Reversing ethnic cleansing in bosniaherzegovina oxford. Evidence drawn from press reports, international relief agencies, refugees, and other sources of information indicate that ethnic serbs are responsible for the vast majority of ethnic cleansing in bosnia. There is a great deal of energy spent in the western media attacking muslims in general because of the campaigns waged against western interests, in. Sustained campaigns of ethnic cleansing by bosnian serbs since 1992 have resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of nonserbs, the dis. The bosnian ethnic cleansing was a dreadful time that led to the death of many bosnian muslims and serbians.
Refers to entire campaign, including murder, rape, expulsion, intimidation, plunder, political assassinations, etc. Senate report provides details of ethnic cleansing in bosnia. Although bosnia and herzegovina1 seemingly represented the multiethnic heart of post world war ii yugoslavia, ethnic cleansing, devastation and mass killings marked the lives of bosnians in the early 1990s. This argument about the central role of war in genocide and ethnic cleansing is widely known and reiterated in most of the genocide studies literature for an. What happened and the effects of it bosnian ethnic cleansing. More specifically, i pr opose that strategic incentives arising mainly from the. The focus of this collection of files is a set of documents which reveal the role of the intelligence services in informing the clinton administration about the war in the balkans. Ethnic cleansing, genocide and demographic changes in. Serb ethnic cleansing summary evidence ndicates that ethnic serb forces have carried out at least 90 percent of the destruction, displacement, and loss of life associated with ethnic cleansing. In april 1992, a brutal act of ethnic cleansing took place in bosniaherzegovina, a country located in southeastern europe, between italy and rome bosnian genocide 1, 2015.
Widespread ethnic cleansing accompanied the war in bosnia and herzegovina 199295, large numbers of bosnian muslims and bosnian croats were forced to flee their homes and were expelled by bosnian serbs. The ethnic cleansing of bosnia herzegovina term paper. The aggression against bosnia and herzegovina by serbia culminated in a systematic and planned ethnic cleansing and genocide for the achievement of homogenous serbian state. Bosnian genocide or bosniak genocide refers to either the genocide in srebrenica and zepa committed by bosnian serb forces in 1995 or the wider crimes against humanity, and ethnic cleansing campaign throughout areas controlled by the army of republika srpska which was waged during the 19921995 bosnian war. Oct 15, 2014 the geography behind the ethnic cleansing, as the map illustrates, was noted by the report, the manner in which the policy of ethnic cleansing is carried out by serbs in bosnia is consistent through out a certain geographic area represented by an arc ranging from northern bosnia and covering areas in eastern and western bosnia. Despite media reports of the secret camps, the mass killings, as well as the destruction of muslim mosques and historic architecture in bosnia, the world community remained mostly indifferent. Bosniaherzegovinia, and the other six nations that made. An examination of its historical and contemporary tactical.
This collection includes many documents that were not released by the cia until october 1, 20. Vicious ethnic cleansing infects croatmuslim villages. The genocide in bosnia claimed the lives of an estimated 100,000 people. Jun 01, 2000 genocide in bosnia provides a detailed account of the historical events, actions, and practices that led to and legitimated genocide in bosnia herzegovina. Before 1991, bosnia and herzegovina was the most ethnically mixed of the yugoslav. Ethnic cleansing bleaches the atrocities of genocide. Ethnic cleansing and the genocidal actus reus 104 5. Different cultures, religions and traditions and hence multiculturalism represented in demographic diversity was strongly engraved in bosnian cities, towns and villages. The report expresses particular concern about the fact that before the bosnian serbs forcibly took over prijedor in 1992, the town was a multi ethnic area with a. The us and ethnic cleansingthe case of croatia by david north 15 april 1999 if the first casualty of war is the truth, the second, it would seem, is the capacity for critical thought. In 1999, a multilateral force conducted a tenweeklong bombing campaign against serbian forces, whom western leaders feared were set to wage another campaign of ethnic cleansing in kosovo as a response to kosovos independence aspirations. The reason you can hear that serbs were the ones who ethnically cleansed, is because the western media was against the serbs and because the serbs had a better organized and stronger army. Pdf ethnic cleansing in bosniaherzegovina, 19921995. Pdf postwar ethnic cleansing in croatia and bosnia.
Bosnian serbs attacked the capital of bosnia, sarajevo karadzic purused ethnic cleansing of croatians and muslims in serbia areas of bosnia and croatia were carved out for ethnically pure serbs to settle in by 1993, twothirds of bosnia were under serb control, but in 1994 some new developments turned the tide against the serbs. It is fair to say that ethnic cleansing, such as practised in croatia during the second half of 1991 and then in bosnia from 1992 to 1995, that that was. Today, bosnian serbs make up about 37 percent of the total population and live mainly in the rs. The genocide studies program has featured numerous seminars relating to the events in the balkan region. Ethnic cleansing was at the heart of the bosnian war right from the earliest days. May 12, 2016 prior to the bosnian ethnic cleansing, the second world war had just ended. There was ethnic cleansing on all three sides in bosnia.
