EQ6: How has Nationalism caused modern Genocides? Key Terms: Slobodan Milosevic, “Greater Serbia”, Bosnian Civil War, Srebenica, Rwanda, Hutu, Tutsi, Juvenal Habyarimana, RPF, Interahamwe

Yugoslavia after World War I Homeland for Slavs in southern Europe. It consisted of various republics: Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Macedonia, Slovenia and Montenegro

Ethnic and Religious Groups in Yugoslavia Orthodox Christians: Serbians Roman Catholics: Croatians Muslims: Bosnians The groups had distinct customs and religions but spoke the same language. SERBS DOMINATED THE STATE.

Yugoslavia after World War II Josip Broz Tito (Marshall) ruled Yugoslavia with an IRON hand until his death in 1980. Post Tito the economy weakens and age old ethnic conflicts flare up.

In 1991, communism collapsed in Eastern Europe. The power vacuum in Yugoslavia led to civil war and genocide.

Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic stirred up ethnic unrest in his country with his “Greater Serbia” ideology. It was based around the goal of a united Serb state.

Bosnian Civil War 1992-1996 The war erupted between Bosnians, Serbians and Croatians. Serbs living in Bosnia received money and arms from Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic. The Bosnians, who were the majority, did not want the country divided into ethnic regions.

Genocide Slobodan Milosevic led the Serbs and had a huge military advantage. Troops were ordered to gather up masses of Bosnians and shoot them or force them to flee their village.

UN peacekeepers In Srebrenica, U.N. peacekeepers stood by helplessly as the Serbs under the command of General Ratko Mladic systematically selected and then slaughtered nearly 8,000 men and boys between the ages of twelve and sixty - the worst mass murder in Europe since World War II.

Police regularly committed human rights abuses in the form of torture or physical abuse. Detention camps were built. People young and old were thrown in trucks and shipped off to their deaths. Escapees were shot or decapitated if caught.

UN, NATO and RUSSIA work for peace 1995 NATO launched air strikes against the Serbian military in Bosnia.

After the Genocide Up to 200,000 men and boys over 13 years old were killed. Bosnian women and girls were held captive, raped and released when they were pregnant with Serbian babies. The slaughtering was carried out by strict military orders. Thousands of bodies were buried in mass graves. There are still 20,000 people listed as missing in Bosnia.

Kosovo Crisis Kosovo is a province in Serbia sacred to Christian Serbs. 90% of its inhabitants are ethnic Albanians who are Muslim. In 1998, Milosevic stripped Kosovo of its autonomy and established martial law. Ethnic cleansing of Albanians began. NATO held air strikes against Serbs.

Slobodan Milosevic was defeated in the 2000 elections held in Yugoslavia. He was arrested by Yugoslav authorities on April 1, 2001 following a 36 hour armed standoff between police and his bodyguards at his Belgrade villa. Although no official charges were made, Milošević was suspected of abuse of power and corruption.

The US and UN put pressure on the Yugoslav govt The US and UN put pressure on the Yugoslav govt. to put Milosevic on trial. Threatened with economic sanctions, Yugolslavia allowed Milosevic to be extradited. He was sent to the Netherlands to be tried by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity. The trial lasted 4 years. Milosevic died in jail in March 2006 before he could be found guilty and sentenced.

Rwanda

Long ago, Rwanda and Burundi were one nation, inhabited by the Hutu and Tutsi tribes.

The Hutus and Tutsis are two groups of people that settled in present day Rwanda close to two-thousand years ago. Some scientists believe the Tutsis migrated from present day Ethiopia. Over time they worked together and united. They developed a single language (Kinyarwanda) and one set of religious and philosophical beliefs.

The Hutus and Tutsis were farmers and they raised livestock. With fertile soil and regular rainfall, the region eventually became the most densely populated nation on the entire African continent.

A Division Begins In the 18th century, Rwandan leaders began to measure their power in the number of their cattle. The Tutsi were “rich in cattle”. They were the elite and ruling class. On the other hand, the Hutu had less livestock and less power.

Hutus vs. Tutsis The Hutus were the majority – around 85%. But they were considered commoners. The Tutsis were the minority – around 14%. But they were considered the elite, ruling class because of their large estates, large number of servants, and large number of cattle. Tutsi – 14% Hutu – 85%

Although there was some intermarriage, most Hutus and Tutsis married within their tribes. This impacted genetics and the way the two groups looked as generations of offspring took on the characteristics of their parents. Tutsis were often very tall and thin, with narrow features and lighter skin. Hutus were often shorter and stronger, with broader features and darker skin.

