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| Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosna i Hercegovina Босна и Херцеговина | |
|---|---|
 Flag
 Coat of arms
| |
 | |
| Capital and largest city | Sarajevo |
| Official languages | Serbo-Croatian |
| Dominant mode of production | Capitalism |
| Leaders | |
• High Representative | Christian Schmidt |
• Chairman of the Presidency | Denis Bećirović |
• Members of the Presidency | Željka Cvijanović Željko Komšić |
| Area | |
• Total | 51,209 km² |
| Population | |
• 2022 estimate | 3,434,000 |
Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes shortened to Bosnia, is a country in the Balkans bordered by Serbia, Croatia and Montenegro with a short coast on the Adriatic Sea. It is a de facto colony of the United States and the European Union.[1] The country is split between the Muslim-Croat Federation of Bosnia and the Serb Republic per the Dayton Agreement imposed by the West.[2]
History
Medieval Ages
The first mention of Bosnia arose from the "De Administrando Imperio" by Constantine VII of the Byzantine Empire around the halfway of 10th century, mentioning the "χοριον Βοσωνα" (small or little country).[3] From 12th to 14th century, Bosnia was an independent banate, though the Hungarians saw it as their crown land.[4][5] In 1377, Bosnia became a kingdom under Tvrtko I who brought the Bosnian state to its peak in 1390.[6] However after his death, the kingdom began to decline and slowly succumb to the Ottomans who conquered it in 1463. However, other parts of modern-day Bosnia remained intact until their captures in 1482 (Herzegovina) and 1592 (Bihać).[7]
Ottoman Rule
The Ottomans ruled Bosnia from 1463 to 1878, being a sanjak of the Rumelia Eyalet until the establishment of its own eyalet in 1580.[8] The eyalet lasted from 1580 until 1867 when it became a vilayet under Šerif Topal Osman-paša.
Austrian Rule
At the Congress of Berlin in 1878 Austria-Hungary was authorized to occupy Bosnia and Hercegovina from the Ottoman Empire, converting the region into an Austrian colony. The Dual Monarchy annexed the territory in October 1908 causing a crisis and prompting an increase in revolutionary feeling among the populace. Bosnia-Hercegovina would remain under Austrian rule until the First World War and the collapse of Austria-Hungary in 1918.[9]
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
After being freed from Austrian rule Bosnia became a part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, later called Kingdom of Yugoslavia, but failures to solve social and national questions would later cause demonstrations. After the invasion of Yugoslavia in the Second World War, Bosnia became a centre of rebellion in the national liberation struggle against the fascist occupiers.[9]
SFR Yugoslavia
On November 25th, 1943, a meeting was held by ZAVNOBIH in Mrkonjić Grad in which the People's Republic of Bosnia was proclaimed.[10] Tito supported Bosnian self-determination, saying that they wouldn't have it one way or the other but that Bosnia will be Bosnia.[11][12]
Following the liberation of Yugoslavia in 1945, Bosnia and Hercegovina joined the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia as a people's republic. Agrarian reforms were carried out in 1945, whilst large portions of industry and national infrastructure were nationalized between 1946 and 1948.[9] Bosnia and Herzegovina would remain apart of SFR Yugoslavia until the Yugoslav Wars in the early 1990s that broke up the federation.[2]
Yugoslav Wars
In 1990, the Islamic fundamentalist Alija Izetbegović ran for president and placed second. He became president anyway after negotiating with Fikret Abdić, a member of the same party. Izetbegović refused to step down for the next elections and organized a war of secession, leading Abdić to found the Autonomous Province of Western Bosnia.[2]
