Bosnian Genocide
The Bosnian genocide occurred in 1995, an event near the end of their war (1992-1995). The war was between Bosniaks, Serbs, and Croates, because both the Croation and Serbian governments wanted to split Bosnia-Herzegovina; therefore, the Bosniak's choices were to either join Serbia or declare their independence similar to Croatia, both resulting in war (Mojzes 164). The genocide reportedly happened because, "Bosnia's history shows that although all three main groups have traditions of tolerance, extremism dominated in unstable periods. Tolerance, such as there was, was often the result of rule by a foreign power, which forcefully prevented groups from fighting each other," (Dijales). Similarly, the conflict started due to tension between their chauvinistic and nationalistic ideologies (Mojzes 164). Roughly three years before the war, the Serbs had been claiming how they were persistently endangered (Mojzes, 139). Thus, this genocide is alike to the Rwandan genocide because of the tension between two or more cultures and because the killers were extremists. However, the Bosnian genocide is unlike the other two because it had been stopped by outside forces, resulting in it being the shortest, lasting about 3 days, and the least bloody since only 7,500 were murdered (Montgomery 133).
Left: Camila Omanovic (Bosnian genocide survivor), sitting at her husband's grave (Montgomery, 140).
Right: The tombstones of 7,000-8,000 Bosnian Muslim civilians located in the former Olympic soccer field in Sarajevo (Montgomery, 155).
Right: The tombstones of 7,000-8,000 Bosnian Muslim civilians located in the former Olympic soccer field in Sarajevo (Montgomery, 155).