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91-462: The so-called anti-bureaucratic revolution of Serbian leader Slobodan Milošević aimed at strengthening of Yugoslav federal institutions triggered condemnations and separatist response in Slovenia and Croatia . This in turn provoked security dilemma among at the time numerous Serbs of Croatia community which strongly opposed any move towards Croatian independence if it will separate them from

182-422: A Hungarian, am not afraid of Serbia?". The provincial leadership, led by Milovan Šogorov , Boško Krunić and Živan Berisavljević , were caught by surprise. Before the event, they tried to compromise and negotiate with Milošević, expressing cautious support for the constitutional changes while trying to keep their and Vojvodina's position intact. However, the avalanche of media campaign orchestrated from Belgrade

273-553: A clear Bosniak and Croat majority) asserted that this plebiscite was illegal, but the Bosnian Serb assembly acknowledged its results. On 21 November 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 in favor of remaining in a joint Yugoslav state, would be territory of the federal Yugoslav state. On 9 January 1992,

364-558: 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 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

455-642: A non-partisan institution, found that Serb casualties in the Bratunac municipality amounted to 119 civilians and 424 soldiers. Some Serb sources maintain that casualties and losses during the period prior to the creation of the safe area gave rise to Serb demands for revenge against the Bosniaks based in Srebrenica. The ARBiH raids are presented as a key motivating factor for the July 1995 genocide. The Army of

546-853: A number of war crimes committed. In the effort to preserve the peace in the region European Community limited the recognition of post-Yugoslav entities exclusively to previously established Yugoslav federal units (republics) in their administrative borders and explicitly discouraged it in case of any new secessionist region while at the same time it conditioned recognition of republics with credible minority rights guarantees. Serb Autonomous Regions in Croatia therefore failed to ever gain any formal international recognition. The Serb Democratic Party established SAOs in Serb-inhabited territories. Between September–November 1991, six entities had been proclaimed. The Serbs set up their own parliament, having left

637-535: A populist campaign started in Serbia against this situation, which it described as untenable. Provincial leaderships were being accused of bureaucratic inefficiency and alienation from the people. Popular slogans like "Oh Serbia in three parts, you will be whole again" ( oj Srbijo iz tri dela ponovo ćeš biti cela ) caught on. The atmosphere was further stirred up by numerous articles and readers' letters in Serbian press,

728-517: A significant political role. The new younger cadre led by Momir Bulatović , Milo Đukanović and Svetozar Marović , became the new leadership, strongly allied with Milošević in the years to come. The League of Communists of Montenegro was subsequently transformed by the "triumvirate" who had full control over the (Socialist) Republic of Montenegro into the Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro , which stayed in power until 2020 when it

819-541: A unanimous agreement on all three sides. The Party of Democratic Action (SDA), led by Alija Izetbegović, was determined to pursue independence and was supported by Europe and the U.S. The SDS made it clear that if independence was declared, Serbs would secede as it was their right to exercise self-determination. In the fall of 1991, the SDS organised the creation of " Serb Autonomous Regions " (SAOs) in Bosnia where Serbs formed

910-588: A year of street protests and changes of party leaderships in Yugoslavia's provinces who were replaced by Milošević loyalists. Serbia's Borisav Jović (at the time the President of the Presidency), Montenegro's Nenad Bućin, Vojvodina's Jugoslav Kostić and Kosovo's Riza Sapunxhiu , started to form a four-member voting bloc in the eight-seat presidency. The reduction of provincial autonomy of Kosovo - but not

1001-547: 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

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1092-529: The 1974 Yugoslav constitution , the two autonomous provinces of Serbia (Vojvodina and Kosovo) were largely independent from the central Serbian government, with both of them holding a seat in the Yugoslav Presidency, on par with the six constituent republics of Yugoslavia. In effect, their status was almost equivalent to the republics', which enabled provincial leaderships of Kosovo and Vojvodina to lead independent policies. In late 1987 and 1988,

1183-583: The Bosnian War . 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. In 1993 and 1994, the authorities of Republika Srpska ventured to create the United Serb Republic. Since the beginning of the war, the VRS ( Army of Republika Srpska ) and

1274-638: The League of Communists of Yugoslavia 's Serbian branch in September 1987, when his faction won over its opposition, led by Ivan Stambolić . His rise to power coincided with Serbo-Albanian tensions in Kosovo, as Kosovo Serbs felt oppressed by Albanians and the Albanian-dominated leadership of the province. The tensions were further boosted by inflammatory reports in the Serbian media. According to

