Bosnia-Herzegovina
Serbo-Croatian Bosna-Hercegovina
Country in central Europe, bounded N and W by Croatia, E by
the Yugoslavian republic of Serbia, and E and S by the Yugoslavian
republic of Montenegro.
Government
The 1974 constitution, which was extensively amended between 1989 and
1991, provided for a bicameral assembly, consisting of a 130-
member chamber of citizens and a 110-member chamber of communes,
and a directly elected seven-member collective state presidency.
An unsettled political situation resulted from the civil war,
on-going from 1991, but the internationally recognized government
continued to operate. In Sept 1995 the warring parties agreed
to a US-sponsored peace proposal, providing for two sovereign
states, a Bosnian Muslim- Croat federation and a Bosnian Serb
state, and in Dec 1995 a peace agreement was formally signed,
providing for a central government, rotating presidency, elected
parliament, and constitutional court for the new united state.
Sarajevo was to remain the united capital, and the Muslim-Croat
federation and Serb republic were to continue as subsidiary entities.
History
Once the Roman province of Illyria, the area enjoyed brief periods
of independence in medieval times; it emerged as an independent
state in the 1180s. It was ruled by the Ottoman Empire from 1463;
although the northern part was annexed to Hungary until 1526.
Austria-Hungary took over its administration 1878 and finally
annexed it 1908. In 1918 it was incorporated in the future Yugoslavia,
and in 1929 divided between four Yugoslavian regions. It came
under Nazi German rule 1941, and Marshal Tito established his
provisional government at liberated Jajce Nov 1943. During World
War II around 12,000 of 14,000 Bosnian Jews were killed, and some
one million Yugoslavs died. Bosnia- Herzegovina, kept undivided
because of its ethnic and religious compound of Serbs (Orthodox
Christians), Croats (Catholic Christians) and Serbo-Croatian-speaking
Slavs (Muslims), became a republic within the Yugoslav Socialist
Federal Republic Nov 1945, after the expulsion of remaining German
forces.
Communist rule
The republic's communist leadership became notorious for its corruption,
racketeering, and authoritarianism, and from 1980 there was an
upsurge in Islamic nationalism. Ethnic violence between Muslims
and Serbs worsened 1989-90. In the Nov-Dec 1990 elections nationalist
parties routed the ruling communists; subsequent divisions within
the Bosnian ruling coalition, formed by the three leading Serb,
Muslim, and Croatian parties, complicated the republic's dealings
with Serbia.
Civil unrest
From the spring of 1991 the conflict between Serbia and Croatia and
civil war in the latter spread disorder into Bosnia-Herzegovina,
with Croats setting up barricades in an attempt to stop the predominantly
Serb Yugoslav National Army (JNA) moving through into Croatia.
In Aug 1991, the republic's president, Alija Izetbegovic, a devout
Muslim, expressed concern that Serbia intended to divide up Bosnia-
Herzegovina between Serbia and Croatia, with a reduced Muslim
buffer state in between, and appealed for support from Turkey
and the European Community (EC). From Sept 1991 border areas began
to fall into Serbian hands and Serbs began to form autonomous
enclaves within the republic.
Independence achieved
In Oct 1991 the republic's ` sovereignty´ was declared by its parliament,
but was rejected by Serbs, who established an alternative assembly
and held a referendum Nov 1991 on remaining in the rump Yugoslav
federation. Muslims and Croats, in alliance in the republic's
parliament, voted Jan 1992 to seek recognition of independence
by the European Community (EC). A subsequent referendum Feb 1992,
requested by the EC, voted overwhelmingly in favour of independence,
but was boycotted by Serbs. Violent ethnic clashes ensued, with
bombings in several Bosnian cities. Despite the worsening situation,
the EC and the USA officially recognized the country's independence
in April, and in May Bosnia-Herzegovina became a full member of
the United Nations (UN).
Continued fighting
In the spring of 1992 Bosnian Serb militia units, led by Radovan Karadzi
c and effectively backed by Serbia, took control of border towns
in E Bosnia and launched attacks on the capital, Sarajevo. As
Croats and Muslims also struggled to gain disputed territory,
a state of emergency was declared. A number of cease-fires were
quickly broken. By the end of May 1992 hundreds had been killed
and hundreds of thousands made homeless. The UN called for the
withdrawal of the JNA and imposed sanctions against Serbia, and
in June 1992 the first UN troops were drafted in to Sarajevo in
an attempt to relieve a three-month Serbian siege of the city
and to ensure the supply of humanitarian aid.
Atrocities reported
Bosnian Serb forces established control over an area stretching from
the NW to the SE, comprising almost two-thirds of the country,
and declared it independent. Croats dominated large portions of
the western part of the country, and subsequently declared an
independent Croatian state. There was increasing evidence of atrocities
being perpetrated, particularly by Serbs. Muslims and Croats were
being forcibly expelled from occupied zones, or killed, as part
of an `ethnic cleansing´ process, and there were reports of `death
camps´ and group slaughter of internees. The UN Security Council
voted to create a war crimes commission and imposed a ban on all
military flights over Bosnia-Herzegovina Oct 1992. The following
month the first British troops were deployed in the area.
