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 1945-46
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

http://www.ushmm.org/confront-genocide/cases/bosniaherzegovina

http://www.history.com/topics/bosnian-genocide

http://www.ppu.org.uk/genocide/g_bosnia2.html

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-pledges-12-million-toremember-victims-of-srebrenica

http://curzonpr.com/press-release-srebrenica-memorial-day/