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Home , Bosnian War, Brioni Agreement, Gideon Greif, Mirko Norac, Slobodan Praljak, Yugoslav Wars

Yugoslav 1991-2001

Prof. Ljiljana Markovic, PhD Dean and Full Professor Faculty of Philology University of () The Socialist Federal Republic of (SFRY) – facts and figures • federation of six socialist republics: and , , Macedonia, , Serbia and • Autonomous Provinces: and • covered territory measuring as much as 255,804 km² • neighboring countries: and (north), Italy (west), Bulgaria and Romania (east) and and (south) • jug – south and Slavija- land of the Slavs • followed the collapse of in • the - a series of • atrocities committed by all former members Former Yugoslavia – Map and Symbols Some aspects of the Yugoslav conflicts’ historical background • SFRY was founded in the aftermath of WWII • conflicts during WWII between nations that later became part of SFRY are important to grasp • difficult and complex relationships that existed between Croatia and Serbia • result of the extreme anti-Serbian campaign that started as early as in 1700 in Croatia • atrocities committed during WWII by the members of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) against the Serbian population • The Concentration Camp Jasenovac The beginnings of Serbophobia and Anti- Serbian rethorics • November 13, 1700, Ambroz Kuzmić: “It would be better to slaughter all Vlachs, rather than allow them to settle here (…) Neither His Imperial Majesty, nor the noble state will ever be at peace with them.”

• In 1890, Ante Starčević : “There are three levels of perfection: that of the animal, that of comprehension, and that of reason. Slavo- have not quite reached the first level, and cannot rise above it.” WWII and Ustashe Movement

• In 1941, Alojzije Stepinac (1898-1960) - Archbishop of and military minister of the Holy See in the NDH, gave his blessing to Ante Pavelić, a Croatian fascist politician, founder and leader of the extreme right-wing of the Ustashe movement

• Michael Freund, Jerusalem Post journalist: “the Independent State of Croatia was headed by the demonic Ante Pavelic, leader of the (…) Ustashe movement, which vowed to rid the country of Serbs, Jews and other minorities” The horrific nature of Concentration Camp Jasenovac in Croatia • Jelena Guskova, member of RAS: o Jasenovac, the largest factory in the during WWII o occupied more than 240 square kilometers o Ustashe killed about 700,000 Serbs, Jews and Roma o Jasenovac is the third concentration camp in Europe, after Auschwitz and Treblinka (number of victims) o judging by the cruelty, horror of the atrocities committed in that concentration camp, the manner of and liquidation of prisoners, it is not comparable to any other concentration camp that existed during World II Stone Flower Monument at Jasenovac and Commemoration Plaque to 700,000 victims The Hell of Jasenovac

• November 11, 1942, Arthur Hefner, a German transport officer of laborers to the Reich: “The concept of the Jasenovac camp should actually be understood as several camps which are several kilometers apart, grouped around Jasenovac. Regardless of the , this is one of the most terrible of camps, which can only be compared to Dante Alighieri’s Inferno”

• in 1942, Glaise von Horstenau, Hitler’s representative in Zagreb: the Ustashe camps in the NDH are “the essence of horror” The goal of Jasenovac concentration camp: total extermination of Serbian population • Ustashe committed numerous mass slaughters of Serbian population during WWII • example of incitement to mass killings of Serbs by Friar Srećko Perić :

„Brothers , go and slaughter all Serbs. First, cut the throat of my sister who married a Serb, and then all other Serbs. As soon as you finish this job, come to me to church for confession, where I will give you a blessing and communion so that all your sins will be forgiven.“ Jasenovac -the only concentration camp for children in the whole of occupied Europe

• Mile Dasic’s book From the Cradle to Jasenovac • Diana Budisavljević nee Obexer • a humanitarian of Austrian descent who rescued 15,336 children from the Ustasha death camps in the NDH during World War II • Serbian children from Kordun, Kozara, Croatian and Bosnian villages • 3,254 children died during the rescue or immediately after leaving the camp Diana Budisavljevic - Heroine from Innusbruck

