Conflict in the Balkans: 1990s and

Before
1990s Conflicts in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo

Summary of events of the 1990s

In 1990, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Macedonia pushed for

independence from the Yugoslavia. However, Slobodan Milosevic, leader of the
Serbian Communist Party, and Serbian nationalist refused the push for
independence. In 1991, despite this refusal by Milosevic and failed negotiations
between the six republics of Yugoslavia, Slovenia and Croatia declared
independence. Milosevic, using the Yugoslavian army, launched attacks on both
republics. In Croatia Serbian forces were more successful and managed to gain a
significant portion of Croatian land.

In 1992, Serbian forces began their attack on Bosnia-Herzegovina. "Ethnic

cleansing" by the Serbs draws U.S. and NATO attention to the conflict. NATO carries
out the first air strikes in its history in 1994. Fighting finally brings about
negotiations, and on November 21, 1995, the Dayton Accords end the war in
Bosnia.

While the conflict in Bosnia may have been resolved, the question of Kosovo still
remained. At this time, Kosovo was an autonomous province within Yugoslavia (see
map link). Though the majority of the people living in the region were Albanian,
there was a small population of Serbs, who considered Kosovo to be a historically
sacred land. In 1989 Milosevic, in Serbian nationalist fashion, removes Kosovo’s
autonomous status. In 1996, the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) forms and begins
attacks against Serbian leaders in Kosovo. The Serbian forces retaliate, massacring
ethnic Albanians. The U.S., NATO allies, and Russia begin discussing how to settle
the conflict. Madeleine Albright declares "We are not going to stand by and watch
the Serbian authorities do in Kosovo what they can no longer get away with doing in
Bosnia." (see chronology link for specific events). Albanians eventually agree to a
peace plan, but Milosevic refuses. U.S. and NATO forces begin a bombing campaign
to force the Milosevic government to comply.

Milosevic lost the 2000 elections and was later put on trial at the Hague by a
international tribunal for the policy of "ethnic cleansing" he enforced.

The Past in the Present

This most recent conflict in the Balkans reminds us of the previous antagonisms in
the same region. The decline of the Ottoman Empire in the late 1870s brought
conflict to the region. The people of the Balkans wanted independence from the
Empire, while both Austria and Russia wanted the Balkans. In 1876, Serbia and
Montenegro declared war against the Ottoman Empire. They were defeated, but
Russia’s subsequent attack on the Empire by was successful and the Ottomans
were defeated. The Treaty of San Stefano was signed creating a large Bulgarian
state controlled by Russia. The treaty would later be changed to reduce the amount
of Bulgarian land controlled by Russia, giving the rest to the Ottomans. The states
of Serbia, Montenegro, and Romania were given independent status. Bosnia and
Herzegovina were placed under Austrian protection.

From 1908-1913 more conflicts erupted in the region. In 1908 Austria annexed
Bosnia and Herzegovina, thus breaking the provisions of the earlier treaty. The
Serbs were outraged, and along with the support of the Russians, were ready to
attack Austria. However, Kaiser William II intervened and threatened the Russians
and the Serbs with an attack by Germany if they attacked Austria. The Russians
backed down.
In 1912, during the First Balkan War, some of the Balkan states formed the Balkan
League and defeated the Ottomans. It was followed in 1913 by the Second Balkan
War because the victors of the first war couldn’t decide how to split up land.

Attention again returned to the Balkans on June 28, 1914 when Archduke Francis
Ferdinand, heir to the Austrian throne, and his wife, Sophia, were assassinated. The
assassin was Gavvrillo Princip, a young Bosnian activist favoring the creation of a
pan-Slavic kingdom. This event sent off a chain of reactions that lead to the First
World War.

This region has been plagued by numerous conflicts from the end of the nineteenth
century and into the twentieth century. In addition to the events above, the "ethnic
cleansing" of the Albanian also reminiscent of a horrible event of the past: the Nazi
extermination of the Jews.