The Balkan Chronicle

Category: Balkans

Hi! Welcome to Eureka. In the 1990s, a war shook the Balkans in the southeast of Europe. It made Yugoslavia split into seven countries. Today they have all either joined the EU or they want to join the area of peace and prosperity that is the EU. But it wasn't always like that. The Balkan region has often been called 'the powder keg of Europe'. Flashback: 1980 was the year of Tito's death. The time of Marshal Tito, the dictator who had run Yugoslavia since 1943, was over. According to him, Yugoslavia had six republics, five nations, four languages, three religions, two alphabets, and only one party. It was a real mosaic. The mosaic only held together under Tito. When he died, the different parts elected leaders and one wanted to take control. But in 1991 two of its members wanted to leave Yugoslavia. That brought things to a head. In 1991 war broke out and it was to last for four years. It all started on 25 June 1991. Slovenia and Croatia declared their independence from Yugoslavia. The next day the federal army took action in both countries. Slovenia drove it out in 10 days. Croatia's path to liberation was longer, and also bloodier. 12,000 Croats were massacred in Vukovar. Hundreds of thousands were deported by Serbian troops. Shocking images from prison camps came to Western Europe. They finally caught people's attention. They didn't react until 1992. EUROPE'S RESPONSE It was a timid reaction. In fact, in 1992 the Europeans had their mind on other matters. They were putting in place a foreign and security policy common to all of them. But they couldn't agree over the situation in Yugoslavia. Some wanted to retain Yugoslav unity, others wanted to recognise the independents. In the end the United Nations, rather than the EU, sent in peacekeepers, although most of the soldiers were European. But they couldn't prevent the fighting and this war set some sad records. Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia-Herzegovina, was besieged by the Serbian army for nearly four years. Over 10,000 men, women and children were killed. Each day, the city was hit by an average of 300 shells. And that's not all. In 1995, a massacre took place in Srebrenica. It was the worst genocide in Europe since the end of World War II. 6-8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and youths were massacred by the Serbian army. The aim was to remove all Muslims from the Srebrenica region. Phew! Six months later a peace agreement was signed. Peace only lasted four years. Another war was to start on Europe's borders. In 1999, war broke out in Kosovo. 800,000 Albanians were deported, again by the Yugoslav army. Europe and America reacted more quickly this time with air strikes. They ended the war. And in 2003 Yugoslavia ceased to exist. Through the various wars of independence Yugoslavia had broken up. What remains? Seven countries inspired by the EU. Slovenia, where everything started in 1991 when it declared independence, was the first to join the European Union in 2004. Croatia should join it in July 2013, followed by the Republic of Macedonia if all goes well. Bosnia, Serbia, Montenegro and Kosovo are also knocking on Europe's door. Bye! EuroparlTV video ID: 86762054-b689-4eb4-8bd1-9f5e009daecf

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