Balkan War essays

Balkan War essays Genocide marked history in the wake of the 1990s, and in the aftermath of the Cold War it affected a dim place that was dubbed by history as the Òpowder kegÓ of Eastern Europe The destruction of Yugoslavia came deep within its core, the cancer that had slowly eaten its way to the top was put there centuries ago. The violence surfaced when Independence movemen ts in former Yugoslavia caused conflicts between ethnic groups of Serb, Bosnian and Croat forces, reaching its climax in the summer of 1991. ÒAlthough Yugoslavia was no stranger to ethnic hate and genocide, what occurred in the summer of 1991 was the largest and most gruesome occurrence of mass murder since World War 2.Ó (Ricciuti, 1993) The term Òethnic cleansingÓ had emerged in the world at the height of the troubles in former Yugoslavia. The ÒcleansingÓ consisted of mass termination of people based on age, sex and religion. The roots of turmoil between the ethnic groups can be traced back to centuries old conflicts over power and territory among the several small nations that had ma de up the former republic. But could the personal interests of former leaders of those areas have caused this war? What about religion? ÒPerhapsÒ, is the answer of many who have documented the war. While politicians argued over the ownership rights of each territory within Yugoslavia, masses of bodies were piling up. ÒBy summer of 1992, at least 10,000 people were killed, by the end of the war estima tes were up to more than 50,000. Thousands of others were wounded, and over 2 million others became refugees.Ó (Ricciuti, 1993) After the body count, many were not convinced that politics and religion had much to do with the hate that was bottled up inside the groups involved. It was much deeper than that, and it seems as though everyone had someone or something to avenge. The motivational goals of corrupt and greedy politicians were only the tip of the iceberg. It is cl...