Failed Vance-Owen peace plan
From Jan 1993 UN negotiator Cyrus Vance and EC negotiator Lord Owen
urged adoption of a peace plan under which the country would be
divided into 10 substantially autonomous, ethnically controlled
provinces. The plan gained US approval, but the warring factions
disagreed over details. A Bosnian Serb referendum May 1993 overwhelmingly
rejected the plan, while simultaneously endorsing the creation
of a Bosnian Serb state. Fighting continued, with Sarajevo subject
to regular bombardment by Serbian forces. The USA commenced airdrops
of food and medical supplies into war-ravaged eastern Bosnia in
March. By this date an estimated 1.8 million Bosnians, 40 % of
the population, had been made refugees, and at least 130,000 had
been killed in the interethnic conflict since May 1992.
UN `safe areas´ set
In May 1993 six UN `safe areas´ were created - Sarajevo and the Muslim
strongholds of Bihac, Gorazde, Tuzla, Srebrenica, and Zepa - to
provide shelter for Muslim civilians fleeing Serbian aggression.
A further peace plan, based on a division of the country into
three semi -autonomous, ethnic provinces, was abandoned in July.
In Oct 1993 Haris Siladzic, a Muslim and former foreign minister,
became prime minister. A UN ultimatum, issued through NATO Feb
1994, gave warring factions around Sarajevo 10 days to withdraw
their heavy weapons or face airstrikes. The Serbs agreed to withdraw
only after Russia had intervened in the crisis.
Bosnian Muslim-Croat federation agreed
A Muslim-Croat cease-fire in the N followed, and in March 1994, under
US prompting, a Bosnian Muslim- Croat federation was created,
with the long-term aim of forming a confederation with Croatia.
This coalition changed the military balance in the republic, although
Bosnian government forces continued to be deprived of weapons
by an international arms embargo.
UN military intervention
Bosnian Serb forces had meanwhile switched their attentions to Gorazde,
another UN `safe area´. NATO bombing of Serb control positions
April 1994 failed to halt the advance and the Serbs took control
of the city. They later withdrew, against all expectations, after
a second UN ultimatum. By May 1994 22,000 UN troops were deployed
in the republic, with a mandate to `contain´ the fighting, to
airlift relief supplies into starving, isolated eastern Bosnia,
to enforce the `no-fly zone´, and to protect UN `safe areas´.
Serbia withdraws support
In July 1994 the Bosnian Serbs rejected a further peace plan devised
by the USA, Russia, the UK, France, and Germany - collectively
known as the `contact group´. The plan awarded Bosnian Serbs 49%
of territory against the 70% they currently occupied; the remaining
51 % was assigned to the Muslim- Croat federation. Seeking a reduction
in crippling UN sanctions, Serbia had put pressure on the Bosnian
Serbs to accept the proposal; when they failed to do so, it imposed
an economic border blockade against its former allies.
Renewed hostilities
Fighting broke out again around Sarajevo and Bihac in the autumn of
1994. Use of cluster bombs and napalm by the Serbs provoked further
NATO bombing, but after UN personnel were taken hostage, further
strikes were ruled out. The USA announced Nov 1994 that it would
no longer attempt to enforce the arms embargo against Bosnia-
Herzegovina. The following month a four-month cease-fire was negotiated
by former US president Jimmy Carter, intended to take effect 1
Jan 1995.
However, sporadic fighting continued and in April 1995 hostilities
renewed, both sides having taken advantage of the period of relative
peace to regroup and rearm.
In June several hundred UN peacekeepers were temporarily taken
hostage by the Serbs after further NATO action. The West reacted
by sending in a 12,500-troop Rapid Reaction Force to protect the
peacekeepers. Fighting intensified and in July Bosnian Serb forces
overran the `safe areas´ of Srebrenica and Zepa; more than 40,000
Muslims were forced to flee to neighbouring Tuzla and reports
emerged of the mass slaughter of at least 4,000 Muslim men at
Srebrenica. The Bosnian Serbs switched their attentions to Bihac,
another `safe area´, but a surprise offensive by Croat-government
and ethnic Croat troops sent them into retreat. Meanwhile, NATO
had begun a sustained air bombardment of Bosnian Serb command
posts and weapons depots around Sarajevo in retaliation for a
mortar attack on the city's market.
Dayton Peace Accord
With their military machine in a state of disarray, the Bosnian Serbs
agreed for the first time to recognize the sovereignty of the
Muslim-Croat federation, and in Sept the two contending parties
agreed in principle to a US-sponsored peace proposal, leading
to a 60-day cease-fire Oct 1995. This was followed up by the agreement
of the foreign ministers of Bosnia, Croatia, and Serbia to start
negotiations on a new constitution for postwar Bosnia, which took
place at the US air base at Dayton, Ohio in Nov. These culminated
on 21 Nov 1995, in a historic accord, the Dayton Peace Accord,
which allowed the Bosnian Serbs to keep 49% of the land they claimed,
leaving the remaining 51% to the Muslim- Croat federation. It
also provided for the country to remain a single state and for
free, supervised elections, a rotating presidency, the return
of refugees, and the banning from public office of indicted war
criminals. The peace accord was formally signed in Paris Dec 1995
and a 50,000-strong NATO-led force, the Implementation Force (Ifor),
was drafted in to police it, replacing the UN presence.
