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The tragedy of the Bosnian genocide after WWII
The tragedy of the Bosnian genocide after WWII
The tragedy of the Bosnian genocide after WWII
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The Bosnian genocide in 1992-95 is a prime example of the apathy that man can show toward the suffering of his fellow man. Even though it was widely considered to be “the worst act of genocide since the Nazi regime’s destruction of some 6 million European Jews during World War II,” (History.com) the world offered little help. While the U.N. sent peacekeepers to offer humanitarian aid and create “safe zones”, this did little to stem the tide of atrocities inflicted by the serbs upon Muslims in Bosnia. Although NATO forces finally joined the fight and the U.S. sponsored the Dayton Peace Pact in 1995, which finally ended hostilities, the failure to intervene soon enough to stop the mass killing of over 100,000 innocent civilians has been called, “the greatest failure of the West since the 1930s." (thehistoryplace.com).
After World war I, the western allies created Yugoslavia out of historic enemies including Croatia, Serbia, and Albania. Later, during World War II, Yugoslavia was invaded by Nazi Germany. During this occupation, Josip Broz Tito united conflicted Yugoslavia, thus combining Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, and the independent provinces of Kosovo and Vojvodina. Tito was a communist, and a strong leader who, “maintained ties with the Soviet Union and the United States during the Cold War, playing one superpower against the other while obtaining financial assistance and other aid from both,” (thehistoryplace.com). When Josip Tito died in 1980, Nationalism grew and spread through the Yugoslavian republics, and without Tito’s strong leadership, Yugoslavia quickly fell into political and economic turmoil.
The Bosnian Genocide had it’s beginnings in the late 1980’s when Slobodan Milosevic, “a...
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Coleman, Andrew. "International Court of Justice." Governments of the World: A Global Guide to Citizens' Rights and Responsibilities. Ed. C. Tate. Vol. 2. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2006. 261-266. Global Issues In Context. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.
Document URL http://find.galegroup.com/gic/infomark.do?&source=gale&idigest=c78bffd7bb4a35e4038a943301d3e0d6&prodId=GIC&userGroupName=vale41196&tabID=T001&docId=CX3447400164&type=retrieve&contentSet=EBKS&version=1.0 "The History Place - Genocide in the 20th Century: Bosnia-Herzegovina 1992-95." The History Place - Genocide in the 20th Century: Bosnia-Herzegovina 1992-95. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 May 2014.
"Bosnian Genocide." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 08 May 2014.
The physical and mental intent to destroy another being often unveils the darkest side of human nature. In the memoir, “An Ordinary Man: An Autobiography” dedicated to the Rwandan genocide, war hero Paul Rusesabagina states: “A sad truth of human nature is that it is hard to care for people when they are abstractions, hard to care when it is not you or somebody close to you. Unless the world community can stop finding ways to dither in the face of this monstrous threat to humanity those words never again will persist in being one of the most abused phrases in the English language and one of the greatest lies of our time.” The United Nations promised never again would they allow genocide to occur after the Second World War. Unfortunately, less
Nationalism has been a potent force for change since the development of human civilization. However, opinion about the extent to which nationalism may be appropriately pursued is highly diverse, a factor that has led to immense tragedy and suffering in countless regions worldwide. While it is both appropriate and sometimes encouraged to take pride in being part of a nation, it is of the utmost importance that it is done without harming or subjugating people of another. Uniting a people by force and potentially eliminating or destroying those who may oppose it or not belong to it is unacceptable ethically, morally, and socially.
During World War II, Yugoslavia was invaded by Nazi Germany and was partitioned. A fierce resistance movement sprang up led by Josip Tito. Following Germany's defeat, Tito reunified Yugoslavia under the slogan "Brotherhood and Unity," merging together Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, along with two self-governing provinces, Kosovo and Vojvodina. Tito, a Communist, was a strong leader who maintained ties with the Soviet Union and the United States during the Cold War, playing one superpower against the other while obtaining financial assistance and other aid from both. After his death in 1980 and without his strong leadership, Yugoslavia quickly plunged into political and economic chaos.
Yugoslavia also joined the Communist bloc. The Communist Party of Yugoslavia had helped drive out the Germans near the end of the war. Communists led by Josip Broz Tito then took over the government (Cold War). East and West opposed each other in the United Nations. In 1946, the U.S.S.R. rejected a U.S. proposal for an international agency to control nuclear energy production and research.
One of the numerous results of the fall of communism in Europe, the Bosnian Genocide is considered to be the largest massacre in European history since WWII. Lasting for an estimated time of 3 years, the Bosnian Genocide wiped out millions of citizens; specifically Muslim Bosnians (known as Bosniaks). The country, Bosnia and Herzegovina, went through cultural desegregation as well as religious tensions that rose as time progressed.