1365-703: The Serb Democratic Party (SDS) formed the Assembly of the Serb People of Bosnia and Herzegovina as the representative body of Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina and declared that the Serb people wished to remain in Yugoslavia. 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

1456-668: The Yugoslav People's Army to impose martial law . When Sapunxhiu 'defected' from his faction in the final vote, Jović briefly resigned and returned, Bućin was then replaced with Branko Kostić , and Sapunxhiu with Sejdo Bajramović , which effectively meant that the presidency was deadlocked. Soon after that, the country descended into escalations which led to Yugoslav Wars . Republika Srpska (1992%E2%80%9395) Republika Srpska ( RS ; Serbian Cyrillic : Република Српска , lit.   ' Serbian Republic ' , pronounced [repǔblika sr̩̂pskaː] )

1547-471: 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

1638-688: The 1992–1995 Bosnian war . 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 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

1729-702: The Bosnian Serb assembly adopted a declaration on the Proclamation of the Republic of the Serb people of Bosnia and Herzegovina. On 28 February 1992, the constitution of the Serbian Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Serbian: Srpska Republika Bosna i Hercegovina / Српска Република Босна и Херцеговина) 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

1820-637: The Bosnian parliament in October 1991. The Serb parliament proclaimed the "Serb Republic" ( Republika Srpska ) on 27 March 1992. Anti-bureaucratic revolution President of Serbia and Yugoslavia Elections Family The anti-bureaucratic revolution ( Serbian : Антибирократска револуција , romanized :  Antibirokratska revolucija ) was a campaign of street protests by supporters of Serbian leader Slobodan Milošević that ran between 1988 and 1989 in Yugoslavia . The protests overthrew

1911-519: The CBCG's lack of foreign exchange assets. Afterwards, Republika Srpska did not form its own currency and continued to use the Yugoslav one. In 1999, it adopted the convertible mark . Unemployment was a major problem which the war exacerbated. Nearly a third of the workforce was in industry, mining and energy and the pre-war non-agricultural unemployment rate was at 27%. In 1996, UNESCO estimated that

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2002-640: The Central Committee of SKJ , Boško Krunić, resigned and was replaced by Stanko Radmilović , while the President of the Central Committee of the SKV , Milovan Šogorov, resigned and was replaced by Bogosav Kovačević. The rally in Belgrade , at Ušće (the large field at confluence of Sava River into Danube ) was held on 19 November 1988. According to the state press, it gathered about a million people, and according to others, several hundred thousands. It

2093-533: The Federation. In 1992-1993, the curriculum of Republika Srpska underwent changes to conform more towards Serbia. Adaptations were made in the subjects of history, social sciences, history and geography while religion became compulsory. In 1996, education was 6.1% of the Republika Srpska budget. There were 90 secondary schools and 54 vocational schools. The University Act of 23 July 1993 propelled

2184-605: The July 1995 crime committed against Bosniaks. In 2005, The ICTY Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) noted that the number of Serb deaths in the region between May 1992 and March 1995 alleged by the Serbian authorities had increased from 1,400 to 3,500, a figure the OTP stated "[does] not reflect the reality", particularly the labeling of all casualties as "victims". Studies show a high number of military casualties compared to civilian. The Sarajevo -based Research and Documentation Centre ,

2275-526: The League of Communists of Kosovo Mahmut Bakalli decided in response to ask the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) to bring tanks onto the streets. Police reinforcements from Central Serbia were stopped by a roadblock and then Albanian demonstrators took hostages from thirty-four houses of Serbs and Montenegrins, demanding that these police forces leave Kosovo in exchange for the release of the hostages. Only after additional police forces from Priština arrived were

2366-511: The Republika Srpska (VRS) was founded on 12 May 1992 from the remnants of the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from which Bosnia and Herzegovina had seceded earlier in 1992. When the Bosnian War erupted, the JNA formally discharged 80,000 Bosnian Serb troops. These troops, who were allowed to keep their heavy weapons, formed the backbone of

2457-572: 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

2548-439: 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

2639-550: 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 19 November 1992). The VRS expanded and defended the borders of Republika Srpska during

2730-615: 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 29 February to 2 March 1992, Bosnia and Herzegovina held a referendum on independence that was boycotted by Bosnian Serbs, in which 99.7% voted in favor. On 6 April 1992, the European Union formally recognized the independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Serbian Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina declared its independence on 7 April 1992. On 12 August 1992,

2821-471: 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

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2912-484: 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 ,

