Country Profile
Bosnia-Herzegovina, or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southeastern Europe.Formerly one of the six federal units constituting the Socialist Federal Republic of yugoslavia, Bosnia and Herzegovina gained its independence during the Yugoslav Wars of the 1990s. Bosnia and Herzegovina is a Parliamentary Republic which has a Bi-cameral Legislature and a 3 Member Presidency composed of a member of each major ethnic group.
Bosnia-Herzegovina is home tp 3 ethnic groups -
1)Bosniaks
2)Serbs and
3)Croat
Bosnia-Herzegovina got independence on March 01,1992(however,ID observed only on April 06)
Capital: Sarajevo
Official Language: Bosnian,Croatian,Serbian
Population : 3,842,566 (2011 Estimate)
Ethnic Groups :Bosniaks 48%;Serbs 37% & Croats 14%
Bosnia was split into two autonomous regions - the Muslim-Croat Federation and the Serb Republic - at the end of the 1992-95 war.The Serb Republic is fiercely protective of its autonomy, while Bosnia's Muslims want a more unified state with greater power and funding for the central government
Civil War(1992-95) - Timeline
In 1992,Croat and Muslim nationalists form tactical alliance and outvote Serbs at independence referendum. Serb nationalists are incensed as constitution stipulates that all major decisions must be reached through consensus.War breaks out and Serbs quickly assume control of over half the republic.
The Bosnian Serbs, under Radovan Karadzic, lay siege to Sarajevo. The city is controlled by Muslims but they are unable to break out through lines set up to defend surrounding Serb villages. There is bitter fighting as well as many atrocities.
In 1993,as tensions rise, conflict breaks out between Muslims and Croats.
The conflict is extremely complex. Muslims and Serbs form an alliance against Croats in Hercegovina, rival Muslim forces fight each other in north-west Bosnia, Croats and Serbs fight against Muslims in central Bosnia.
UN safe havens for Bosnian Muslim civilians are created, to include Sarajevo, Gorazde and Srebrenica.
In 1995,Safe haven of Srebrenica is overrun by Bosnian Serb forces under General Ratko Mladic. Thousands of Bosnian Muslim men and boys are separated from their families and massacred, despite the presence of Dutch UN troops
The Civil war lasted 44 months. On average 100 people died every single day, for more than three and a half years.The Civil war left Bosnia's infrastructure and economy in tatters. Around two million people - about half the population - were displaced.International administration, backed at first by Nato forces and later by a smaller European Union-led peacekeeping force, has helped the country consolidate stability.
The 1995 Dayton Peace Accord, which ended the Bosnian war, set up two separate entities -
a Bosniak-Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and
the Bosnian Serb Republic, or Republika Srpska, each with its own president, government, parliament, police and other bodies.
Overarching these entities is a central Bosnian government and rotating presidency. In addition there exists the district of Brcko which is a self-governing administrative unit, established as a neutral area placed under joint Serb, Croat and Bosniak authority.
In 1996,The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia begins work in the Hague. Drazen Erdemovic, a Croat who fought for the Serbs and took part in the Srebrenica massacres, is the first person to be convicted. He is sentenced to five years in prison.
In August 2001,Hague war crimes tribunal finds Bosnian Serb Gen Radislav Krstic guilty of genocide for his role in the massacre of thousands of men and boys in Srebrenica. Krstic sentenced to 46 years.
Three senior Muslim generals indicted to face war crimes charges.
In July 2006,Largest war crimes trial to date over the 1995 Srebrenica massacre opens at the UN tribunal in The Hague.
In Feb 2007,The International Court of Justice rules that the 1995 Srebrenica massacre constituted genocide, but clears Serbia of direct responsibility.
In May 2007,Zdravko Tolimir, one of the top fugitives sought by the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague for his alleged role in the Srebrenica massacre, is arrested.
In June 2008,Former Bosnian Serb police chief Stojan Zupljanin is arrested near Belgrade and transferred to The Hague to stand trial for war crimes.
In July 2008,Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, wanted on war crimes charges arrested in Belgrade after nearly 13 years on the run.
