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© 1995, Patrick Chauvel

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A War Torn Region:

Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, and Yugoslavia

Summary of the Situation

The area of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, and Yugoslavia is an area which has been recently torn by war. Slovinia, Croatia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina (along with Macedonia) were recognized internationally as independent nation-states in 1991 and 1992 causing the resultant existance of Yugoslavia (sometimes called Serbia-Montenegro). Due to calls of nationalism and ethnic supremacy, a war of complex proportions developed. First, a war of Serb aggression (Serbs are found in Yugoslavia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Croatia) against Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina developed followed by a war of Croatian aggression against Bosnia-Herzegovina. Although the United Nations is currently attempting to maintain peace in the region, the task is difficult. Declaring a peace zone is not enough without pacifying the people involved and permanantly resolving the conflicts which caused the war. During the conflict, women were one of the main targets of a officially endorsed policy of genocidal rape by the Serb forces. Many of the techniques of the Serbs were adopted by Croatian forces later in the conflict; however, the Croatian government has tried to put a stop to these actions. Since so much damage has been done by this war, the condition of women is not a major concern for many people; for those that this issue is important, the immediate concern is the emotional and physical well-being of women rather then their social inequality. Many women from all over the world are attempting to provide help to survivors. One of the methods which has been used is the internet. Nongovernmental Organizations which help women have created pages telling about the conflict and giving people options on how to help.

Rape and other atrocities were committed by all sides including United Nations forces; however, only the Serbian factions seem to have had an organized war strategy including genocidal rape. Women were not the only victims of rape; survivors include male adults and children of either sex. Since this webpage is devoted to the condition of women internationally, I will be focusing on the issues of female survivors. I also will be focusing on the issue of rape although many other atrocities occurred on all sides of the war which I will not address in detail.

History of Conflict

It should be noted that the government and army of Yugoslavia are currently free of non-Serbs, even though the population of Yugoslavia had a great mixture of nationalities. The Belgrade government was voted into power by a manipulated electoral body in an election in which only part of the electorate went to the polls. An analogy to United States politics is given by Beverly Allen in her book Rape Warfare: to accomplish this in the United States would be like electing candidates from the Ku Klux Klan to the presidency and to the majority in both houses of Congress (Allen 42). The Yugoslav National army being entirely Serb was accomplished through a method of "ethnic cleansing." A purge of non-Serbs in the army and other sections of society occurred first through nonviolent means such as nonadvancement, cuts in pay, nonrecognition or misrepresentation of achievements, misleading or waylaid communications, and increased workloads for non-Serbs. Then, more violent means were used in the Yugoslav National Army. Non-Serb members of the army would meet with bizarre fatal accidents in the field. Then accidents began to occur in large numbers in basic training, new non-Serb recruits for the army were being sent home in bodybags. The number of dead recruits was massive enough to determine that systematic genocide had taken place. In response to this mass murder of non-Serb army recruits, a "Wall of Love" was formed by mothers and wives of these non-Serb youth who joined together and went to Belgrade. These women were manhandled, beaten and arrested, and sent back to Zagreb. The genocide inside of Yugoslavia branched out: a execution of intellectuals was planned; luckily, most of the targets were able to leave the country and enter hiding. The Yugoslav National Army and Government supported the uprising of Serb forces in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia. First, war began between the newly independent Slovenia and the Yugoslav National Army in which the European Community intervened and stopped. By 1992, Yugoslavia had invaded Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Shortly, Croatian nationalism came to a head and Croatian forces invaded Bosnia-Herzegovina. The United Nations installed peacekeeping forces in the region in December 1995. The fighting still continued in many areas. The UN forces are scheduled to withdraw in December 1997.

Evidence of Genocidal Rape, Genocide, and Torture

In 1991 and 1992, eyewitness accounts began reporting the existance of official documents ordering and confirming genocide and genocidal-rape. The first document, referred to as the Ram Plan, was written while civil war raged in Croatia. This plan foresees the Serb occupations of territory in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina and the movement of troops into a Muslim area. Giuseppe Zaccaria, an Italian journalist, interpreted the minutes from the meeting of the Yugoslav Army Officers deciding if the Ram (loom) Plan was still workable. Beverly Allen includes Zaccaria's direct translation of some of the minutes of this meeting where a discussion of the role of special services, if a war should begin with Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Our analysis of the behavior of the Muslim communities demonstrates that the morale [and] will . . . of their groups can be undermined only if we aim our action at the point where the religious and social structure is most fragile. We refer to the women, especially adolescents, and to the children. Decisive intervention on these social figures would spread confusion among the communities thus causing first of all fear and then panic, leading to a probable retreat from the territories involved in war activity. (57)