3003-498: 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

3094-644: The VRS was General Ratko Mladić. The VRS was organized into six geographically based corps. During the first two years of the war, Republika Srpska issued its own unique currency, the Republika Srpska dinar . This currency was pegged to the Yugoslav dinar . The Serb, Croat and Bosniak authorities all issued their own dinar currencies in the territories they controlled, printing large excess of money to finance their operations which resulted in high inflation. The electronic payment system of Republika Srpska

3185-482: The VRS, and the long military siege of Sarajevo that resulted in 12,000 civilian casualties. A highly classified report by the CIA which was leaked by the press claimed that Bosnian Serbs were the first to commit atrocities, carried out 90 percent of war crimes, and were the only party who systematically attempted to "eliminate all traces of other ethnic groups from their territory". Ethnic cleansing dramatically changed

3276-619: The Vojvodina provincial government. The gathering started a day earlier in the nearby town of Bačka Palanka , and, as Politika explained it, people spontaneously gathered and moved on to Novi Sad, the provincial capital. The protest in Bačka Palanka was led by Mihalj Kertes , a mid-level official of the Communist Party, an ethnic Hungarian who would later become famous for his remark "How can you Serbs be afraid of Serbia when I,

3367-544: The Yugoslav presidency with Stjepan Mesić . However, Mesić only took his seat in October 1990 because of protests from Serbia. From then on, Mesić joined Macedonia's Vasil Tupurkovski , Slovenia's Janez Drnovšek and Bosnia and Herzegovina's Bogić Bogićević in opposing the demands in March 1991 from the Milošević-backed other four members of presidency to proclaim a general state of emergency , which would have allowed

3458-448: The ability to enact policies in their territories, such as regulation of citizenship policy, common defense law, and social plans . The situation in Kosovo became a crisis in the 1981 protests in Kosovo by Albanians who were heard shouting slogans such as "We are Albanians, not Yugoslavs", "Kosova Republic", "Unity with Albania" and "Long live Marxism-Leninism, Down with Revisionism". The presence of ethnic and ideological dimensions to

3549-411: The areas around Srebrenica. Evidence indicated that Serbs had been tortured and mutilated and others were burned alive when their houses were torched. While it is established that Serbs suffered a number of casualties, their exact nature and numbers have been a source of controversy. The ultra-nationalist Serbian Radical Party has used these casualties for political purposes and as a means of diminishing

3640-504: 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

3731-536: 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,

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3822-524: The chants "We want weapons" and "Arrest Vllasi" were heard, and three days later, Vllasi was indeed placed under arrest. In early 1989, the Parliament of Serbia had proposed constitutional amendments that would have significantly reduced SAP Kosovo's autonomous status within SR Serbia. Kosovo Albanians organized large demonstrations against these moves, but in March 1989, preceding a final push for

3913-461: The communist governments of the western Yugoslav republics (especially Slovenia and Croatia ), who successfully resisted the attempts to expand the revolt onto their territories, and turned against Milošević. The rising antagonism eventually resulted in the dissolution of the ruling League of Communists of Yugoslavia in 1990. Since the adoption of the 1974 Yugoslav Constitution , Serbian central government often encountered political deadlocks with

4004-631: The complete abolition of its provincial status - was seen as intentional, as Milošević needed the two "extra" provincial votes to gain influence in the federal presidency. In SR Croatia , a new constitution was proclaimed in July 1990, and in August the Log Revolution started, an insurrection of ethnic Serbs in areas with significant Serb population, which led to the Croatian Parliament replacing its representative Stipe Šuvar in

4095-566: The creation of new Croatian counties on 30 December 1992, the Croatian government also set aside two autonomous regions ( kotar ) for ethnic Serbs in the areas of Krajina known as the Autonomous District of Glina and Autonomous District of Knin . After Operation Storm , the application of the law which allowed autonomy would be temporarily suspended. In 2000 this part of the law was formally repealed. The process of creation of

4186-440: The creation of the "integral region" by bringing together predominantly Serb municipalities in Croatia into an Association of Municipalities which would act as one of the first-level administrative units within the republic. While the Croatian legal system at the time formally permitted such a form of municipal organization the move was perceived as highly controversial and led to some of the first clashes. The first such association

