Bosnia All Over Again? Kosovan independence is stoking up the same old fears in the Balkans and one of those fears is the threat of military action against the Kosovar Albanian population by Serbia and its proxies within the area. The current situation whilst somewhat different to Bosnia in the 1990’s, has a few key similarities. Then as now a nation wanted to declare independence and there were Serbs residing in Bosnia as they are in Kosovo, though the numbers are smaller. Also, Kosovo holds a religious significance for the Serbs when they defeated the Ottomans around 1390 and the religious significance of Bosnia as being a ‘Christian territory’ was also touted during the bloody campaign against Bosnian forces during 1992-1995. We all know how Bosnia ended, with the siege of Sarajevo, the shelling of civilians and the atrocities in the killing fields of places like Srebrenica. All were conducted in the name of the Serb nation by paramilitaries of Republika Srpska and Serbian regular forces. In the end these killings had nothing to do with religion, but with the power crazed hunger and manipulation of a nation by Slobodan Milosevic.


Within Serbian history, the clash of armies in Kosovo Polje in 1390 was built up as a clash of religions and this thread has been carried through the psyche of the Serbian population. This was manipulated in 1989 through a speech in Kosovo read out by a nationalist and upcoming leader by the name of Slobodan Milosevic who used the historical significance of the battle of Kosovo Polje to build his base and which helped to unleash a xenophobic and highly nationalistic movement in Serbia. We are all aware of the actions of Slobodan Milosevic which brought complete social and financial isolation to Serbia and which the country is still trying to come to terms with.

No why do I raise this? Well, having developed a project 3 years ago which takes Muslims and Jews to Auschwitz and Srebrenica, it is abundantly clear that the impact of what took place in these places is appalling and mentally and spiritually shakes visitors, yet within Srebrenica, many of those who were murdered are still being found in mass graves. Srebrenica which took place only 12 years ago is a reminder of the nationalism that still bubbles within Serbian society, though politically things are obviously different in comparison to the mid 1990’s. Nonetheless, Kosovo is a highly emotive issue and as someone who through the Bridging Beliefs project work understands the horrors of what Serbian paramilitaries inflicted, I hope that we can all continue to watch the situation closely. Numerous cities and towns like Omarska, Srebrenica and Tuzla as well as the siege of Sarajevo are reminders as to how Serbian regular and paramilitary forces attempted to ethnically cleanse large parts of Bosnia of Muslims as well as small Croat populations. However, this does not take away from the positive strides that Serbian politicians and leaders have tried to make, though they have yet to give up Radovan Karadzic and Radko Mladic, those feral beasts of Bosnia who were instrumental in the war crimes against Bosnian Muslims and Croats.

The Balkans and Bosnia also stirred up other communities such as Jewish communities who felt for those Bosnians when pictures of emaciated young Bosnian men in camps were shown on mainstream news channels during the conflict. For example, people forget that many within Jewish communities in the United States and Europe were horrified by these and other pictures like the siege of Sarajevo and mobilised to help mainly Bosnian Muslim enclaves with funds and political lobbying. This should not be forgotten.

On the issue of Kosovo, my hope is that we can support Kosovan independence and the continued presence of NATO troops and never again should another Srebrenica take place. This was the greatest atrocity committed on European soil since the horrors of the Holocaust and the gas chambers. Europe blinked many times when it should have stood firm and it took American intervention to finally rally action.

Finally, whilst I believe that the chances of military action by Serbia are low, nonetheless, it is important that we ensure that the voices of moderation in the region are supported and that those who turn to the force of arms are quickly and effectively disarmed. The end goal in my opinion is Kosovan independence whilst ensuring that Serbian aggression or military instigation by breakaway Kosovar groups does not take place.