Sixteen hundred and eighty Muslim women of ages ranging from twelve to sixty years are now gathered in the centers for displaced persons in our territory. A large number of these are pregnant, especially those ranging in age from fifteen to thirty years. In the estimation of Bosko Kelevic and Smiljan Geric, the psychological effect is strong, and therefore we must continue [the practice of genocidal rape.] (59)

Genocidal Rape is a military practice practices by the Yugoslav Army, the Bosnian Serbs forces, and the irregular serb militia known as Chetniks. It is this form of rape and the other tortures performed by these groups which I have chosen to elaborate. I have chosen sides, but I would like to stress that gross violations occur on every side of this war including UN forces, if not as part of an official military strategy. The United Nations called a commission to determine the violation of the Geneva Law by all sides of this conflict. Parts of this commission's interim report are linked to this page. These sections of the report provide an evenhanded view with little provocative language. I suggest you read them and form your own opinion.

Beverly Allen divides the forms of genocidal rape into three main forms (62). One involves the force entering a non-Serb village, taking several women of varying ages, raping them in public view, and departing. The news of this event travels through the village; when the Serbian forces return several days later, they offer the terrified residents safe passage out of the region on the condition that they never return. Most agree, therefore leaving the village for the Serbs to occupy and successfully carrying out their plan of "ethnic cleansing." The second method is used in concentration camps: women, men and children are chosen at random and are raped, often as part of torture preceeding death. The third method outlined by Allen is the imprisonment of non-serb women in a rape/death camp where they are raped systematically for extended periods of time. These rapes are either part of torture preceding death or part of torture leading to forced pregnancy. Those women who do not become pregnant are murdered. Those that do become pregnant are raped consistently and "subjected to severe psychological abuse and other forms of torture" until the pregnancy is too far advanced to be aborted when they are finally released (63). Testimony indicates that upwards of 30 rape/death camps have been or are currently in use.

These pregnant women tragically often believe the Serb illogic that the child they are bearing is Serb who will have not of its mothers characteristics. This leads many survivors to attempt third-trimester abortions or to commit suicide. If not, many attempt to kill their babies at birth in a reaction considered from the point of view of the mother's psychological well-being, might even be thought healthy. This action is not necessarily due to the mother's shame but instead the view of the child as the enemy; "it is part of what has so destroyed her town, harmed her, tortured, maimed, and slit the throats of her loved ones" (99).

The more extensive torture uses many different methods. Many of the atrocities performed are centered on genitalia and reproductive capacities of the victims: castrations are performed with various instruments and prisoners are forced to castrate (and rape) each other on threat of death. Women are strangled and further damage is done to thier throats when they are forced to swallow vast amounts of sperm and urine. Amputations are a common form of torture. The most common of these is the amputation of the little finger and ring finger leaving the hand in a Serb salute. Amputation of the Muslim rape victim's breasts also occur, then the perpetrators place her arms in a cross on her chest with her hands tucked under the flaps of skin where her breasts used to be. She is to remain in this position, a symbol of her perpetrators religion, until her death. Electric shock, burns, and cuts are inflicted in the torture with various instruments.

When a captive is killed a ritualistic throat slitting is most often used. Allen describes the ritual: "The murderer binds the victim's hands behind his or her back and forces the victim to kneel on the ground. The murderer then jabs his knee into the center of the victim's back, grabs the top of the victim's head by the hair, pulls the victims head back, and slits the victims throat with his knife (81).

Position of Women in the Region

Although this web page focuses on women it is important to remember the sufferning of all the humans in this region. The suffering of one human is passed on to anyone related to or in anyway connected to the victim of the suffering. In a war-torn region, the most important goals are to put an end to the conflict and bring to justice those who have committed war crimes and then to set about restructuring this tattered society. Women on all sides of this war have been raped, relocated, had family members killed, been forced to commit atrocities, are pregnant or have given birth to children as the result of rape, are starving in refugee camps or in the streets, been tortured, held in concentration or rape/death camps, or if they were lucky managed to escape but still heard of the sufferings of those around them. These women (along with the men and children who should not be forgotten) have been scarred psychologically and physically. Rebuilding a society will be a long and difficult process. Much of the ethnic hatred in this war are reminiscent of historical mistreatment or loss of land in previous conflicts. In order to prevent a reoccurance, a healing process will be necessary for everyone; even then, a conflict may yet arise in our future. In order for the healing process to occur, the restructuring of ideas cannot start from the top with laws and try to work its way down. The healing and forgiveness necessary to have peace must start at the grassroots and work its way up. It is important to bring the individual perpetrators of atrocities in this war to justice; however, this may be all but impossible. It is also important to recognize that not all members of the armies and forces in this conflict are guilty of war crimes. An important statement is made by Allen on page 97 of her book:

Survivors report that some Serbs have initially refused to rape and have been severely punished and even killed for this. Survivors have also testified that some Serbs are physically incapable of performing the rapes on order . . . they make use of pornographic material and drugs that help short circuit whatever moral and ethical resistance they may have to induce the psychological and physical states necessary for rape.