Diana Budisavljevic herself risked a lot in order to help Serbian children. While visiting the camps, she got infected with the diseases that plagued the camps and killed children. She survived typhoid fever and experienced three nervous breakdowns. USHMM Collections - Holocaust Memorial Museum

A large group of young Serbian children from the Kozara region who are dressed in Ustasa uniform – Stara Gradiska Concentration Camp, Jasenovac. Some of them might have fought against the Serbs in Yugoslav Wars. The beginning of Yugoslav Wars

• political, ethnic, religious, and economic tensions within Yugoslavia started reappearing upon the death of Yugoslav president in 1980

• however, the official breakup of the SFRY began in the period from June 27, to , 1991, when one of its federal republics - Slovenia carried out unconstitutional from SFRY The Ten-Day War in Slovenia

• June 25, 1991 - Slovenian parliament made an unconstitutional decision to declare independence from Yugoslavia • Yugoslav People’s Army (JNA) was the military of the entire SFRY - all male citizens were subject to , regardless of nationality • JNA was of multinational and multiethnic character • its role was to defend the Federal Constitution of SFRY and the country’s borders • independence was not in line with the Federal Constitution of SFRY - JNA was instructed to protect the borders of the country The mediating role of European Community

On 23 June 1991, as Slovenia and Croatia prepared to declare their independence during the breakup of Yugoslavia, the European Community (EC) foreign ministers decided the EC member states would not extend diplomatic recognition to the two states. The EC viewed the declarations as unilateral moves and offered assistance in negotiations regarding the future of the SFR Yugoslavia instead. The

• conflicts between JNA and Territorial Defense Force of Slovenia ended by signing The Brioni Agreement • result of the European Community’s efforts to mediate conflicts in the region • signed on July 7, 1991 • JNA and TDS agreed to return to their basis • Slovenia became in of protecting its borders • both Croatia and Slovenia agreed to suspend any activities related to their declarations of independence for three consecutive months Perception, Deception and Dishonesty

Brandon O’Shea, former EU monitor on the ground, highlights :

 the duplicitous behavior of all parties to the conflict

the double standards by the United States in its foreign policy

the contempt in which UN peace- keepers were ultimately held by all sides The end of The Ten-Day War in Slovenia

• the of the JNA military basis in Slovenia • units of TDS of Slovenia, led by Janez Janša and Igor Bačva, killed 44 members of JNA, wounded 146 of them and captivated as much as 5,000 of them • soldiers were mostly between 18 and 23 years of age • conscripted as part of compulsory military service • reasons why the war lasted barely ten days:

1. JNA soldiers were not motivated enough to fight against their own countryman 2. JNA did not have clear guidelines how to act when the enemy is someone within the borders of SFRY Serbian population in former Yugoslav republics: facts and figures • wars in Croatia and B&H were by far more complex than the one in Slovania

• Serbs in both of these republics were more numerous • Serbs in Slovenia in 1991 - 47,097 (2.5%) • Serbs in Croatia in 1991 - 581,663 Serbs (12.2%) • Serbs in Croatia in 2011 – 186,633 (4.4%) • reduced by more than two thirds after 1995 • Serbs in B&H in 1991 - 1,366,104 (31.21%) • many Serbs declared themselves as ! The beginning of the War in Croatia

• prior to the war, the Serbs were a constitutive people of the federal republic of Croatia • it began already on August 17, 1990, when the Croatian police prevented Serbs to carry out a • followed by the unconstitutional secession of Croatia • new constitution was ratified in December 1990 by the Croatian Parliament • Serbs were listed with other minorities • they began to fear of what could happen to them once the country has declared independence – the old wounds Croatian Serbs and their fight for independence • Croats - March 1, 1991 in Pakrac • International Community – March 31, 1991 - – one killed on each side • Croats / Croatian Serbs / JNA • Croatian Serbs formed The Republic of Serbian • the aim - to gain independence from Croatia • this quest for independence resulted from the fear of losing their homes • attempted in order to prevent what indeed happened in 1995 - The The Republic of Serbian Krajina (1991-1995) Serbian casulties during the War in Croatia

• UN forces were deployed across the territory where the Serbs were the majority • while Croats carried out mass liquidations of Serbs living on the territory they reigned over • Sabrina Ramet, within the textbook published in 2010 - Central and Southeast European Politics since 1989 • only in Sisak and Osjek some 200 Serbian were murdered during 1991 • Dr. Milan Bastašić – 300 Serbs killed in Sisak • 280 Serbian civilians from Zagreb killed at the Pakrac Field Confession of Croatian “Ustasa” Extremist about of Serbs in Croatia

• a gruesome confession by Miro Bajramovic, ex. member of Mercep's Unit, • he talks about crimes done by him and his soldiers in the area of Pakrac, Gospic, Zagreb, Slanog, etc.