4277-458: 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

4368-591: The demonstrations. The aftermath of the 1981 protests in Kosovo resulted in resentment by Serbs in Kosovo to the political situation in Kosovo. Serbs suspected that deliberate Albanianization of Kosovo was demonstrated by statistics showing that the population of Serbs in Kosovo had significantly decreased from 23.5% in 1961 to 13.2% in 1981, as well as making claims that they were being persecuted by Albanians, including Serb women being systematically raped by Albanians. Many of these claims were not backed up by evidence but built up as rumours. Milošević took control of

4459-481: The demonstrators up, they gave them bread and yogurt . However, thousands of yogurt packages were soon thrown at the Parliament building by angry protesters. Thus, the protests are sometimes referred to as the "Yogurt Revolution". On 6 October, the entire collective leadership of Vojvodina resigned and were soon replaced with Nedeljko Šipovac , Radovan Pankov and Radoman Božović . The Vojvodina representative in

4550-667: 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

4641-499: The government of the Socialist Republic of Montenegro as well as the governments of the Serbian provinces of Vojvodina and Kosovo , and replaced them with Milošević allies, thereby creating a dominant voting bloc within the Yugoslav presidency council . The name anti-bureaucratic revolution is derived from the proclaimed goal of replacing bureaucratic and corrupt governing structures . The events were condemned by

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4732-521: The ground at the time of the Dayton Agreement . 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

4823-491: The help of Croatian police forces, by preventing trains with Milošević supporters pass through Croatia in order to reach Slovenia. This action can be considered the first Slovenian defense action against the attacks of the supporters of Milošević, which later lead to Slovenia's independence. Events of the anti-bureaucratic revolution drastically changed the balance of power in the Presidency of Yugoslavia in little over

4914-409: The hostages released. The protests led to vandalism throughout Kosovo including smashed windows of cars, shops, and state institutions. The Yugoslav leadership declared a "crisis situation in Kosovo" and all republics were requested to send their police troops to Kosovo. The Yugoslav leadership was shocked by the extent of the violence used by the demonstrators and the relatively large participation in

5005-480: 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. Between May 1992 to January 1993, Bosniak forces under the leadership of Naser Orić attacked and destroyed scores of Serbian villages in

5096-426: The legal formation of post-secondary education in Republika Srpska, governing two Universities: The University of Banja Luka and University of East Sarajevo . UNESCO estimated there were more than 10,000 University students in 1996. In November 1995 the Dayton Agreement was signed by presidents of Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia that ended the Bosnian war. The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH)

5187-646: The majority consisting of the SAO East and Old Herzegovina , SAO Bosnian Krajina , SAO Romanija and SAO North-Eastern Bosnia . They comprised nearly one-third of Bosnia's municipality and about 45% of its ethnic Serb population. Similar steps were taken by the Bosnian Croats. A Bosnian Serb referendum that asked citizens whether they wanted to remain within Yugoslavia was held on 9 and 10 November 1991, passing in favor of staying within Yugoslavia. The parliamentary government of Bosnia and Herzegovina (with

5278-610: The most notorious being Politika ' s rubric "Odjeci i reagovanja" ( Echoes and reactions ), a letters to the editor column which was used as a type of astroturfing . The main points of the campaign were the following: The mass protests started in February 1986, with several meetings of Kosovo Serbs in Belgrade and in Kosovo, pleading for a resolution of the problematic situation on Kosovo. These were relatively small, with 100–5,000 participants, and were mostly reactions to individual inter-ethnic incidents. The largest such protest

5369-679: The motion to meet the required two-thirds majority, it was declared to have passed. On 28 March the Serbian parliament approved the constitutional changes. The largest rally of all was held at Gazimestan on 28 June 1989, gathering two million according to Politika . When a "Rally of Truth" ( Slovene : Miting resnice ) was announced to be held in Ljubljana , SR Slovenia on 1 December 1989, thousands of Milošević supporters who attended street protests around Yugoslavia were planned to arrive to Slovenia's capital. However, in an operation named Action North Slovene police forces prevented it with

5460-511: The newly formed Army of the Republika Srpska. There was also volunteers from Christian Orthodox countries. According to the ICTY, volunteers from Russia, Greece, and Romania fighting for the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) numbered between at least 500 to more than 1,500. Other estimate vary depending on sources, with some estimate from 529 and 614, other claim that number is well over 1,000 volunteers from Orthodox countries. The supreme commander of

5551-573: The other parts of Yugoslavia. The dilemma was rooted in historical experience of the Genocide of Serbs in the Independent State of Croatia stirred up by rising Serb and Croat nationalism. Croatian Serb political leaders of the nationalist Serb Democratic Party advocated for the partition of Croatia in case of independence which would enable Serb inhabited areas to remain in Yugoslavia. Croatian Serb politician Jovan Rašković argued for

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5642-598: The parliament of the Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo passed a 'memorandum on sovereignty' on 15 October 1991 that was opposed by Bosnian Serb members. After the walkout of Bosnian Serb representatives, the memorandum was adopted. It declared the republic a sovereign and independent state and rejected "any constitutional solutions for a future Yugoslav community which would not include both Croatia and Serbia". In response, on 24 October 1991

5733-404: The past but very few existed entirely within the region. Representatives of main political and national organizations and institutions of Serb people in Bosnia and Herzegovina met on 13 October 1990 in Banja Luka and created "Serbian National Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina" as a coordinative and representative political body. The governing coalition of Bosnia and Herzegovina collapsed after

5824-650: 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. The gravest of those offenses were the Srebrenica Genocide in 1995, where nearly 8,000 Bosniak men and boys were systematically executed by

5915-442: 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

6006-436: The protestors' demands led Yugoslav authorities to decide to forcibly stop the protests. The president of the Pristina League of Communists, Aslan Fazlia (an Albanian) said that the protests were nationalistic and counterrevolutionary and announced tough police action against the demonstrators. This action failed to quell the protests that instead grew in response with protests by Albanians sweeping across Kosovo. The President of

6097-401: The provincial governments in Kosovo and Vojvodina. In 1976 the Serbian government issued its first complaints of unconstitutional practice of autonomy by the provinces to Tito and Edvard Kardelj and issued a subsequent complaint in 1984 on the matter, attempting to resolve the problems within the 1974 Constitution. It was reported that the provinces had repeatedly denied the Serbian government

6188-406: The ratification of constitutional changes in the Assembly of Kosovo, the Yugoslav police rounded up around 240 prominent Kosovo Albanians, apparently selected based on their anti-ratification sentiment, and detained them with complete disregard for due process . Albanian representatives in the Parliament of Kosovo boycotted the vote on the matter on 23 March 1989, but regardless of the failure of

6279-427: The reference to Bosnia and Herzegovina was dropped from the name, and it became simply Republika Srpska . During the breakup of Yugoslavia, Srpska's President Radovan Karadžić declared that he did not want Srpska to be in a federation alongside Serbia in Yugoslavia, but that Srpska should be directly incorporated into Serbia. On 12 May 1992, at a session of the Bosnian Serb assembly , Radovan Karadžić announced

6370-510: The same territory were also destroyed or damaged especially during 1995. In addition to sacred 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

6461-431: The self-proclaimed Serb Autonomous Regions in Croatia included inter-ethnic clashes and violence as well as widespread ethnic cleansing of non-Serb population from the areas that those regions ended up controlling. Some of the highest ranking political and military leaders involved in this process were prosecuted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia for their direct or command responsibility for

6552-480: The self-proclaimed autonomy was transformed into request for full independence with political leadership subsequently rejecting any autonomy proposal with notable case including Z-4 Plan . At the same time both the Government of Croatia and international mediators now contemplated peace settlements that would indeed include the establishment of some sort of predominantly Serb autonomous regions within Croatia. With

6643-673: The situation the leadership proclaimed the state of emergency . The state of emergency did not last long, as it was taken as an act of hostility towards Serbia by media outlets controlled by Milošević as well as Milošević's supporters in Montenegro. The second act started with joint rallies consisting of workers from Radoje Dakić, a state-owned factory, and Veljko Vlahović University students. On 10 January 1989, over 10,000 protesters gathered in Titograd . The old leadership, confused and disorganised, soon gave in; none of them later played

6734-562: The six "strategic objectives" of the Serb people in Bosnia and Herzegovina: At the same session, the Bosnian Serb assembly voted to create the Army of the Republika Srpska ( VRS ; Vojska Republike Srpske ), 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,

6825-536: The territorial provisions were enforced to comply with the agreement. 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

6916-597: The territory of the former Yugoslavia since 1991. On 24 July 1995, the Hague Tribunal indicted Radovan Karadžić and Ratko Mladić on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity; on 14 November 1995, both men were indicted again on charges specific to the Srebrenica massacre . On 2 August 2001, the Hague Tribunal found General-Major Radislav Krstić, the commander of the VRS Drina Corps at

7007-435: 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 . In 2006, a list of nearly 28,000 individuals who, according to the Republika Srpska authorities, were involved in Srebrenica massacre alone