Although Milosevic was a key figure during this period whose actions undoubtedly influenced the chain of events that unfolded, I believe his power-seeking motives were not unique to him; his actions in the former Yugoslavia could have been committed by a number of others who had the same desire for power driving them. Nevertheless, as he was president of Serbia and essentially commander-in-chief of Serb forces who carried out unconscionable acts of cruelty against Muslims and other non-Serb civilians, particularly in the attempt to annex Bosnia-Herzegovina, he bears responsibility for his actions as an authority figure. Though his main goal seemed to be focused on territorial expansion of the Serbian state, he led military forces to deport and murder non-Serb civilians in massive numbers and therefore was in vi...
It was created out of the Austria-Hungary empire that lost the war and lost its land. Serbians, Croatians, Slovenes, and Bosnians and Muslims lived all in one country. The problem was the people didn't get along and each republic wanted to take control of the country. This went on until after WWII, when the Soviet Union took power and control over the country. Joseph Broz (Tito) was leader of Yugoslavia until the 6 republics separated.
One of the youngest nations of Europe, Yugoslavia was created after World War I as a homeland for several different rival ethnic groups. The country was put together mostly from remnants of the collapsed Ottoman Empire and Austria-Hungary. Demands for self-determination by Slovenes, Croats, Serbs, and others were ignored. Yugoslavia thus became an uneasy association of peoples conditioned by centuries of ethnic and religious hatreds. World War II aggravated these rivalries, but Communist dictatorship after the war controlled them for 45 years. When the Communist system failed, the old rivalries reasserted themselves; and in the early 1990s the nation was rent by secessionist movements and civil war. Within several years these conflicts had drastically altered the size of the country.
The United Nations was formed on October 24, 1945, after the Holocaust, to prevent genocide from ever happening again. A cartoon depicted by Michael Sutherland illustrated the unsuccessful intent of the United Nations. The United Nations is pictured standing over many graves of countries and groups that have suffered from genocide. However, many genocides have taken place since the formation of the United Nations (i.e. the Bosnian genocide). Both genocides began as simple misconception or dislike between peoples but ended in tragic and unnecessary murder. The Holocaust and the Bosnian genocide had many similarities and differences in their course of events. Unfortunately, genocides like the Jewish Holocaust and the Bosnian genocide still continue to happen today.
Paradigms of Genocide: The Holocaust, The Armenian genocide, and Contemporary Mass Destructions, 156-168. Sage Publications Inc., 1996. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/1048550
The outbreak of nationalism caused the war in Croatia because, a calamity appeared in which weakened Yugoslavia near the end of the Cold war in the mid 1980s. This led to the inimitable demise of Yugoslavia. When Croatia looked to be an independent outside of Yugoslavia nationalist started to develop ideas while still in the midst of Communists. It become more evident that Yugoslavia would soon become independent states.
International law is a body of legally binding rules that are suppose to govern the relations between sovereign states. (Cornell Law School) In order to be a qualified subject, a state has to be sovereign. To be considered sovereign the state needs to have territory, a population, and a government that is recognized or legitimized to most other states. In the more modern explanation of international law now can include the rights and obligation on intergovernmental international organizations and even individuals. Examples of an international organization would be Greenpeace or the United Nations and an example of an individual would be war criminals, a leader of a state that violated human rights during a time of war. When a dispute arise and cannot be solved amongst the two actors involved they can turn to the U.N. to arbitrate and to the International Court of Justice, one of many courts within the U.N. to find a resolution to their problem. The International Court of Justice’s main task is to help settle legal disputes submitted to it by states and...
45 Oona Hathaway, ‘Do Human Rights Treaties Make a Difference?’ (2003) 112 Yale Law Journal
The history of modern Bosnia began with the country of Yugoslavia in the 1900s. At the beginning of World War I, the Baltic region was controlled by Austria-Hungary. The trigger for WWI actually took place in Sarajevo, Bosnia, when a group of insubordinate Serbs assassinated Archduke Francis Ferdinand (heir to Austria-Hungary). In the ashes of the Austria-Hungarian Empire, the Baltic countries formed the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes in 1918. The Kingdom united as the country of Yugoslavia in 1929, of which Bosnia was a constituent republic until Nazi Germany invaded in 1941. After Nazi Germany fell, President Marshall Tito took over the country and controlled it. Although President Tito was a Communist, he did do some good in the country, especially by keeping the Soviet Union at arm’s length, which planted unity in his country against a common enemy. When Yugoslavia was under Tito, it had some of the best times in Slavic
It was only after Tito’s death in 1980, that the world began to realize his true significance. Tito had controlled Yugoslavia for 35 years. During that time, his prestige and remarkable diplomacy held the country together.