Bosnia: Srebrenica- Safe heaven

In the republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina, conflict between the three main ethnic groups, the Serbs, Croats and Muslims, resulted in genocide committed by the Serbs against the Muslims in Bosnia. Bosnia is one of several small countries that emerged from the break-up of Yugoslavia, a multicultural country created after World War 1 by the victorious Western allies. Yugoslavia was composed of ethnic and religious groups that had been historical rivals, even bitter enemies, including the Serbs (Orthodox Christians), Croats (Catholic) and ethnic Albanians (Muslims). During World War 2 Yugoslavia was invaded by Nazi Germany and was partitioned. Following Germanys defeat, Tito reunified Yugoslavia under the Slogan Brotherhood and Unity, merging together Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, along with two self-governing provinces Kosovo and Vojvodina. In the summer of 1995, Bosnian Serbs massacred thousands of Bosnian Muslims in Srebrenica, which the United Nations had declared a safe heaven and had promised to protect. Over 3,000 people murdered in this act of genocide by Bosnian Serbs, and over 7,000 people remain missing from that town. Secret United Nations correspondence and intercepted Bosnian Serb communications suggest that the United Nations may have played an important role in allowing this massacre to occur. Through use of excerpts from the investigative film safe heaven, this two parts program documents the annihilation of Srebrenica. Part 1 of the program reveals the policy and strategy conflicts among high level United Nations officials that ultimately led to a weakened defense of Bosnian refugees and vulnerability of United Nations peacekeeping forces. It suggests ties between the Bosnian Serbs and Yugoslavian military and shows how United Nations officials were coerced into eliminating air power as a military option for the protection of Srebrenica.

Imtiaz Hussain International Relations Semester (2)