BOSNIAN GENOCIDE

Filiz KAHRAMAN
0305113
INTRODUCTION

Bosnian Genocide in 1995 is one of the most brutal incidents in the Europe after the
WWII. End of the Cold War brought raising nationalism to the region. Under the
Federal Peoples Republic of Yugoslavia there was the Balkan States of Bosnia-
Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, Slovenia and Macedonia. In 1991
Slovenia declared independence that caused a clash between Serbs and Slovenians, it
lasted for ten days and Slovenia won in the end. This event was the beginning of
separation of Yugoslavia that lasted until 2001. 1 Tensions between Serbians,
Bosnians, Albanians and Croatians were increasing and each ethnic group was
seeking for independence. In 1992 on 29 March, Bosnians Muslims and Croats voted
for independence in referendum and it boycotted by Serbs. But EU and the USA
recognized Bosnia as independent country; as a result Serbs under the Radovan
Karadzic occupied seventy percent of the country, killing and persecuting Muslims
and Croats to carve out a Serb Republic in 1992.2 War broke out between Muslims,
Croats and Serbs. In 1993 Srebrenica, Zepa and Gorazde in Eastern Bosnia declared
as safe areas and The UNPROFOR (The UN Protection Force) deployed troops in the
region, in the end Bosnian Serb Army attacks stop. But the town remained isolated
and few humanitarian convoys reached the area. 3
The most devastating vicious attack happened in 1995 by the Serbian Army under
Ratko Mladic in Srebrenica and they took the control of the region. Thousands of
Bosnian Muslim men and boys are separated from their families and massacred
despite the presence of Dutch UN troops. 4According to Red Cross Organization
312.000 people died because of the Serbian Armys systematic attacks and 200.000
people were Bosnians in Bosnia-Herzegovina between 1992-1995. As a result Dayton
Peace Agreement signed between sides in Ohio 1995; two entities Bosnia-
Herzegovina Federation and Serbian Republic established. 5
Next step was finding who was the responsible for this genocide and punishing them.
International societys and NGOs awareness were increasing with media and they
were asking why UN troops did not prevent tortures, genocides in the region and why
established International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for
Serious Violations of International Law Committed in the Territory of Former
Yugoslavia doing nothing since 1993.
Four years after the genocide UN published 155 pages report and confessed that they
had to protect people and should eliminate the genocide in the region. Also in 2001
International Tribune for the War Crimes for the Former Yugoslavia accepted Serbs
responsibility for committing the crime of genocide and for the first time an Serb
General Radislav Krstic sentenced to prison for 46 years (with the appeal it reduced to

1
The Combat Genocide Association, (Not determined), Bosnia 1992-1995, Place:
http://combatgenocide.org/?page_id=80
2
Reuters, (2008), TIMELINE: What happened during the war in Bosnia?, Place:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2008/07/21/us-warcrimes-karadzic-bosnia-
idUSL2164446420080721
3
Ibid.
4
BBC, (2012), Bosnia-Herzegovina Timeline, Place:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/country_profiles/1066981.stm
5 Wikipedia, (2014), Bosnian Genocide, Place:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bosnian_Genocide
35 years). Other few people also sentenced to prison or their tribunal is still going on
but it is not enough if we consider the number of soldiers and generals that
responsible for the crime of torture and genocide determined by Tribunal in Sarajevo.
Finally, we can say that UN or EU stayed silent during the Bosnian Genocide and
they did not take the issue seriously. Middle of the Europe thousands of people lost
their lives while UN and EU could not decide or did not decide what they going to do.
UN did nothing literally till the increasing pressure from NGOs. Also UN did not
apply any sanction for states that does not arrest and deliver responsible criminals for
the genocide in those states territories. International Criminal Court in The Hague
proclaimed Srebrenica massacre as genocide in 2007 after twelve years from the
genocide. UN did not act as problem solver or mediator between different groups in
the region and their response was not acceptable, civilians paid for their mistakes and
irresponsibility. Global justice for the Bosnians is still questionable.

PART II DEVELOPMENTS AND RESULTS

After the WWI, the Balkan states of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro,

Croatia, Slovenia and Macedonia came together and established Federal Peoples
Republic of Yugoslavia6. Titos death in 1980 brought instability to the region
because he was very successful with bringing all ethnic groups together peacefully.
Raising nationalism brought Serbian extremely nationalist political leader namely
Slobodan Milosevic, he increased tension between different ethnic groups. In 1991
Slovenia declared its independence and other ethnic groups influenced from that
event. In 1992 Bosnia as an independent country established and the European
Community and the USA recognized Bosnia7. Serbs became angry and did not
recognize independence of Bosnia. Series of violence, ethnic and national clashes
started. On May 1992, Serbs bombed major cities of Bosnians namely Sarajevo and
Mostar and started to kill people. Their first aim was to wipe out educated,
intellectual, wealthy and non-Serb people in Eastern Bosnia. Western Bosnia was in
the bad situation as well, men and women were divided from them and Serbian army
tortured women. It was the worst crisis in Europe since the WWII (The Combat
Genocide Association). As a response UN declared Sarajevo, Garazde, Srebrenica and
other three cities as safe havens (BBC, 2012). UN was demilitarized the area because
of that Bosnians and Croatians were not able to defend themselves.
The most brutal attack happened in 1995 in Srebrenica under the command of Ratko
Mladic. In 1995 thousands of people killed despite of the presence of Dutch UN
troops, UN did not eliminate or tried to save people from torturing and killing. Hasan
Nuhanovic was a Bosnian who was working as translator in the Dutch UN military
camp and his observations and witness was showing the real situation in the
Srebrenica. According to him Dutch UN military camp let people die by Serbian
armies and literally did not take any action. When Serbians get into Srebrenica and
began to kill people, some of them ran away and tried to be refuge in the UN camps.
Serbian army went there and asked for people that refuged to this camp. Nuhanovic
and his family were also there and all families knew that Serbians would kill all of

