Blog #13: Ghosts of a Genocide: The Contentious Ethnic Politics of Today's Bosnia

Finishing my last blog, I decided to end with something other than Myanmar, and look towards a conflict that is threatening to resurface in eastern Europe. Back in the 90's there was the ethnic cleansing and genocide of thousands of Bosnian Muslims in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was the largest European massacre since WWII. Still a sensitive topic in the area, there have been certain things in the government put in place by international leaders in order to prevent there from being another conflict like the one in the 90s.

This issue at this time is that the country's High Representative (a foreign overseer with the power) plans to withhold the issuing of the exemption put in place for Bosnian Muslims so that they have a fair representation. After the war, there was a special exemption put in place which stated that Bosnian Muslims who lived there before the war could vote, even if they no longer resided there. This prevented an the majority of Serbs from dominating the political pool in the government.

The problem with the government in Bosnia is that it is still shaky. There is room for corruption to move in and without the exemption, the Bosnian Serbs will take over and things will definitely change. The Bosnian Serbs do not even recognize the fact that the genocide happened. They live in denial, blaming the Muslims for the people they lost, but not recognizing the thousands more Muslims they killed off. If the High Representative does not grant the exemption, the Bosnian Muslims believe it will be the "finalization of a genocide."

Apathy is a scary thing. I think it can really put a person in danger of being taken advantage of. The same thing goes for an apathetic country. Bosnia is still in a delicate state, even over a decade after the war. I cannot imagine living in a place where there is always a fear of power corruption in the back of my mind. There is a reason why certain things within the government were put in place, like the exemption, which are beneficial to the Muslim people and protect their safety. If the Serbs, who are seem to be living in another world, come to power, who knows what will happen.

The US media has really started to take interest in this conflict in their TV shows. Recently I've seen one or two shows that have to do in relation to the genocide in Bosnia. The way the TV shows are done, like "The Closer," are really good representations of the two groups. After reading articles, like this one, on the conflict, I can see how accurate the ideas are portrayed on screen between these two groups.

In the country there is obviously still a feeling of distrust and some hate still there, but hopefully the High Representative will make the best decision. I don't understand why he wouldn't give the Bosnian Muslims their exemption. It's the only way to keep the peace.

http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/04/ghosts-of-a-genocide-the-contentious-ethnic-politics-of-todays-bosnia/256171/