Republika Srpska (1992–1995)

This is the history of Republika Srpska, one of the two entities comprising Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Overview

See also: History of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Yugoslav wars, and Greater Serbia

The borders of Republika Srpska are, with a few negotiated modifications, based on the front lines and situation on the ground at the time of the Dayton Peace Accords. As such, the entity is primarily a result of the Bosnian war without any direct historical precedent. Its territory encompasses a number of Bosnia and Herzegovina's numerous historical geographic regions, but (due to the above-mentioned nature of the inter-entity boundary line) it contains very few of them in entirety. Likewise, various political units existed within Republika Srpska's territory in the past, but very few existed entirely within the region.

Prior to the Bosnian War

Serbian autonomous oblasts in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1991–1992)

During the political crisis that followed the secession of Slovenia and Croatia from the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia on June 25, 1991, a separate Bosnian Serb Assembly was founded on October 24, 1991, as the representative body of Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Bosnian Serbs claimed that this was a necessary step since the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, at that time, defined that no major changes were to be granted short of a unanimous agreement on all three sides. Bosniaks and Bosnian Croats wanted independence for Bosnia against the Bosnian Serbs’ wishes.

A plebiscite that asked citizens whether they wanted to remain within Yugoslavia was held on November 9 and 10, 1991. The parliamentary government of Bosnia and Herzegovina (with a clear Bosniak and Croat majority) asserted that this plebiscite was illegal, but the Bosnian Serb Assembly acknowledged its results. On November 21, 1991, the Assembly proclaimed that all those municipalities, local communities, and populated places in which over 50% of the people of Serbian nationality had voted, as well as those places where citizens of other nationalities had expressed themselves in favor of remaining in a joint Yugoslav state, would be territory of the federal Yugoslav state.

On January 9, 1992, the Bosnian Serb Assembly adopted a declaration on the Proclamation of the Republic of the Serb people of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Republika srpskog naroda Bosne i Hercegovine). On February 28, 1992, the constitution of the Serbian Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina was adopted and declared that the state's territory included Serb autonomous regions, municipalities, and other Serbian ethnic entities in Bosnia and Herzegovina (including regions described as "places in which the Serbian people remained in the minority due to the genocide conducted against them during World War II"), and it was declared to be a part of the federal Yugoslav state.

From February 29 to March 2, 1992, Bosnia and Herzegovina held a referendum on independence. The majority of Bosnian Serbs boycotted the vote on the grounds that it was unconstitutional because the referendum bypassed the veto power of the representatives of the Serbian people in the Bosnian parliament. On April 6, 1992, the European Union formally recognized the independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Serbian Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina declared its independence on April 7, 1992. On August 12, 1992, the reference to Bosnia and Herzegovina was dropped from the name, and it became simply Republika Srpska.

War in Bosnia

Main article: Bosnian War

Front lines in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1994:

  Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina

  Croatian Defence Council

  Army of the Republika Srpska

On May 12, 1992, at a session of the Bosnian Serb Assembly, Radovan Karadžić announced the six "strategic objectives" of the Serbian people in Bosnia and Herzegovina:

1. Establish state borders separating the Serbian people from the other two ethnic communities.
2. Set up a corridor between Semberija and Krajina.
3. Establish a corridor in the Drina river valley, that is, eliminate the Drina as a border separating Serbian states.
4. Establish a border on the Una and Neretva rivers.
5. Divide the city of Sarajevo into Serbian and Bosniak parts and establish effective state authorities in both parts.
6. Ensure access to the sea for Republika Srpska.

At the same session, the Bosnian Serb Assembly voted to create the Vojska Republike Srpske (VRS) (Army of the Republika Srpska), and appointed Ratko Mladić, the commander of the Second Military District of the Yugoslav federal army, as commander of the VRS Main Staff. At the end of May 1992, after the withdrawal of Yugoslav forces from Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Second Military District was essentially transformed into the Main Staff of the VRS. The new army immediately set out to achieve by military means the six "strategic objectives" of the Serbian people in Bosnia and Herzegovina (the goals of which were reaffirmed by an operational directive issued by General Mladić on November 19, 1992).