“I killed with my own hands 72 people, among which 9 women”

*This text was first published in Croatian magazine "Feral Tribune" on September 1st, 1997, now there is an online version of it offered by CNN as an ireport The Gospić massacre

• confession is treated as part of the Gospić massacre • presents the crimes committed by the Croatian Autumn Rains paramilitary unit • shameful that there was no formal investigation until 2000 (three years upon the confession was given) • only when three former Croatian intelligence and military police officers informed the ICTY • ordered by Tihomir Orešković and Mirko Norac • found guilty of the crime and sentenced to 14 and 12 years in prison in 2004 The Operation Medak Pocket

• in the midst of these horrific crimes • European Union has recognized Croatia as an independent state on the 15 th of January 1992 • on May 22, 1992 Croatia became UN member state • The Operation Medak Pocket (September 1993) • ICTY - at least 100 Serb civilians had been killed and many others had suffered serious injuries • many of the victims were women and elderly people • even Canadian UNPROFOR personnel was forced to exchange heavy fire with the Croats in order to stop further killings of Serbian civilians The Operation Storm - mass killings and expulsion of Serbs from Croatia • 1994- Croatian forces decided to focus on Bosnia and its borders with the Republic of Serbian Krajina • aim: to surround it and make it easier to carry out plans for mass killings and expulsion of Serbs • (1-3 May 1995) • Operation Storm - from the 4 th to 7 th of August 1995 • Serbia mourns this event as the biggest ethnic cleansing since WWII • Croats celebrate it as the day when they were “liberated” • the testimony of Anka Bjelivuk Prof. Dr. Gideon Greif – Historian of Period, Specialist on Auschwitz and the “”, Chief Historian at the Shem Olam Institute The distortion of historical facts in favor of Croatian historiography is particularly damaging in light of repeated Croatian crimes against Serbian civilians during the nineties, (...) as was the case in the military operations “Flash” (Bljesak) and “Storm” (Oluja) when 250,000 of members of Serbian nationality were expelled and over 2,000 people were murdered or went missing. The War in

• War in B&H is even more complicated than the one in Croatia as it involved three dominant groups: () /Croats / Serbs • no single majority nation • started on the 1 st of March 1992 • The Bloody Wedding Incident • an independence referendum in B&H - between 29 February and 1 March 1992 • The War in B&H ended on the 14 th December 1995 • by signing the Dayton Accords The Bloody Wedding Incident – From the Wedding Procession to the Funeral Massacres carried out by Bosniak and Croatian forces in B&H • May 11, 1992, eight JNA soldiers were taken by Muslim forces from Krupa, municipality of Hadžić, to Tarčin • Silos – the concentration camp for Serbs • 600 people have been captivated and tortured in this camp, 24 of whom died • May 25, 1992, both Muslim and Croatian soldiers attacked Serbian village Bradina in • 38 Serbs were killed and five Serb women were raped • next couple of days 20 Serbs were killed, while 200 of them were taken to the Čelebići and Musala concentration camps The Bloody in

• , 1993, Muslim forces carried out the massacre in Kravica, which was led by the notorious Naser Orić • planned by Hamed Salihović and Ramiz Bećirović • deliberately took place on the day of the Orthodox Christmas • attack was carried out by military units from • 49 Serb civilians were killed and 80 were wounded • Orthodox priest was also murdered • the youngest victim – Vladimir Gajić (4) • the oldest victim – Mara B. (84)

