Milosevic and the Serbs
Bosnia-Herzegovina is a mountainous country about a third the size of England. It lies next to the Adriatic Sea, to the south of Croatia and west of Serbia. Its population is less than half that of London. Bosnia was part of the Ottoman (Turkish) Empire until 1878 and then of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until the First World War. After the war it was united with other Slav territories to form Yugoslavia, essentially ruled and run by Serbs from the Serbian capital, Belgrade. By 1980 the population of Bosnia consisted of 1.3m Bosnian Serbs (Orthodox Catholic Christians), over 1m Bosniaks (Sunni Muslim), and 0.7m Bosnian Croats (Roman Catholic Christians), all with strong historical and local claims to a homeland there.
In the late 1980’s a Civil War broke out between all three groups who all claimed that the land they inhabited was their historic homeland. The Serbs were the most populous and powerful and thus controlled the military. Under the leadership of Slobodan Milosevic the Serbians began to 'ethnically cleanse’ the area. It had become clear that what was happening in Bosnia was no longer a civil war fuelled by 'ancient feuds'. Bosnia was the victim of one group's determined wish for political domination, which it was prepared to achieve by isolating ethnic groups and if necessary exterminating them.
In July 1995 Serb troops and paramilitaries led by Ratko Mladic descended on the city of Srebrenica and began shelling it. They had already dealt with Muslim soldiers in the countryside villages. Now they surrounded Srebrenica's thousands of Muslim civilians. Food supplies and water began to dwindle, buildings were damaged, and people were injured. Soon Serb troops were able to take up positions close the town's outskirts. In Bosnia's capital, Sarajevo, a radio message from an amateur operator in Srebrenica was heard: 'Please do something. Whatever you can. In the name of God, do something.'
Despite of the cries for help the international community did nothing. The Serbs' bombardment intensified. Thousands of Muslims were killed by shells as they fled to a camp outside the city. Throughout the day a stream of refugees was slowly left the city: up to 6,000 by nightfall. 20,000 more were left waiting outside the camp. There was no food, little water, and a lot of fear.
The following morning the Muslims heard that the Serbs had made a promise: everyone would be allowed to cross out of Serb territory, but the men would have to be screened first, so that criminals could be detected, before rejoining their families. Meanwhile, Serb troops quietly surrounded the area.
Serb troops at once began separating off the men from women and children among the civilians outside the UN compound. Women and children were forced on to the trucks and buses. As they were deported, they could hear gunfire echoing round the hills; and they saw corpses lying by the road.
The following day the transports returned to fetch more women and children. There were now no men to be seen among the people in the street, and soon no women and children either. By noon the Serbs were ready to deal with the remaining thousands inside the camp.
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.
Thousands of the bodies were buried in mass graves. US aerial reconnaissance film shows the signs of a mass grave being covered by earth-moving equipment. Later many bodies were dug up and moved to more secret burial places.
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. Hope now lies in the science of DNA, which can match profiles taken from remains with others taken from living relatives. A pathologist working on the exhumations says, 'I can stand the discoveries in the graves, I can even stand the stench. The worst part is meeting families and people in despair.'
In the late 1980’s a Civil War broke out between all three groups who all claimed that the land they inhabited was their historic homeland. The Serbs were the most populous and powerful and thus controlled the military. Under the leadership of Slobodan Milosevic the Serbians began to 'ethnically cleanse’ the area. It had become clear that what was happening in Bosnia was no longer a civil war fuelled by 'ancient feuds'. Bosnia was the victim of one group's determined wish for political domination, which it was prepared to achieve by isolating ethnic groups and if necessary exterminating them.
In July 1995 Serb troops and paramilitaries led by Ratko Mladic descended on the city of Srebrenica and began shelling it. They had already dealt with Muslim soldiers in the countryside villages. Now they surrounded Srebrenica's thousands of Muslim civilians. Food supplies and water began to dwindle, buildings were damaged, and people were injured. Soon Serb troops were able to take up positions close the town's outskirts. In Bosnia's capital, Sarajevo, a radio message from an amateur operator in Srebrenica was heard: 'Please do something. Whatever you can. In the name of God, do something.'
Despite of the cries for help the international community did nothing. The Serbs' bombardment intensified. Thousands of Muslims were killed by shells as they fled to a camp outside the city. Throughout the day a stream of refugees was slowly left the city: up to 6,000 by nightfall. 20,000 more were left waiting outside the camp. There was no food, little water, and a lot of fear.
The following morning the Muslims heard that the Serbs had made a promise: everyone would be allowed to cross out of Serb territory, but the men would have to be screened first, so that criminals could be detected, before rejoining their families. Meanwhile, Serb troops quietly surrounded the area.
Serb troops at once began separating off the men from women and children among the civilians outside the UN compound. Women and children were forced on to the trucks and buses. As they were deported, they could hear gunfire echoing round the hills; and they saw corpses lying by the road.
The following day the transports returned to fetch more women and children. There were now no men to be seen among the people in the street, and soon no women and children either. By noon the Serbs were ready to deal with the remaining thousands inside the camp.
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.
Thousands of the bodies were buried in mass graves. US aerial reconnaissance film shows the signs of a mass grave being covered by earth-moving equipment. Later many bodies were dug up and moved to more secret burial places.
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. Hope now lies in the science of DNA, which can match profiles taken from remains with others taken from living relatives. A pathologist working on the exhumations says, 'I can stand the discoveries in the graves, I can even stand the stench. The worst part is meeting families and people in despair.'