The VRS expanded and defended the borders of Republika Srpska during the 1992-1995 war in Bosnia. By 1993 Republika Srpska controlled about 70% of the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina with final agreement (Dayton Agreement) in 1995 appropriating to Republika Srpska control over 49% of the territory.

War Crimes of Bosnian Muslim Army and former Yugoslav Army Muslim officer

Yugoslavian National Army

Rasim Delić began his military career in the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) on 1 October 1967 at the Military Academy for land forces, where he completed his studies there on 31 July 1971. From 1971 to 1985 he served in an artillery division of the JNA based in Sarajevo and from October 1980 to September 1984 as its commander. From September 1984 to August 1985, Rasim served as Chief of Staff and Deputy Commander of a joint artillery regiment. Between August 1985 and July 1990, except for an interruption of about 11 months in 1988/89 when he attended Command Staff School, Rasim was commander of a joint artillery regiment. On 22 December 1987 he was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel.

   * Commander of an artillery division (15 October 1980 – 20 September 1984)
   * Chief of staff and deputy commander of a mixed artillery regiment (21 September 1984 – 27 August 1985)
   * Commander of a mixed artillery regiment (28 August 1985 – 31 August 1988 and 1 August 1989 – 15 July 1990). On 22 December 1987, was made colonel.
   * Chief of Operations in the 4th Corps of the JNA in Sarajevo (16 July 1990 – 13 April 1992)

[edit] Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina

From 16 July 1990 to 13 April 1992, Rasim Delić was Assistant Chief of the Department for Operational and Training Services in the command of the JNA 4th Corps in Sarajevo. He officially requested to leave the JNA on 13 April 1992.

Shortly after 13 April, Rasim was appointed as Head of the Training and Operations Organ of the Territorial Defence of RBiH.

On 16 April 1992, he was ordered to leave Sarajevo and on 19 April he arrived in Visoko, where he worked with a group of TO officers on the formation of units in central Bosnia. Eventually the Visoko Tactical Group was formed, headed by Rasim Delić. By 12 May he also became a member of the Main Staff and on that date was tasked officially with organizing and commanding armed combat activities in various municipalities in central Bosnia.

On 20 May 1992, the TO forces became the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. On 17 October 1992, Sefer Halilović, then Chief of the Main Staff, appointed Rasim Delić as Acting Head of the Department of Operations Planning and Training in the Main Staff. June 3, 1992 this group was named the Operation Command Visoko.

In autumn 1992, the Visoko group was officially named Staff of the Supreme Command – Visoko Department, thus going over the head of the command of the General Staff and Defense Ministry and directly answering to the Presidency and the President.

On 27 April 1993, Sefer appointed Rasim as one of the four officers representing the ARBiH in the joint command of the ARBiH and the Croatian Defence Council (HVO).

On 8 June 1993, the Bosnian Presidency issued the reconstruction of the ARBiH Supreme Command Headquarters to include establishing the post Commander of the ARBiH Main Staff, with Rasim Delić being appointed to that post, thus assuming all control of the ARBiH and becoming a member of the extended RBiH Presidency.

Delic's greatest achievement was to prevent the collapse of the government army in the second half of 1993. That provided breathing space for negotiations, orchestrated by the US administration, which ended the conflict with the Bosnian Croats in March 1994. [edit] Post military and retirement

Delić became the commander of the federation army until his retirement in 2000.

He enrolled in Sarajevo University in December 2004. He finished with the theses „Nastanak, razvoj i uloga Armije RBiH u odbrani Bosne i Hercegovine“ (Creation, expansion, and role of the army of RBiH in the defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina).