Ethnic cleansing, genocide and demographic changes in bosnia and herzegovina muhidin mulalic abstract. The us and ethnic cleansingthe case of croatia world. Evaluate each of the following arguments by analogy, indicating 1 the things instances being compared, 2 the relevant similarities mentioned or implied, 3 whether diversity among multiple cases is a significant factor, 4 the conclusion, and 5 whether the argument is strong or weak. They felt that they were the superior race and decided that they needed to eradicate the weaker ethnicities. The dynamics of conflict in the multiethnic state of bosnia and. Current events, a weekly reader publication 24 oct. Almost a full three years before srebrenica, lady thatcher spoke of serbian ethnic cleansing policy and compared expulsion of the non serb population with the barbarities of hitlers and stalins policies toward other nations. The roots of ethnic cleansing are ancient, to be sure, and it has been practiced from biblical times to the modern age, including at the height of colonialism and in world war ii by the nazis and their allies. The dark side of democracy this book presents a new theory of ethnic cleansing based on the most terrible cases colonial genocides, armenia, the nazi holocaust, cambodia, yugoslavia, and rwanda and cases of lesser violence early modern europe, contemporary india, and indonesia. Over the next three years the serbian forces besieged sarajevo, 200,000 people were killed. However these plans were scrapped as ethnic cleansing altered bosnia s ethnic makeup. Democracies wished to concentrate on their domestic problems after the end of. The wars in bosnia and kosovo university of washington. Bosnian muslims make up 48 percent, and bosnian croats make up 14.
Both the hutus in rwanda and the serbs in bosnia employed ethnic cleansing as a means to gaining power. Ethnic cleansing an attempt at methodology drazen petrovic the continuing war in bosnia and herzegovina has contributed a new term to the vocabulary of international relations with the expression ethnic cleansing. Large numbers of croats and bosniaks were forced to flee their homes by the army of the republika srpska. Bosnian war, ethnically rooted war in bosnia and herzegovina that took place from. This came after the death of tito, the leader who unified the. Although all factions have been victims, bosnian serb forces appear to have been responsible for at least 90 percent of the ethnic cleansing that we have identified. Feb 23, 2014 ethnic cleansing in bosnia by serb forces. Ethnic cleansing bleaches the atrocities of genocide and its continuing use undermines the prevention of genocide. In 1991, bosnia had very few areas where only one ethnicity was present. Diagnosis of the basic sources of conflict in bosnia and herzegovina. Exploring the relationship with uneven economic development, racial ethnic intolerance, and religious intolerence abstract this paper will explore the relationship between the factors of uneven economic development, racial ethnic intolerance, and religious intolerance and the presence of ethnic cleansing in states.
Ethnic cleansing is a process in which advancing army of one ethnic group expels civilians of other ethnic groups from towns and villages it conquers in order to create ethnically pure enclaves for members of their ethnic group. Bosnia herzegovina, serbia, montenegro, croatia, slovenia, and macedonia all became a part of yugoslavias federal peoples republic. Ethnic cleansing in the bosnian war occurred during the conflict 199295, as large numbers of bosnian muslims bosniaks and bosnian croats were forced to. Ethnic cleansing and its reversal kindle edition by toal, gerard, dahlman, carl t download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Milosevic responded to bosnias declaration of independence by attacking sarajevo, where serb snipers shot down civilians. The term bosnian genocide is used to refer either to the genocide committed by bosnian serb forces in srebrenica in 1995, or to the ethnic cleansing campaign that took place throughout areas controlled by the bosnian serb army during the 19921995 bosnian war. The 1993 pulitzer prizewinning dispatches on the ethnic cleansing of bosnia.
After years of bitter fighting between bosniaks bosnian muslims, serbs, and. The multiethnic republic of bosniaherzegovina quickly became the site of the deadliest warfare and the target of an ethnic cleansing. As part of its ethnic cleansing campaign, bosnian serb forces used tactics such as siege warfare, systematic persecution. The bosnian genocide, which was the ethnic cleansing of bosnians and croats, happened in april of 1992. Ethnic cleansing, genocide and demographic changes in bosnia. Feb 03, 2011 there are four legally validated genocides that occurred in bosnia herzegovina, other than srebrenica.