Abdić fought against Izetbegović's government and made peace agreements with Bosnian Croats and Serbs. Izetbegović killed hundreds when his forces drove Abdić's followers out of the Bihać region, but Abdić counterattacked and retook the territory before he had to flee from the NATO bombing.[2]
Sarajevo was besieged from 1992 to 1995, making it the longest siege in modern warfare. Numerous massacres were committed, especially the massacres in Markale in 1994 and 1995. Serbian paramilitaries claimed that these were "false flags".[13] In July 1995, Dutch "peacekeeping" troops allowed for Chetnik paramilitaries to kill over 8,000 Muslims in Srebrenica despite it being a "safe zone". However, a court in the Netherlands downplayed it and claimed that only "350 were killed" as a result of the failure.[14]
The Dayton Accords in 1995, which ended the Bosnian Civil War, divided Bosnia into two autonomous entities and reserved many powers to the UN-backed, neocolonial Office of the High Representative.[1]
Government
Bosnia consists of two autonomous entities, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska.[1] However, a non-Bosnian High Representative appointed by the USA or EU rules over both regions and can overrule laws from either government.[2] The Office of the High Representative has passed 140 laws with no democratic support. Milorad Dodik, the president of Republika Srpska, has resisted attempts for Bosnia to join NATO.[1]
Economy
The IMF appointed the first governor of Bosnia's Central Bank and required them not to be a Bosnian citizen. The bank was not allowed to create money for the first six years of its existence.[2]
Demographics
In the early 1990s, the population of Bosnia was 41% Bosniak Muslim, 32% Serb, and 17% Croat. 326,000 Bosnians identified as Yugoslavian rather than with a specific ethnicity.[15]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Bosnia: Republika Srpska stands firm in resisting the push into Nato" (2022-01-08). Lalkar. Archived from the original on 2022-05-25. Retrieved 2022-12-18.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Michael Parenti (2000). To Kill a Nation: 'Bosnia: New Colonies' (pp. 50–52). [PDF] Verso.
- ↑ Mustafa Imamović (1996). History of the Bosniaks (Serbo-Croatian: Historija Bošnjaka) (p. 25). Preporod. ISBN 9789958815003
- ↑ Marko Vego (1982). The Creation of a Medieval Bosnian State (Serbo-Croatian: Postanak srednjovjekovne bosanske države) (p. 104). Sarajevo: Svjetlost.
- ↑ “Medieval Bosnia was founded as an independent state by Ban Kulin (1180-1204).”
Paul Mojzes (2000). Religion and the war in Bosnia (p. 22). Oxford University Press. - ↑ Fine (1994). The Late Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest (p. 398). ISBN 9780472082605
- ↑ Radoslav Lopašić (1890). Bihać and the Bihać Krajina: Geographical and Historical Points with One Geographical Map and Fourteen Pictures (Serbo-Croatian: Bihać i Bihaćka krajina: mjestopisne i poviestne crtice sa jednom zemljopisnom kartom i sa četrnaest slika).
- ↑ “Krajišnik Isabeg imenovan je 1463 sandžakbegom novoustrojenog sandžaka Bosna”
Enciclopedia Croatica (Third edition) (1942) (p. 157). Zagreb: Naklada Hrvatskog izdavalačkog bibliografskog zavoda. - ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 V. G. Karasev, V. A. Pekshev (1979). The Great Soviet Encyclopedia: 'Bosnia-Hercegovina; Historical survey'.
- ↑ "Dan državnosti Bosne i Hercegovine". Historija.ba.
- ↑ "Tako je govorio Tito: Nećete ni jedni ni drugi, nego će Bosna bit’ Bosna" (2021-05-04). Radio Sarajevo.
- ↑ TheKamenicaBoy (March 29th, 2015). ""Bosna će bit Bosna!" Josip Broz Tito". YouTube.
- ↑ Boro Kontić (2024-02-09). ""Markale" - Day of Remembrance in Sarajevo" ForumZFD.
- ↑ Tom Barlow Brown (2019-8-8). "‘It Was Hell’: Dutch Troops Recall Failure to Stop Srebrenica Deaths" Balkan Transitional Justice.
- ↑ Michael Parenti (2000). To Kill a Nation: 'Divide and Conquer' (p. 30). [PDF] Verso.