He was also involved in some non-profit organizations. He is also the co-founder of Udruženja za zaštitu tekovina borbe za Bosnu i Hercegovinu [edit] War crimes indictment

He was charged with war crimes by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, and given a three year jail sentence.[1] He was sentenced by the Trial Chamber for failure to prevent or punish the cruel treatment of twelve captured Serb soldiers in the village of Livade and in the Kamenica camp near Zavidovići in July and August 1995 at the hands of the Mujahideen. At the time the general was remanded to the Detention Unit until the end of the appellate proceedings.[2][3] [edit] History and the charge

Foreign mujahideen arrived in central Bosnia in the second half of 1992 with the aim of helping their Bosnian Muslim (Bosniak) coreligionists to fight[4] against "enemies of Islam"[4] during the Bosnian war. Mostly they came from North Africa, the Near East and the Middle East. On 13 August 1993, the Bosnian Army officially organized foreign volunteers into the detachment known as "El Mujahid" (El Mudžahid) in order to impose control and order.[4][5]

However, the ICTY Appeals Chamber in Kubura and Hadžihasanović case noted that the relationship between the 3rd Corps of the Bosnian Army headed by Hadžihasanović and the El Mujahedin detachment was not one of subordination but was instead close to overt hostility since the only way to control the detachment was to attack them as if they were a distinct enemy force.[6]

Soldiers of the "El Mujahid" units, committed various war crimes and inhumane dealings with Serb and Croat soldiers, mainly prisoners, the following among others:[7][8]

   * According to the indictment, on 8 June 1993, the same day Delić was appointed commander of the Headquarters, the Bosnian Army imprisoned 200 Croatian soldiers who surrendered after battles in and around the village of Maline. The captured soldiers were ordered by the Military Police of the ABiH 306th Mountain Brigade to march towards the nearby settlement of Mehurići, several miles from Maline. Near the village of Poljanice they met a group of around 10 Mujahideen who took a group of around 20 Croat soldiers and one woman and ordered them to come with them back to Maline. They were all ordered to stand in line after which they were murdered. According to the international prosecutor's indictment Delić was informed about these crimes but did nothing to prevent them or punish the criminals.

   * On 21 June 1995, two soldiers of the Army of Republika Srpska were arrested and soon afterwards beheaded[7] by soldiers of Army of BiH. The indictment states other prisoners arrested on the same day were tortured and then taken to Kamenica Camp. Another Serbian soldier, Gojko Vujičić, was alleged to have been beheaded on 24 July 1995. Other prisoners were forced to kiss the head which was on display in the room they were held in. Various types of torture were practiced in Kamenica Camp, including by electric shock, or causing horrible pain to the subjects by having rubber pipes inserted into their legs and then pumping the tubing up with increasingly higher air pressure.[4]

   * On 11 September 1995 around 60 Serbian soldiers were arrested together with 3 women who were all then transferred to Kamenica Camp. All of the soldiers were never seen again and it is presumed they are dead. It is alleged that 3 women were raped and later freed, on 10 November 1995. However, on 26 February 2008, Delić was acquitted on charges of rape under the Rule 98 bis of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence. According to presiding judge Bakone Moloto, in the course of its case, the prosecution did not lead any evidence on count three related to the rape.[9]

   * Another group of 10 Serbian soldiers was arrested on 10 September 1995. They were all subjected to torture for a period of 12 days.

It was alleged that Delić knew that the Mujahideen and other soldiers of his army intended to commit those crimes and knew that Kamenica Camp was the place those crimes were likely to happen but he did nothing to prevent those crimes.