Our Testimony - Women Victims of War from the Republic of Srpska 1992-1995

 recounts of 15 Serbian women who were subjected to torture during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina

 breaking the year-long bias and unilaterality in identifying the victims and culprits of the war in B&H Kosovo- the most painful Serbian topic • the essence of Serbian statehood and the epicenter of its spiritual identity, which dates back to the 12th century • statistical demographic data between the 13th and 18th centuries - the Serbs were majority in Kosovo • Austrian physicist Joseph Müller (1838) • Austrian Peter Kukulj (1871) - out of 500,000 inhabitants in Kosovo, 400,000 of them were Serbs • during WWII, Albania occupied Kosovo, killing 10,000 Serbs and ethnically cleansing 100,000 Serbs • census conducted in 1946 - 287,000 and 127,000 Serbs in Kosovo • since 1945, Kosovo is the province of RS The beginning of the War in Kosovo

• KLV, i.e. OVK was founded and as a terrorist organization it attacked Serbian police units and state institutions • The War in Kosovo started on March 5, 1998, when the KLA attacked the Serbian police in Drenica • The KLA dominated over 40% of the Kosovo’s territory • although there were numerous Serb , the world's media only showed 65,000 Albanian refugees • without waiting for a decision of the UN Security Council • NATO decided to start bombing of Serbia on March 24, 1999 • The Operation Merciful Angel lasted for 77 days NATO BOMBING: facts and figures

• 1,300 cruise missiles with 37,000 cluster bombs were used, as well as ammunition for bombing targets, which is prohibited under the Geneva Convention • 25,000 housing units were destroyed, 470 km of roads, 595 km of railway tracks, 14 airports damaged, 19 hospitals, 20 health centers, 18 kindergartens, 69 schools, 176 cultural monuments, 44 bridges, etc. • material damages are estimated to 100 billion US dollars • number of victims range from 1,500 to 4,000 persons • 1,008 members of and police were killed IMAGES OF NATO BOMBING The Kosovo Maiden by Uroš Predić International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) • UN body with its seat in , • established on May 25, 1993 • prosecute war criminals having committed war crimes during the Yugoslav Wars • tribunal will cease to work on December 31, 2017 • many of its decisions contested by Serbia (Naser Oric) • 68% of indictees have been Serbs () • only 32% Croats, Bosniaks, Albanians and Macedonians • transferring the majority of guilt towards Serbia • perpetually opening the old wounds of victims and their families ICTY: Conclusions and Comments

• final day of deliberations for the ICTY was on November 29 - date when the former Social Federal Republic of Yugoslavia celebrated its Republic Day • former HVO general of Herzeg-Bosnia • accused for being part of a joint criminal enterprise aimed at ethnically cleansing parts of B&H of Muslims • drank the poison in the midst of the sentencing in ICTY court and died shortly afterwards! • amongst other things, Praljak was accused for not acting upon information that the ’s Old Bridge will be destroyed The destruction of the Old Bridge in Mostar International sanctions and unprecedented economic decline of FRY • 1990s- – a number of international sanctions • leaving the country’s industry almost entirely destroyed • during the – UN embargo • ended by signing the • during and upon the – sanctions by the UN, European Union and United States • after the fall of Slobodan Milošević sanctions were lifted • GDP dropped from $24 billion (1990) to below $10 billion (1993), and only $8.66 billion (2000) • poverty was at its highest in 1993, when as much as 39 percent of the population lived on less than $2 per day Yugoslav Wars and Anti-Serbian Propaganda

• Yugoslav wars were amongst the first ones where media coverage of terrible events was one-sided and biased • Brendan O’Shea, among other things, indicates the lengths to which the government manipulated the international media to promote a 'victim' status • the truth is that all parties involved committed horrific crimes against their former brothers and neighbors • but Serbs were demonized by the media in particular • result: general public is under impression that Serbs did not live on the territory of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina prior to these wars Prof. Barry Lituchy - teaches European, US and World history at Medgar Evers College in the City University of New York

The fact that hardly anyone in the American or European media reported on or took seriously the plight of Serbian victims of war crimes is certainly comparable in its infamy, or should be, to the deliberate disregard of victims of any other massive humanitarian tragedy, be they Armenian, Jewish, Roma or Rwandan. There should not be no classification of victims as more important or less important victims. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION