“Ethnic” Conflict in the former Yugoslavia/Bosnia

Slavic ethnic group

CroatiaSerbia

Bosnia

CatholicsOrthodox

Islam

The Ottoman Turks invaded Europe and fought with the Serbs in 1389.

The assassination of Archduke Ferdinand in 1914 was the catalyst that led to World War I.

This brought Islam to the region which was in constant conflict with the Orthodox and Catholic Christians.

How can you force groups that have been in conflict for hundreds of years to live together?

Absolute force!

With the death of Marshall Tito and the fall of communism, Bosnia declared independence from Yugoslavia.

What role would “ethnicity” play in the future?

Bosnia declared its independence from Yugoslovia in 1992.

The Bosnian Serbs practiced “ethnic cleansing” in Bosnia in relation to the Muslims and Croats.

A brutal four year war killed tens of thousands of Bosnian Muslims and thousands of Serbs.

The violence finally stopped in 1996 when the USA and NATO forces bombed Serbia until they stopped the war in Bosnia.

A splinted and divided Bosnia was “partitioned” between Bosnian Serb and Bosnia Muslim regions.

Ethnicity: Who’s who?

Modern ethnic conflict in Bosnia.

ISRAEL/”PALESTINE”

After World War I, much of the Middle East was controlled by the British and the French.

The region had been taken from the defeated Ottoman Turkish Empire.

The Jews of Europe had been working since the 1800’s to return to Israel in a movement called “Zionism”

THE LAND OF:

Israel?

Palestine?

After World War II and the Holocaust, the Jews were promised a country and a return to their “homeland.”

Two countries were set up. One, a Jewish state, the other a Palestinian state.

After declaring their independence in 1948, Israel was attacked by Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and the Palestinians.

In a bitter fight, the Jews surprisingly defeated the Arabs and gained additional territory. The Palestinian state was lost.

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled to surrounding countries.

PALESTINIAN REFUGEE CAMPS

NEARLY 4 MILLION PALESTINIANS LIVE IN THE CAMPS.

Many moved into the camps in 1948, their families are still there.

In 1967, the Israelis launched a pre-emptive strike against Arab armies massed on Israel's borders.

In one of the most stunning defeats of the 20th century, the Israeli army destroyed the armies of Egypt, Jordan, and Syria in only six days.

The Israeli armies then occupied territories the Arabs had been driven out of.

Gaza StripWest Bank

Golan Heights

The Sinai Peninsula was returned to Egypt in 1989.

More Palestinians fled to the refugee camps.

Israel has granted limited autonomy to many of the regions inhabited by the Palestinians.

The Arabs and much of the world are pushing for a Palestinian state. Can you determine what the issue might be when looking at the land occupied by the Palestinians?

Their lands aren’t connected..

A matter of perspective? The growth of Israel or the loss of a “Palestine?”

After 2004 the Israeli's pulled out of the Gaza strip, giving Palestinians limited autonomy.

In somewhat free elections, in 2007 the Palestinians elected the terrorist group

Hamas to govern in Gaza.

Hamas the set up crude rockets and fired thousands into Israel.

The Palestinians have limited autonomy in Gaza and the West Bank though they are split internally today.

In a fierce fighting, HAMAS supporters drove the former Palestinian “representative” government out of Gaza in 2008. HAMAS leaders (who have vowed to destroy Israel) were elected to govern Gaza. The “leader” of Gaza is Ismail Haniyeh

The West Bank (which is much more populous and economically viable) is still governed by the Palestinian Authority and Mahmoud Abbas.

In December, 2009, the Israeli Army and Air Force bombed, then invaded Gaza, destroying much of the infrastructure and killing thousands.

The intent was simple. To stop Hamas from firing rockets into Israel.

The Hamas fighters set up bases in civilian neighborhoods, ensuring civilian deaths when the Israeli’s strike their strongholds.

Hamas was beaten but not broken. The Israeli’s pulled out in January, 2009. It remains to be seen if the ceasefire will hold. (they never have)

Propaganda: Who is telling the truth (or at least most of the truth?)

Palestinians Israelis

The USA has been attempting to help solve the crisis since the 1980’s. To date, no lasting peace has been achieved.

Conflicts in Africa since the mid 1990’s