On 3 March 2005, Delić surrendered voluntarily to International Court. He pleaded not guilty on all accounts. [edit] Trial and verdict

On 15 September 2008, after around 11 months of trial, the court passed the judgment in case of Delić. He was two times temporarily released to Bosnia, the first time in May 2005[10] and the second time during new year break on 11 December 2007.[10] The prosecutors did not have remarks on these decisions.[10] While on his second release, Delić was held in home detention for a while because he spoke with Haris Silajdžić – he was accused of having talked about his case with him, but he claimed he only talked about friends and family.[11]

The prosecutors requested 15 years of jail, while the defence requested his release for his guilt had not been proven. The defence claimed that in critical time he did not have control over Mujahideen so that he had not been in a position to have stopped them or for that matter to have punished them.[12]

The court, however, concluded that Delić was not guilty for crimes over Croatian soldiers in Maline for he had been appointed commander of the headquarters on the same day. He was also found not guilty of cruelty and murder in village Kesten and Kamenica Camp, where Mujahideen were alleged to have killed one old man and 52 Serbian soldiers as well as having tortured another 10. He was found guilty only for one charge for failure to prevent or punish the cruel treatment of twelve captured Serb soldiers in the village of Livade and in the Kamenica camp (three incidents between 1993 and 1995) and he was found not guilty for other accounts.

Although the Mujahideen and Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina soldiers crimes were proven, and it was agreed by the court that he had effective control over that unit during that time, the judges concluded that Delić could not have known about those murders at the time so he could not have stopped them.[12][13]

Delić was sentenced to three years in prison,[12][13][14] with the 448 days already spent in detention counted as part of that sentence.[12]

War crimes

Main article: Serbian war crimes in the Yugoslav Wars

Commander of its armed forces, is on trial for genocide, crimes against humanity, and violations of the laws of war. (Photograph provided courtesy of the ICTY)]]

The prosecution proved that genocide was committed in Srebrenica and that General Radislav Krstić, among others, was personally responsible for that.

Olga Kavran, Deputy Coordinator, ICTY Outreach Programme

Since the beginning of the war, the VRS (Army of Republika Srpska) and the political leadership of Republika Srpska have been accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, ethnic cleansing of the non-Serb population, creation and running of detention camps (variably also referred to as concentration camps and prisoner camps), and the destruction of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian cultural and historical heritage.

Independent observers generally agree that Bosnian Serbs bear the overwhelming preponderance of rapes and other war crimes. Their victims were primarily Bosniaks but also Croats.

In a highly classified report by the CIA that was leaked by the press revealed that: Serbs were the first to commit atrocities, carried out 90 percent of war crimes, and was the only party that systematically attempted to "eliminate all traces of other ethnic groups from their territory".

The gravest of those offenses were the Srebrenica Genocide in 1995, where nearly 8,000 Bosniak men and boys were systematically executed by the VRS, and the long military siege of Sarajevo that resulted in 12,000 civilian casualties.

Ethnic cleansing of non-Serb population was particularly common in the territories of Bosanska Krajina region and Drina river valley. In many instances the procedure was conducted through well organized and efficient bureaucracy set up by the Republika Srpska authorities such as in the case of Banja Luka. Those and other cases of ethnic cleansing dramatically changed the demographic picture of Republika Srpska and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Many Republika Srpska officials were also indicted for creation and running of detention camps, in particular Omarska, Manjaca, Keraterm, Uzamnica and Trnopolje where thousands of detainees were held. Duško Tadić, former SDS leader in Kozarac and a former member of the paramilitary forces supporting the attack on the district of Prijedor, was found guilty by the ICTY of crimes against humanity, grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions, and violations of the customs of war at Omarska, Trnopolje and Keraterm detention camps. In Omarska region around 500 deaths have been confirmed associated with these detention facilities.

According to the findings of the State Commission for the Documentation of War Crimes on the Territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 68.67% or 789 congregational mosques were either destroyed or damaged during the Bosnian War by the VRS and other unidentified individuals from the Republika Srpska. The majority of destroyed mosques had been classified as Bosnian-Herzegovinian national monuments; some, mostly built between the 15th and 17th centuries, were listed with UNESCO as world heritage monuments. Many Catholic churches in the same territory were also destroyed or damaged especially during 1995.

In addition to sacral monuments many secular monuments were also heavily damaged or destroyed by VRS forces such as the National Library in Sarajevo. The Library was set ablaze by shelling from VRS positions around Sarajevo during the siege in 1992.