Colonization The Germans were the first Europeans to colonize the area in the early 1900s. After Germany’s defeat in WWI, they were forced to give up their colonies. Control of Rwanda was assumed by Belgium.

Belgian officials used the class system to their advantage as a means of control. Favoring the Tutsis because of their more “European” appearance, Tutsis were given power in the government, privileges in society and western education. Both Belgians and the more powerful Tutsis discriminated against the less “European”- looking and underprivileged Hutus.

To ensure their status, the govt To ensure their status, the govt. had every citizen register and carry an identification card. If ancestry could not be proven, Belgian officials measured and inspected the features of people to determine which ethnicity they were. Taller, fairer people were identified as Tutsi, shorter darker people were categorized as Hutu.

Disgruntled after decades of oppression, the Hutus began to act to improve their status. The Parmehutu was formed in 1959, the Party for the Emancipation of Hutus. Later that year, the Hutus rebelled against Belgian colonial power and the Tutsi elite. 150,000 Tutsis fled south into Burundi. In the 1960s, the Belgians withdrew from the land and Rwanda and Burundi were split into two different countries.

Still angry at being repressed and discriminated against for so many years, the Hutus fought the Tutsis. In 1962, the first Hutu president of Rwanda was elected. He was then ousted from power in 1973 by army officer Juvenal Habyarimana, also a Hutu. President Habyarimana instituted a dictatorship in Rwanda.

In the decades that followed, many Tutsis were massacred while others fled Rwanda. A well-known Hutu leader, Dr. Leon Mugesera appealed to the Hutus to send the Tutsis “back to Ethiopia” via the rivers. Other Hutus said that they needed to clean up the “filth” and kill the Tutsi “cockroaches.”

Some of the refugees in Uganda formed the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a political and military group that had the goal of overthrowing Habyarimana and securing their right to return to their homeland.

After decades of fighting and tensions, President Juvenal Habyarimana met with the Rwanda Patriotic Front in 1993. Following months of negotiations, they reached a peace accord in August that allowed Tutsi refugees to return home. 2,500 United Nations troops were deployed to the capital at Kigali to oversee the peace accord.

Despite a peace accord, the Rwandan president stalled in created a unified government in which the power is shared. At the same time, training of militias and violence intensified. A Hutu militia called the Interahamwe was formed. It translates to mean “those who fight together.” An extremist radio station, Radio Mille Collines, began to warn: “it is almost time for us to cut down the tall trees.” (What do you think that meant?) This was code for, “it is almost time to kill all of the Tutsis.”

Human rights groups warned the international community of an impending genocide. In March of 1994, they were forced to flee Rwanda due to the impending calamity. Only the Red Cross stayed behind. Due to the increased violence in Rwanda and world tensions following a Somali crisis, the U.N. also withdrew.

The Genocide Begins On April 6, 1994, President Habyarimana and the president of Burundi, Cyprien Ntaryamira, were shot down in a plane and killed. To this day, no one knows who shot down the president’s plane. There are theories that the Hutus did this and there are theories that the Tutsis did this. That night, Radio Milles Collines declared that it was time to “cut down the tall trees.”

The Interahamwe, at one point 30,000 people strong, slaughtered any Tutsi that came in their path. They encouraged regular Hutu civilians to do the same. In some cases, Hutus were forced to kill their Tutsi neighbors. They were killed primarily with machetes. Some of the Interahamwe were also equipped with knives, clubs, machine guns and explosives. In the span of 100 days, an estimated 800,000 Tutsis were slaughtered.100,000 of these were children.

While the genocide was going on, the world sat back and watched. No troops or aide was sent by the Americans or any other country. The victims were left screaming for help, but no one came.

An End to the Genocide By July, the RPF (Rwandan Patriot Front) captured the city of Kigali. The government collapsed and the RPF declared a cease-fire. As soon as it became apparent to the Hutus that the Tutsis were victorious, close to 2 million fled to Zaire (now the Republic of Congo). On July 19 a new multi-ethnic government was formed, promising all refugees a safe return to Rwanda. Pasteur Bizimungu, a Hutu, was inagurated as president, while the majority of cabinet posts were assigned to Tutsis.

The new government of Rwanda continues to seek justice for the innocent murder of close to a million people. Many people have been tried in court and found guilty of war crimes. 500 have been put to death for their war crimes, and another 100,000 are still in prison.