Yugoslavia World History 3219 May 2017

CS1: Yugoslavia – A Nation Divided Yugoslavia was created following the breakup of the Austro- Hungarian Empire at the end of the First World War. Hitler invaded the region in early 1941 and encountered strong resistance led by Josip Broz Tito, leader of Yugoslav Communist Party

CS1: Yugoslavia – A Nation Divided Tito would lead Yugoslav from 1945 – 1980 Tito’s Yugoslavia was made up of six republics: Bosnia, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Slovenia, and Serbia.

CS1: Yugoslavia – A Nation Divided Yugoslavia was made up of 6 republics with many different ethnic groups (p. 229). Josip Tito, communist dictator of Yugo., kept everyone in line. He did not take orders from Moscow & refused to become a satellite like communist Eastern Europe. After Tito’s death in 1980, Yugo was prosperous, peaceful, & independent ( Olympic Winter Games held in Sarajevo in 1984)

CS1: Yugoslavia – A Nation Divided Despite relative independence from Soviet control, the disintegration of the USSR in the late 1980s had a profound impact on Yugoslavia. The collapse of Soviet communism triggered the fragmentation of the Yugoslav federation into competing ethnic and political groups. After Tito’s death in 1980, Yugoslavia’s various ethnic and religious groups began raising their nationalist voices to demand greater autonomy. Without Tito’s strong leadership, the Communist Party was unable to contain the discord

CS1: Yugoslavia – A Nation Divided By the late 1980s as communism was ending across Eastern Europe & within the USSR, Communist Party in Yugoslavia was also losing grip on power In 1990, multi-party elections were held in the republics and the communists were defeated everywhere except in Serbia and Montenegro. By late 1990, events started that would end Yugoslavia and bring a brutal civil war and ethnic cleansing to this region

CS1: Yugoslavia – The Breakup In June 1991, both Slovenia and Croatia declared their independence & the Serb-dominated Yugoslav army attempted to stop them an keep the country together Militias were formed to defend the newly proclaimed nations & various ethnic communities armed themselves and dug into defensive enclaves. The fighting raged throughout 1991, killing thousands of soldiers and civilians. By the end of 1991 it was clear that the Serbian government had failed to prevent the breakup of Yugoslavia, it was determined to prevent the separation of Bosnia-Hercegovina

CS1: Yugoslavia – The Breakup In 1991 fighting broke out between Serbs & Croats when Croatia declared itself a sovereign state for the Croats (Nationalism) Croatia: 75% Croats 12% Serbs Serbs in Croatia immediately rebelled. Serbia supported the rebels (obviously) & thousands were killed.

CS1: Yugoslavia – The Breakup In a February 1992 referendum, Muslims & Croats in Bosnia- Herzegovina voted to become a sovereign state. This would reduce Serbs in that country to minority status: 44% Muslims 31% Serbs 17% Croats Unwilling to see the largest group of Serbs outside Serbia become a minority within a new country, the government of the Serbian Republic, under Slobodan Milosevic, launched a full-scale assault on Bosnia.

CS1: Yugoslavia – Ethnic Cleansing Serb forces moved into Serbian enclaves in Bosnia-Herzegovina in an attempt to eliminate all Muslims and Croats from these regions. People were driven out of their homes, and houses were systematically burned down to prevent the return of the expelled Muslim or Catholic residents. This policy of forcing ethnic groups out of a region became known as “ethnic cleansing.” By its nature, ethnic cleansing was directed at civilians.

CS1: Yugoslavia – Ethnic Cleansing Millions of Muslims lost their homes. Serbian soldiers forced Muslims out of their homes. Muslims lost their homes, families & property.

Siege of Sarajevo Return to Sarajevo: CBC The National 20 year visit

UN Response To Conflict UN recognized independence of B-H in April 1992. Imposed harsh sanctions on Serbia. Established peaceKEEPING force in Sarajevo to keep relief supplies coming in & uphold (temporary) ceasefires between Serbs & Muslims/Croats. Forces had NO mandate to impose peace or intervene in conflict.

UN Response To Conflict Amid escalating fighting, Yugoslavia was expelled from the UN. It became more dangerous for UN Peacekeepers stationed there. Feb 1994, NATO intervened & bombed a Serbian stronghold in what they deemed a peaceMAKING operation.

UN Response To Conflict Situation became more dangerous as there were now two foreign groups involved in the Bosnian Civil War: UN peacekeeping operation to deliver humanitarian aid & protect civilians NATO peacemaking operation to stop Serbian offensive *Both failed to provide lasting peace Shame of Srebrenica (Video overview of the failure of Peacekeeping to prevent ethnic cleansing

UN Response To Conflict In 1995, the B-H War ended when Milošević signed the Dayton Accord acknowledging a Serb Republic & a Muslim-Croat Federation. War & ethnic cleansing (against Albanians) continued when Serbia invaded Kosovo until NATO forces finally defeated the Serbs in 1999.

UN Response To Conflict Milošević was arrested for war crimes in 2001. His trial at the Hague (international court) went on until 2006 when he was found dead in his cell.

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