Human rights watch reports on ethnic cleansing and. Summary of the ethnic cleansing in bosniaherzegovina. A classification of ethnic cleansing as a war crime 87 4. It focuses attention not only on the horror of ethnic cleansing and the calculated strategy that allowed it to happen but also offers some interesting solutions to the problem. Episodes of ethnic cleansing have ravaged europe repeatedly over the last 100 years, killing millions of people and rendering tens of millions more refugees. Us advances bosnian solution to ethnic cleansing in iraq. While before the war bosnia was a messy patchwork of ethnicities with no discernable regions devoted to a. The roots of ethnic cleansing in europe is the most systematic scholarly effort to date to understand one of the most terrible forms of violence facing humanity. This is ethnic cleansing the report offered what amounted to a snapshot of ethnic cleansing, except that this time the perpetrators were muslims and croats instead of serbian nationalist fighters.
Ethnic cleansing has been carried out in bosnia since at least early 1992, primarily by bosnian serb political and military forces opposed to the bosnian governments declaration of independence following a republicwide referendum in early march 1992. Bosnia an experts overview the worlds most wanted man. Ethnic cleansing is the systematic forced removal of ethnic, racial andor religious groups from a given territory by a more powerful ethnic group, often with the intent of making it ethnically homogeneous. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading bosnia remade. Militias can resolve this problem by discriminating between neutral and disloyal noncoethnics and leav. What happened and the effects of it the intentional destruction of bosniak societies perpetrated by serbs in bosnia had both instantaneous and long lasting effects on the future of bosniaks. The term ethnic cleansing corrupts observation, interpretation and ethical judgment and decisionmaking, and lacks official legal status. Apr 23, 2003 us advances bosnian solution to ethnic cleansing in iraq. Bosnia s main ethnic groups are muslims, who make up 40 percent of the. It is fair to say that ethnic cleansing, such as practised in croatia during the second half of 1991 and then in bosnia from 1992 to 1995, that that was also a followup to the same kind of operation. The bosnian war and the new world order failure and success of.
Ethnic cleansing by bosnian serbs and croats was especially severe due to the fact that much of the territory inhabited by bosnian serbs was separated from serbia by areas of bosnian muslims. Croats and muslims in bosnia have also committed atrocities and forced other ethnic groups to fleethe croat destruction of mostar is. Evaluate each of the following arguments by analogy. The key component to this essay, however, is what remains in both bosnia and rwanda, 20 years removed from the genocidal crises that gripped these states. Bosnian genocide or bosniak genocide refers to either the genocide in srebrenica and the claimed, but overturned by court claim that there was also one in zepa committed by bosnian serb forces in 1995, or refers to the wider crimes against humanity, and ethnic cleansing campaign throughout areas controlled by the army of republika srpska which was waged during the 19921995 bosnian war. Continuing on till 1995, this event was one of the worst in europe, in which many human rights were tremendously violated bosnian genocide 1, 2015. His accounts tell of mass rapes seemingly carried out under orders in a systematic campaign of ethnic cleansing gutman, 1993. Though bosnian government forces tried to defend the territory, sometimes with the help of the croatian army, bosnian serb forces were in control of nearly threequarters of the country by the end. Genocide in bosnia provides a detailed account of the historical events, actions, and practices that led to and legitimated genocide in bosnia herzegovina. Ethnic cleansing and the plight of refugees parliament of australia. The paper presents two geographies of postdayton bosniaherzegovina. Ethnic cleansing operations in the northeastbosnian.
The ethnic cleansing of bosniaherzegovina and the international communitys failure to prevent genocide brendan mcelhaney november 2012 african american studies 412 war crimes and genocide the war in bosniaherzegovina was an intricate and bloody conflict that resulted in the death of as many as 200,000 people. A study of the policy of ethnic cleansing in bosnia and the holocaust in europe would suggest what. Bosnian genocide campaign of ethnic cleansing carried out by the army of the republika srpska. Widespread ethnic cleansing accompanied the war in bosnia 19921995. Pdf the effort to reverse ethnic cleansing in bosnia. The photograph that captured the beginning of ethnic cleansing in bosnia. Summary at least 2,151 bosnian towns, villages, and hamlets have been ethnically cleansed since the beginning of the conflict in 1991. In april 1992, a brutal act of ethnic cleansing took place in bosnia herzegovina, a country located in southeastern europe, between italy and rome bosnian genocide 1, 2015. My essay will provide an example, using the now classic case of the bosnian war, of how religious practice, particularly christian practice, can adversely affect a political crisis, as well as open up opportunities for how religion can work to ease. The bosnian genocide is the event referring to brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing of at least 500,000 bosniaks bosnian muslims coupled with the killings of 65,000 to 75,000 bosniaks during the 199295 war of serbian aggression. Ethnic cleansing and srebrenica genocide should be studied in the context of already existing international conventions on holocaust, crimes against. Ethnic cleansing in bosnia shercegovina central intelligence. Pdf two americanbased geographers examine the international communitys efforts to reverse ethnic cleansing in bosniaherzegovina since the end of. This argument about the central role of war in genocide and ethnic cleansing is widely known and reiterated in most of the genocide studies literature for an overview, see bartrop 2002.