7098-549: The unemployment rate in Republika Srpska was 90%. Following the signing of the Dayton Accords, recovery in Republika Srpska was slower than in the Federation, as it received only 2-3% of the Western Aid to Bosnia. There was zero growth. Inflation was at 30%. Non-agricultural unemployment was at 60%, the average wage at 60 Deutsche Marks and pension at 33 DM. Government expenditures were also drastically higher than in

7189-551: The uniting of our enemies from abroad and those in the country. And that this nation will win the battle for freedom, is a fact well-known even to the Turkish and German conquerors. Rallies and media were also similarly used in Montenegro with the first rally in support of Kosovo Serbs and Kosovo Montenegrins taking place in Titograd on 20 August 1988. The leadership of the Montenegrin Communist League

7280-441: 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. In September 2002,

7371-716: Was a self-proclaimed statelet in Southeastern Europe under the control of the Army of Republika Srpska during the Bosnian War . It claimed to be a sovereign state, though this claim was only partially recognized by the Bosnian government (whose territory the RS was recognized as nominally being a part of) in the Geneva agreement, the United Nations , and FR Yugoslavia . For the first six months of its existence, it

7462-410: Was about to overwhelm them; they were labelled as power-hungry "armchairers" (фотељаши/ foteljaši ) and "autonomists" (аутономаши / autonomaši ). The Vojvodina government then cut off power and water supply to protesters, a move which enraged them further still, and caused even more people from Novi Sad and its vicinity to join. When power was restored, they tried a different tactic: in order to cheer

7553-489: Was conceived as a "mother of all rallies", and a huge crowd of people come from all parts of Serbia by public and factory buses taken just for this opportunity. Milošević reaffirmed his and Serbia's commitment to the principles of liberty and Serbian equality within Yugoslavia: We will win the battle for Kosovo regardless of the obstacles placed in front of us in the country and abroad. So, we will win regardless of

7644-536: Was defeated for the first time in 2020 parliamentary election . Azem Vllasi and Kaqusha Jashari , the two top-ranked Kosovo politicians, were replaced in November 1988. The Albanian population of Kosovo grew restless, and in February 1989 they engaged in a general strike, particularly manifesting itself in the 1989 Kosovo miners' strike . Meanwhile, on February 28, another major rally was held in Belgrade, where

7735-648: Was defined as one of the two entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina and comprised 51% of the territory. The Republika Srpska (RS) comprised the other 49% with Banja Luka serving as its capital. 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. After the signing of the Dayton agreement, more than 60,000 Serbs left Sarajevo and other parts of Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina whether by choice or force, particularly after

7826-562: Was formed around the town of Knin leading to the establishment of SAO Krajina on 21 December 1990. SAO Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia was formed on 25 June 1991 while SAO Western Slavonia was formed on 12 August 1991. On 19 December 1991, the SAO Krajina proclaimed itself the Republic of Serbian Krajina with SAO Western Slavonia and SAO Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia joining it subsequently. At that stage

7917-716: Was held in Kosovo Polje in April 1987, gathering around 20,000 people. However, the outburst of protests began in the latter half of 1988. In June, the protest of workers of the Zmaj factory gathered 5,000 protestors; in July, meetings were held in seven towns with tens of thousands protesters, and in August in ten towns with 80,000 people. By September they spread to 39 towns with over 400,000 people. On 5 October 1988, around 150,000 people gathered in Novi Sad to protest against

8008-538: Was integrated with the system of the Republic of Yugoslavia and Republika Srpska's National Bank saw itself as a branch of the Central Yugoslav Bank in Belgrade. The inflation experienced in Yugoslavia thus transferred to Republika Srpska causing hyperinflation and eventual collapse of its currency in 1994. The National Bank of Yugoslavia (CBCG) also cut the Republika Srpska off, preventing it from redeeming its currency there and refusing to send more due to

8099-467: Was known as the Serbian Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( Serbian : Српска Република Босна и Херцеговина / Srpska Republika Bosna i Hercegovina ). After 1995, the Republika Srpska was recognized as one of the two political entities composing Bosnia and Herzegovina . The borders of the post-1995 RS are, with a few negotiated modifications, based on the front lines and situation on

8190-460: Was on the defense at the time, claiming that it was protecting Kosovo, but their restraint in direct support for Milošević was deemed not good enough by the protesters. What eventually proved to be the revolution's first act occurred on 7 October 1988 when Montenegrin police intervened against protesters in Žuta Greda demanding resignations from the Montenegrin leadership. In order to deal with

8281-605: 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

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