While the individuals responsible for destruction of national heritage have not yet been found, or indicted, it has been widely reported by international human rights agencies that the "Bosnian Serb authorities issued orders or organized or condoned efforts to destroy Bosniak and Croatian cultural and religious institutions". In other cases such as the Ferhadija Mosque case (Islamic Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina v. Republika Srpska) it was found that: "Banja Luka authorities had actively engaged in, or had at least passively tolerated, discrimination against Muslims on the basis of their religious and ethnic origin." and that "[...] the Serb government [Republika Srpska], had failed to meet its obligation under the Human Rights Agreement to respect and secure the right to freedom of religion without discrimination." A local magistrate ruled that the authorities of the Bosnian Serb controlled town Banja Luka must pay $42 million to its Islamic community for 16 local mosques destroyed during the 1992-1995 Bosnian war.

In 1993, the United Nations Security Council created the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) at The Hague for the purpose of bringing to justice persons allegedly responsible for serious violations of international humanitarian law in the territory of the former Yugoslavia since 1991. On July 24, 1995, the Hague Tribunal indicted Radovan Karadžić and Ratko Mladić on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity; on November 14, 1995, both men were indicted again on charges specific to the Srebrenica massacre. On August 2, 2001, the Hague Tribunal found General-Major Radislav Krstić, the commander of the VRS Drina Corps at the time responsible for the Srebrenica massacre, guilty of genocide. Many other political leaders of Republika Srpska and VRS officers, have been indicted, tried, and convicted by the Hague Tribunal for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the 1992-1995 war in Bosnia. Some of them (including Mladić) remain at large and in hiding.

In 2006, a list of nearly 28,000 individuals who, according to the Republika Srpska authorities, were involved in Srebrenica massacre alone was released; 892 of those allegedly responsible still hold the positions in the local government of Republika Srpska. The arrests and trials of all war crime suspects are ongoing and their trials are planned to be held at the newly established Bosnian Herzegovinian Tribunal for the War Crimes. The trials of all suspected war criminals are expected to last for years to come.

Two days after international judges in The Hague ruled that Bosnian Serb forces had committed genocide in the killing of nearly 8,000 Muslims in Srebrenica in 1995. "The government of the Republika Srpska expressed its deepest regret for the crimes committed against non-Serbs and condemned all persons who took part in these crimes during the civil war in Bosnia" the statement said.

Controversy

Territories controlled by Army of Republika Srpska and Army of Serb Krajina

Various allegations have been made particularly since 2001 with the regard to the level of ethnic cleansing and killings of Serb civilians in the regions controlled by the Bosniak government and de facto Croat government of Herzeg-Bosnia during the war. These allegations claimed that ethnic Serb civilians were killed, including Serbs living in Sarajevo, by the Bosniak and Croat authorities and that Republika Srpska authorities have acted as a response to those alleged crimes.

Killings were allegedly carried out during the chaotic early months of the Siege of Sarajevo before law and order were properly established, as well as by Musan Topalović, a renegade officer outside of army control who was liquidated by the government in the second half of 1993.

As a result of Operation Storm, nearly 200,000 Serbs fled from Croatia and a large portion of them found refuge in Bosnia (especially in Republika Srpska). Also during and after the war (when Dayton Agreement was signed), some Serbs left Sarajevo and other parts of Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina entity particularly after the territorial provisions were enforced to comply with the Dayton agreement. Also many Serbs left Sarajevo after Momčilo Krajišnik, a former president of RS, invited Serbs to live in Republika Srpska entity.

Numerous detention camps were established, and executions occurred, in the parts of Sarajevo firmly held by Serb forces (i.e. Ilidža). Furthermore, various international and state agencies have reported that most Serbs killed in Sarajevo were killed by and from the VRS positions that surrounded Sarajevo and were counted as part of the total 12,000 civilian casualties. Such reports have been backed by forensic analysis and medical records that were kept at the Sarajevo hospitals. No indictments have been filed with ICTY or any other legal agency to consider claims by the Republika Srpska government. On the other hand Stanislav Galić the commander of the VRS forces responsible for the Siege of Sarajevo has been found guilty by the ICTY.