Possible Solutions

The situation in this region is complex and will not be easily solved. The immediate remedies that could be attempted are all in danger of being perverted. Humanitarian aid, for example, especially when organized on a large scale, can be easily perverted by actual ambushes of convoys and road blocks. Humanitarian aid by itself is not enough to stop the conflict, the almost total refusal of the outside world to intervene and stop the slaughter prevents many of possible military solutions. Also, the humanitarian aid that is given is not necessarily the aid that is needed, often in cases like these the clothing and food that gets collected is not the type that can be used by those in need. The most effective remedial work has been done by nongovernmental organizations, groups, and individuals. I list a number of Zagreb women's groups who provide numerous services: working directly with survivors of genocidal rape and with all refugees and displaced persons, providing a 24 hour hotline, managing mobile gynecological and dental clinics that visits refugee camps, helping refugees with no money in crowded apartments, providing psychotherapy when wanted, maintaining community houses to dispel isolation and maintain cultural practices, facilitating contact between family members, and helping pregnant survivors. Some Zagreb women's groups are on the web like B.a.B.e. (Be active, Be emancipated) A Zagreb Human Rights Center for Women. Other groups of western women have been formed to provide relief for these women. Women for Women in Bosnia which is an inter-faith, non-profit, humanitarian organization, helps women regardless of their nationality or religion by getting sponsers in the West and providing women with thier basic needs. It is possible for anyone to provide relief. One person can help, a group can help. There are several ways. Call any of these organizations: United Nations, Red Cross, Red Crescent, Caritas. Below are a few addresses of women's organizations in Zagreb.

Bedem Ljubavi
Vlaska 70A
41000 Zagreb, Croatia
tel: (385) (1) 451 056; fax (385) (1) 451-861
Make Checks payable to "Bedem Ljubavi" and send to
Account # 72600-3-100-03061-5
Croatia Bank
Gajeva 2
41000 Zagreb, Croatia

Biser
Bosanska 1
41000 Zagreb, Croatia
tel/fax: (385) (1) 570-519
Make checks payable of "Biser."

Kareta
Vlaska 70A
41000 Zagreb, Croatia
tel/fax: (385) (1) 414-834
Make checks payable to "Kareta"

Zena BiH
Gotovceva 8
41000 Zagreb, Croatia
tel/fax: (385) (1) 530-481
Make checks payable to "Zena BiH" and send to
Account # 243 520 9673
Zagreback Banka
01 21 24 Nama Remiza
Ozaljska 2
Zagreb, Croatia

Legal Remedies are more difficult. Bringing the criminals to trial will be a nearly impossible task. Since the UN International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia is designed on the basis of common law, it can only bring criminals who are in the custody of the court to trial. Fortunately, the president of the UN tribunal is aware of this difficulty and will most likely call on the UN Security Council to apprehend accused war criminals. If the UN Security Council agrees, the International Police can issue international warrants for their arrest. These warrants will restrict the movement of the perpetrators and commanders of armies and may lead to their arrest. In some Mediterranean countries, including Italy, a previous form of common law descended from Roman Law allows trials to occur without the accused present. In Italy, Another particularity of law in Italy adopts as national law all international conventions and protocols. These two standards combine to make is theoretically possible to make jurisdiction over war criminals within the Italian nation-state. However, both of the theoretical legal remedies are difficult to accomplish and therefore, have little chance of success. There is an important group called "No Peace Without Justice" which is a committee of parliamentarians, mayors, and citizens for new international justice campaign to establish a permanent war crimes tribunal. Since no permanent war crimes tribunal exists, in order for war crimes to be tried, a specific tribunal must be called. The last time a tribunal was called was the end of World War II. Many other atrocities have occurred world wide which were never judged. To donate to this organization:

No Peace Without Justice
866 United Nations Plaza, #4014
New York, NY 10017
Makes checks payable to "Transnational Radical Party: No Peace Without Justice."

Links to related sites

First Session Press Release
Third Session Press Release
Sixth Committee Press Release
Report of International Tribunalfor the prosecution of persons responsible for serious violations of international humanitarian law committed in the territory of the former Yugoslavia since 1991

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Table of Contents

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UN Commission on Geneva Law Violations
International Gender Equality Homepage
Three world views on gender inequality
Kenya
Russia
Summary and International Solutions
Links
Resources

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Copyright © 1997; Tim Kidder, Elizabeth Terney, Rachel Whittaker, and Hilary Young
All images copyright their various creators.
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Last revision -- April 25, 1997