From: jameskerlindsay
The Yugoslav Wars were marked by significant instances of forced displacement and violence, often referred to as ethnic cleansing. This term describes policies aimed at removing a specific ethnic group from a territory. Key examples include actions by Croatian Serb forces and, later, Croatian forces during Operation Storm.
Early Expulsions by Croatian Serbs
Following Croatia’s declaration of independence in June 1991, Croatian Serb forces, supported by the Serbian-controlled Yugoslav People’s Army (JNA), took control of approximately one-third of Croatia’s territory [00:04:18]. To consolidate these gains, over 200,000 Croats and non-Serbs were forcibly expelled from these captured areas, a policy later termed ethnic cleansing [00:04:30].
Operation Storm and Serb Displacement
In August 1995, Croatia launched “Operation Storm” to retake the self-proclaimed Republic of Serbian Krajina (RSK), which had unilaterally declared independence four years earlier [00:00:00], [00:00:08]. The operation, lasting only three days, resulted in the area returning to Croat control [00:00:12], [00:07:32].
During and immediately after Operation Storm, between 200,000 and 250,000 Serbs, comprising the vast majority of the territory’s inhabitants, fled the country [00:07:23], [00:07:28]. This event remains a point of friction between Croatia and Serbia [00:00:22]. While Croatia celebrates Operation Storm as ‘Victory Day’ and the end of its ‘homeland war’ [00:01:26], Serbia views it as a moment of national mourning due to the forced expulsion of hundreds of thousands of ethnic Serbs from their ancestral homelands [00:01:31], [00:01:37].
Investigations and Trials
International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY)
The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was established by the UN Security Council to prosecute war crimes and other human rights abuses committed during the Yugoslav conflicts [00:08:00], [00:08:06].
- Serbian Figures: Leaders of the RSK and key Serbian figures, including Slobodan Milosevic, were tried for crimes against humanity in Croatia, encompassing murder, torture, forcible transportation, deportations, plunder, and property destruction [00:08:14], [00:08:17], [00:08:20].
- Croatian Figures: Attempts to prosecute Croatians for actions during Operation Storm proved more challenging [00:08:31], [00:08:33]. A 1996 Human Rights Watch report cataloged atrocities including attacks on fleeing civilians and the torture and murder of Serbs who remained [00:08:42], [00:08:46]. ICTY indictments accused Croatia’s leadership of a “joint criminal enterprise” to permanently remove the Serbian population [00:08:57], [00:09:00]. Croatia denied these claims, asserting the operation was justified [00:09:10]. General Ante Gotovina, a key Croatian commander, was arrested in 2005 and found guilty of war crimes in 2011, receiving a 24-year sentence [00:09:27], [00:09:40]. However, he and another general were acquitted on appeal in 2012 in a controversial split decision [00:09:45], [00:09:50].
International Court of Justice (ICJ)
In 1999, Croatia filed a case against Serbia at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), alleging genocide on its territory. Serbia responded with a counter-claim, accusing Croatia of genocide during Operation Storm [00:10:01], [00:10:06], [00:10:09]. In judgements delivered in 2008 and 2015, the ICJ ruled that while both sides had committed acts that could constitute genocide, there was no definitive proof of intent to destroy populations, but rather to force them out [00:10:14], [00:10:18], [00:10:24]. Therefore, neither party was found to have contravened the genocide convention [00:10:30].
Legacy and Ongoing Controversy
The legacy of Operation Storm continues to loom large in the Balkans [00:11:02].
- Serbia views ‘Victory Day’ as a provocative celebration of what is widely accepted to have been an act of ethnic cleansing, often overlooking the ethnic cleansing that occurred earlier in Serb-held areas [00:11:07], [00:11:11].
- Croatia considers Operation Storm a legitimate military action to retake secessionist territory, but often overlooks the humanitarian costs of an offensive that forced two-thirds of the country’s ethnic Serbs from their ancestral lands [00:11:20], [00:11:23], [00:11:27].
To foster reconciliation, both Serbia and Croatia could reflect on the heavy human cost of the entire conflict, acknowledging the suffering of all affected populations [00:11:38], [00:11:43], [00:11:48].