. This demand soon turned into a desire for self-determination, that is, independence.
The mobilization of Slovenians and Croatians created a great tension in the region, mainly because the Serbs were against this fragmentation. The tension was mainly due to the fact that the Serbs who inhabited the Croatia and the Slovenia they were systematically opposed to the emancipation of both countries.
O first focus of tension went to Slovenia, a nation that launched the war against the Serbs in June 1991. It was a short-lived war—only 10 days—and ended with the officialization of Slovenian independence. After that, the focus of tension shifted to Croatia, a region that had a considerable number of ethnic Serbs.
The Croatians' declaration of independence took place on the same date as the Slovenians, but Serbian resistance in Croatia was much greater. Serbs in the region, supported by Slobodan Milosevic, president of Serbia, self-proclaimed the independence of Republic of Krajina, a region of Croatia occupied by a Serb majority, which declared its separation from Croatia. In the long run, the Krajina situation, associated with the Croatian declaration of independence, led to a war between Croats and Serbs.
Finally, with the independence of Slovenia consolidated and that of the Croats underway, the Bosnians were automatically compelled to become launched on the same journey, as, in political terms, they lost much of their strength in Yugoslavia with the independence of Slovenia and Croatia.
Bosnia's situation was even more complex as it was a region of greater ethnic diversity. This country, a place of great ethnic diversity, was composed as follows: 43.7% of the population was Bosnian; 31.4%, Serbia; and 17.3% Croatian.|1| The region's ethnic diversity still had a religious aggravation, as the Bosnians were Muslims (hence called Bosnians); the Serbs, Orthodox; and the Croats, Catholics.
Each of these groups had different interests for Bosnia, which was another element of tension in the region:
Bosniaks: fought for their independence;
Serbs: opponents of Bosnian independence and advocates of the formation of Greater Serbia;
Croatians: defended the annexation of the region to Croatia, which was fighting for its independence.
The two big names behind the Serbs were SlobodanMilosevic, president of Serbia, and RadovanKaradzic, president of the Serbs in Bosnia. Both demonstrated that they did not accept the independence defended by the Bosniaks, and the existing tension in the region is perceptible in Karadzic's speech, as we will see in the following excerpt:
Karadzic's speech openly sounded like a threat that the Bosnian Serbs would not accept the claim of independence that was defended by the Bosnians. Alija Izetbegovic, president of Bosnia, was also not far behind and demonstrated his intention to fight to the end for Bosnian independence, as his speech shows: “I will sacrifice peace for the sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina, but I will not sacrifice the sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina for the peace".|3|
The war broke out shortly after the international recognition of Bosnian independence happen on April 6, 1992. From that date, Serb forces began to bomb the city of Sarajevo, capital of Bosnia.
Main events of the war
The beginning of the conflict was marked by the predominance of the Serbian forces, which had the entire military apparatus of the former Yugoslavia and the Russian support. This made the Serbs dominate much of the Serbian territory, which allowed them to carry out ethnic cleansing in certain regions of Bosnia. In these places, the inhabitants—especially the Bosnians—were trapped, executed or expelled by the Serbs.
Bosnian forces recovered throughout the war, and despite the arms embargo across Yugoslavia, the Bosnians managed to prevail over the Serbs. The Bosniaks counted on the support from muslim nations who even sent soldiers to the region. THE international pressure over Serbia also contributed to its defeat.
combatants
At the beginning of the war, the Serbs defended their interests through the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA), and, later, the struggle of the Serbs was taken over by the Army of the Serbian Republic (VRS). The Croatians defended themselves through the Croatian Defense Council (HVO), while the Bosniaks fought through the Armor (ARBiH).
Siege of Sarajevo
Ratko Mladic led the siege of Sarajevo and the Srebrenica Massacre.*
One of the most remarkable events of the Bosnian War was the siege to Sarajevo carried out by Serbian troops. Sarajevo was the capital of Bosnia and is surrounded by mountains. The geography of the region caused the Serbs to besiege the city for a period of almost four years, making it the biggest siege in Europe after World War II.
Also access:Learn a little about the history of Yugoslavia during World War II
The siege of Sarajevo was led by Ratko Mladic, commander of the Bosnian Serb armies. During the siege, the Serbs constantly bombed the city and restricted access to goods. Another action taken by the Serbs was the use of sharpshooters (snipers) who shot, indiscriminately, at people walking along the city's streets.
The purpose of these actions against civilians by the Serbs was to force the Bosnian command to hand over the capital to the Serbs. These, during the siege, in addition to attacking important places such as markets and hospitals, also turned against important cultural centers of Sarajevo, which is understood as an attempt to destroy culture and history bosniacs.
The siege of Sarajevo officially ends at the beginning of 1996, a few weeks after the Dayton Agreement have put an end to the conflict. Many of those involved in the siege, including Ratko Mladic, were tried and convicted of practicing war crimes.
Also know about: the siege of Leningrad
Srebrenica Massacre
Mass grave with the remains of Bosniacs executed during the Srebrenica Massacre.*
The Bosnian War was marked by violence and massacres carried out by all involved in the However, ethnic cleansing actions throughout the conflict were much more consistent on the Serbian side, it's the Srebrenica Massacre is one of the symbols of that. There, at the behest of Ratko Mladic, the Serbian army executed more than 8 thousand Bosnians and buried them in mass graves.
Srebrenica was a UN security zone located within Serb-dominated territory. This UN enclave guaranteed the safety of thousands of Bosnians fleeing Serb troops. Throughout the conflict, the Serbs tried to conquer Srebrenica, but only in July 1995 is that they were able to do so.
The entry of Serb troops was only possible thanks to the withdrawal of UN troops that guaranteed the safety of the local populations. The Serbs, in conquering Srebrenica, separated men from women and started the execution of 8373 Bosniaks. There were also reports of rape of women. the principal of the genocide, Ratko Mladic, was later accused and convicted of this act.
Also know about: Nanjing Massacre
aftermath of war
The Bosnian War officially came to an end through the Dayton Agreement, signed in December 1995. With the agreement, the war ended and Bosnia and Herzegovina was divided into two autonomous republics: one for ethnic Serbs and one for Croats and Bosniaks. Among the consequences of this war, the following can be cited:
consolidation of Yugoslavia's fragmentation;
economic destruction of the country;
ethnic and religious resentments that remain more than 20 years after the end of the conflict;
consolidation of the independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina;
building the country into two autonomous republics, allowing room for secessionism;
construction of a political model in Bosnia, in order to meet the ethnic demands of Croats, Bosniaks and Serbs;
thousands of dead in a genocide process;
migration of thousands of people, with Serbs moving en masse to Republika Srpska.
Kosovo war
A few years after the end of conflicts in Croatia and Bosnia, the Balkans were shaken by a new conflict: the Kosovo war. This conflict happened between 1998 and 1999 and was motivated by the secession movement of Kosovo, a Serbian region. Kosovo is mostly inhabited by Albanians who fight for your self-determination. Serbs' action in repressing Kosovar nationalism led to a war that resulted in the bombing ofBelgrade, the Serbian capital, by planes of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
The end of the Kosovo War did not guarantee the independence of this region, but neither did it end its fight for it. In 2008, Kosovo proclaimed its independence, but to this day, Serbs have not recognized Kosovo independence. Kosovo's international recognition is only partial. Brazil does not recognize Kosovo's independence.
|1| NIKSIC, Stevan and RODRIGUES, Pedro Caldeira. the balkan virus: the case of Yugoslavia. Assírio & Alvim: Lisbon, 1996, p. 289.
*Image credits: Northphoto and Shutterstock
By Daniel Neves
Graduated in History