Reforms

See also: Politics of Republika Srpska

After the war numerous laws were passed by the Republika Srpska authorities under the auspices of the international community acting through the Office of the High Representative (OHR). Many laws dealt with the issues and consequences of the war and served to repair some of the problems created such as annulments of ill-fate contracts that required non-Serbs to "voluntarily" turn over their properties to the Republika Srpska including real-estates and businesses taken during the war.

Many constitutional changes were also made to change the social character of the Republika Srpska from mono-ethnic to a multi-ethnic entity and thus including Bosniaks and Croats as constituent people of Republika Srpska. Some of the names of the cities that were changed during the war by the authorities of Republika Srpska were changed back. Most of the changes were done as to retract effects of ethnic cleansing and allow refugees to return, but also as a response to numerous reports of human rights abuses that were taking place in the entity.

However, most of the changes had very little effect on a return of more than a million refugees. Intimidation of returnees were quite common and occasionally escalated into violent riots as in the case of Ferhadija mosque riots in Banja Luka in 2001. Consequently, the views concerning Republika Srpska are different among various ethnic groups within the Bosnia and Herzegovina. For Serbs, the Republika Srpska is a guarantee for their survival and existence as a people within these territories. On the other hand, for some ethnic Bosniaks, who were ethnically cleansed from Republika Srpska, the creation, existence, name and insignia of this entity remains a matter of controversy.

Srebrenica

See also: Srebrenica massacre and Report about Case Srebrenica

In September 2002, the Republika Srpska Office of Relations with the ICTY issued the "Report about Case Srebrenica". The document, authored by Darko Trifunović, was endorsed by many leading Bosnian Serb politicians. It concluded that 1,800 Bosnian Muslim soldiers died during fighting and a further 100 more died as a result of exhaustion. "The number of Muslim soldiers killed by Bosnian Serbs out of personal revenge or lack of knowledge of international law is probably about 100...It is important to uncover the names of the perpetrators in order to accurately and unequivocally establish whether or not these were isolated instances." The International Crisis Group and the United Nations condemned the manipulation of their statements in this report.

In 2004, the international community's High Representative Paddy Ashdown had the Government of Republika Srpska form a committee to investigate the events. The committee released a report in October 2004 with 8,731 confirmed names of missing and dead persons from Srebrenica: 7,793 between 10 July and 19 July 1995 and further 938 people afterwards.

The findings of the committee remain generally disputed by Serb nationalists, who claim it was heavily pressured by the High Representative, given that an earlier RS government report which exonerated the Serbs was dismissed. Nevertheless, Dragan Čavić, the president of Republika Srpska, acknowledged in a televised address that Serb forces killed several thousand civilians in violation of the international law, and asserted that Srebrenica was a dark chapter in Serb history.

On 10 November 2004, the government of Republika Srpska issued an official apology. The statement came after a government review of the Srebrenica committee's report. "The report makes it clear that enormous crimes were committed in the area of Srebrenica in July 1995. The Bosnian Serb Government shares the pain of the families of the Srebrenica victims, is truly sorry and apologises for the tragedy." the Bosnian Serb government said.

In April 2010, a resolution condemning the crimes committed in Srebrenica was rejected by representatives of parties from Republika Srpska.

In April 2010, Milorad Dodik, the prime minister of Republika Srpska, initiated a revision of the 2004 report saying that the numbers of killed were exaggerated and the report was manipulated by a former peace envoy. The Office of the High Representative responded and stated that: "The Republika Srpska government should reconsider its conclusions and align itself with the facts and legal requirements and act accordingly, rather than inflicting emotional distress on the survivors, torture history and denigrate the public image of the country".

External links

• A precarious peace, The Economist, 22 January 1998