Bosnian prime minister
Haris Silajdzic resigned as prime minister Jan 1996 in protest at proposals
to reduce the powers of the central government, and was replaced
by Hasan Muratovic. Silajdzic subsequently formed a new political
party, the Party for Bosnia-Herzegovina. In the same month Izudin
Kapetanovic became prime minister of the new Muslim-Croat Federation.
In May 1996, Bosnian Serb prime minister Rajko Kasagic was dismissed
by Karadzic. Dr Biljana Plavsic, a hardliner, took over negotiations
with the international community and Gojko Klickovic, an extreme
nationalist, became prime minister.
War crimes proceedings
In May 1996, proceedings began at the International Criminal Tribunal
for Former Yugoslavia in the Hague against almost 60 men, including
Karadzic, accused of war crimes - the first international war-crimes
trial since the Nürnberg and Tokyo trials after World War II.
Drazen Erdemovic, a 25-year-old Croat who took part in the Bosnian
Serb army massacre of 1,200 Muslims at Srebrenica, was the first
person to be sentenced by the tribunal. He received a ten-year
prison term.
An arms-control accord was agreed by all parties to the Dayton
Peace Accord in June 1996. In July, under the threat of renewed
economic sanctions, Karadzicofficially resigned as president of
the Republica Srpska (Bosnian Serb Republic) and withdrew from
active politics. In elections held Sept 1996 Izetbegovic, the
incumbent Muslim president, received most votes to become the
first head of state, for a period of two years, of the new three-person
presidency, working alongside Serb nationalist Momcilo Krajisnik
and Croat Kresimir Zubak. Biljana Plavsic was elected president
of the Republika Srpska.
In Oct 1996 full diplomatic relations were opened with Yugoslavia
and in Nov in the the Republica Srpska a new government was formed
headed by Prime Minister Gojko Klickovic.
In Dec 1996 the 31,000-strong NATO-led Stablization Force (Sfor)
replaced Ifor. It included troops from the USA, UK, Germany, France,
Russia, Norway, and Turkey, who would work in the country for
18 months alongside a UN civilian operation.
Return of refugees
The UN High Commission for Refugees reported in Dec 1996 that fewer
than a third of the expected 870,000 Bosnians returned home in
the first year of peace. The UNHCR stated that it would apply
pressure to increase the homeward flow of refugees in spring 1997
as long as conditions were safe, even if the refugees wanted to
stay in the host country.
In Dec 1996 the Bosnian Croat para- state of Herceg-Bosna and
the Bosnian Republic government ceased to exist as all powers
were transferred to a new Muslim-Croat Federation, with Edhem
Bicakcic as prime minister. In Jan 1997 Haris Silajdzic (a Muslim
and former prime minister of the Bosnian republic) and Boro Bosic
(a Serb) were appointed as co-chairs of the all-Bosnian Council
of Ministers; Neven Tomic (a Croat) became deputy chair.
In March 1997 the Serb-dominated part of Bosnia signed a joint
customs agreement with Yugoslavia, an arrangement it does not
have with Bosnia's Muslim-Croat federation.
In August 1997 international peace- keepers moved to Banja Luka
in NW Bosnia to block a possible coup by police opposed to Biljana
Plavsic, the elected president of the Bosnian Serb mini-state.
The operation, in which British and Czech ground troops disarmed
Bosnian Serb police opposed to Plavsic, was a clear intervention
in what might have become a civil war between Bosnian Serb factions.
The UN's International Police Task Force seized 2,500 illegally
held arms and a quantity of bugging equipment.
The Peace Implementation Council, servicing Bosnia's post-war
constitution and administering its multiple presidencies, parliaments
and local councils, met in Bonn, Germany, Dec 1997. Two years
after the Dayton agreement, a 51- nation meeting was told that
it was likely that there would be need for greater, not lesser,
international involvement.
The pro-Karadzic Serbian Democratic Party won the most seats
in Bosnian Serb elections in Dec 1997 but lost its overall majority.
The Serbian Radical Party, it most likely ally, tied in third
place with Biljana Plavsic's Serbian National Alliance, at 15
seats each. Second came the Muslim-dominated Coalition for Bosnia-Herzegovina,
with 16 seats, mainly from refugees' absetee votes. A coalition
government was formed Jan 1998 led by Milorad Dodik, the pro-Western
leader of the Independent Social Democrats, who was nominated
by Plavsic.
Representatives of 51 countries in Bonn, Germany, approved a
document Dec 1997 which gave wide powers to Carlos Westendorp,
the chief co-ordinator in Bosnia. Under the new rules, Westendorp
would be able to undertake decisions that would normally be in
the remit of the Bosnian government.
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