6
history.com Staff. (2009). Bosnian Genocide. Available:
http://www.history.com/topics/bosnian-genocide. Last accessed 13th Jan 2015.
7The Combat Genocide Association, (Not determined), Bosnia 1992-1995, Place:

http://combatgenocide.org/?page_id=80
them. Dutch UN military general just deliver those innocent and unarmed people to
Serbians. People killed and buried in the mass graves8. In the en of the 1995, Serbs
took too much pressure by the international society, and UNs embargo through the
region was making living harder for Serbs even they had help from sympathizer
countries like Russia, Greece. On August NATO started to air strikes and in the end
Serbs gave up. Dayton Peace agreement signed between Bosnian Muslim President
Alija Izetbegovic, Croatian President Fanjo Tuajman and Serbian President Slobodan
Milosevic in 1995, Dayton, Ohio. NATO peacekeeping implementation force (IFOR)
arrived to region and established permanent presence there as international peace
overseer (Reuters, 2008). War was over.

PART III LIABILITY AND PENALTIES

International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious

Violations of International Law Committed in the Territory of Former Yugoslavia
since 1991 established in 1993. The aim of the tribunal is penalize criminals who are
responsible from violations in the former Yugoslavian territories. The tribunal is on
duty only for deciding about personal criminal responsibility. But in the status of the
international court is not determined that if countries can be punished if they involved
in the event (Akllolu, T, 2010). So it makes decides of tribunal bit ineffective and
invalid.
Bosnia-Herzegovina complaint Serbs to International Court of Justice for the first
time in 1993 but no serious action was taken. In 1996, International Criminal Tribunal
for the Former Yugoslavia began to work in The Hague and began to imprisonment
for captured criminals. In 2001 Tribunal accepted that Serbians committed the crime
of the genocide and sentenced General Radislav Kristic to prison for 46 years. In 2001
Milosevic arrested but before the end of his trial he found dead in 2006 (The Combat
the Genocide Association).
In 2003 Dutch Prime Minister Wim Kok and his government with accepting the
responsibility in Srebrenica massacre (Dikici, A, 2006).

In 2006, International Court of justice in The Hague begins hearings in genocide case
brought by Bosnia-Herzegovina against Serbia and Montenegro and it was the largest
war crimes trial at The Hague. In 2007, The ICJ rules that the 1995 Srebrenica
massacre constituted genocide but clears Serbia of direct responsibility (BBC, 2012).
This decision is actually open for discussion in the name of neutrality of the Court.
They did not punish a state that committed the crime of genocide in the middle of the
Europe. Karadzics tribunal started in 2009, he was captured in 2008, and he was the
one of the main responsible from the genocide. One of his tribunal he said I did not
commit crime of genocide and made a favor to my people (Aslan,F., 2014). His trial
will conclude in the 2015. In 2011, Ratko Mladic one of the worrlds most wanted
crimes suspect arrested (BBC, 2012).

8Dikici, A. (2006). Srebrenica Katliamnn canl tan Hasan Nuhanoviin

Hikayesi. Available: http://www.candundar.com.tr/_v3/index.php#!%23Did=3228.
Last accessed 12nd Jan 2015
PART VI CONCLUSION

According to the Redcross 200,000 Bosnian Muslim people died in between 1992-
1995. Serbians systematically committed the crime of genocide in the glare of
publicity. When world publics reaction raised NATO decided to take an action and
then genocide came to an end (Aymal, ., 2013).
Bosnian Mothers Association trial for finding responsible people is still continuing
since 2000. After four years from the genocide UN published 155-paged report and
said that they are responsible from the genocide, they could and should eliminate that
situation. But in the end none of the UN staff found guilty (Dikici, A., 2006).
Establishment of the ICTY (International Criminal Tribune for former Yugoslavia)
was not successful for avoiding violence and did not bring any change. Some
countries did not cooperate for finding or delivering responsible criminals to the court
because of it tribunal could punish only insignificant people. UN did not apply any
sanctions for countries that did not cooperate with the tribunal. Pressure from civil
society organizations was influential for finding and punishing people, as it required.
For the first time, assault and sexual violence declared as war crime and crime of
torture and Hazim Devic and Dusko Tadic sentenced to prison because of it
(akmak,C. & Atlgan, C., 2012).
As a result in the Court of the Sarajevo 15,000 war criminal determined but around
200 people sentenced to prison. UN human rights system and EU human rights
system was not influential in the region at all. International system except
international public turn a blind eye to genocide and let everything to be happen.
REFERENCES

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2. Aslan, F. (2014). Bosnada soykrm deil, iyilik yaptm. Available:
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7. The Combat Genocide Association, (Not determined), Bosnia 1992-1995,
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9. BBC, (2012), Bosnia-Herzegovina Timeline, Place:
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bosnian_Genocide