In Oct 2009,Trial of former Bosnia Serb leader Radovan Karadzic begins at UN tribunal in The Hague. He faces 11 counts of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and other atrocities.
In March 2010,Bosnian wartime leader Ejup Ganic is arrested in London at the request of Serbia, which accuses him of war crimes. A court later blocks a bid to extradite him.
In May 2011,Serbian authorities arrest former Bosnian Serb military chief Ratko Mladic, one of the world's most wanted war crimes suspects.
Civil War(1992-95) - Timeline
In 1992,Croat and Muslim nationalists form tactical alliance and outvote Serbs at independence referendum. Serb nationalists are incensed as constitution stipulates that all major decisions must be reached through consensus.War breaks out and Serbs quickly assume control of over half the republic.
The Bosnian Serbs, under Radovan Karadzic, lay siege to Sarajevo. The city is controlled by Muslims but they are unable to break out through lines set up to defend surrounding Serb villages. There is bitter fighting as well as many atrocities.
In 1993,as tensions rise, conflict breaks out between Muslims and Croats.
The conflict is extremely complex. Muslims and Serbs form an alliance against Croats in Hercegovina, rival Muslim forces fight each other in north-west Bosnia, Croats and Serbs fight against Muslims in central Bosnia.
UN safe havens for Bosnian Muslim civilians are created, to include Sarajevo, Gorazde and Srebrenica.
In 1995,Safe haven of Srebrenica is overrun by Bosnian Serb forces under General Ratko Mladic. Thousands of Bosnian Muslim men and boys are separated from their families and massacred, despite the presence of Dutch UN troops
The Civil war lasted 44 months. On average 100 people died every single day, for more than three and a half years.The Civil war left Bosnia's infrastructure and economy in tatters. Around two million people - about half the population - were displaced.International administration, backed at first by Nato forces and later by a smaller European Union-led peacekeeping force, has helped the country consolidate stability.
The 1995 Dayton Peace Accord, which ended the Bosnian war, set up two separate entities -
a Bosniak-Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and
the Bosnian Serb Republic, or Republika Srpska, each with its own president, government, parliament, police and other bodies.
Overarching these entities is a central Bosnian government and rotating presidency. In addition there exists the district of Brcko which is a self-governing administrative unit, established as a neutral area placed under joint Serb, Croat and Bosniak authority.
In 1996,The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia begins work in the Hague. Drazen Erdemovic, a Croat who fought for the Serbs and took part in the Srebrenica massacres, is the first person to be convicted. He is sentenced to five years in prison.
In August 2001,Hague war crimes tribunal finds Bosnian Serb Gen Radislav Krstic guilty of genocide for his role in the massacre of thousands of men and boys in Srebrenica. Krstic sentenced to 46 years.
Three senior Muslim generals indicted to face war crimes charges.
In July 2006,Largest war crimes trial to date over the 1995 Srebrenica massacre opens at the UN tribunal in The Hague.
In Feb 2007,The International Court of Justice rules that the 1995 Srebrenica massacre constituted genocide, but clears Serbia of direct responsibility.
In May 2007,Zdravko Tolimir, one of the top fugitives sought by the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague for his alleged role in the Srebrenica massacre, is arrested.
In June 2008,Former Bosnian Serb police chief Stojan Zupljanin is arrested near Belgrade and transferred to The Hague to stand trial for war crimes.
In July 2008,Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, wanted on war crimes charges arrested in Belgrade after nearly 13 years on the run.
In Oct 2009,Trial of former Bosnia Serb leader Radovan Karadzic begins at UN tribunal in The Hague. He faces 11 counts of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and other atrocities.
In March 2010,Bosnian wartime leader Ejup Ganic is arrested in London at the request of Serbia, which accuses him of war crimes. A court later blocks a bid to extradite him.
In May 2011,Serbian authorities arrest former Bosnian Serb military chief Ratko Mladic, one of the world's most wanted war crimes suspects.
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The Serb members of parliament, consisting mainly of the Serb Democratic Party members, abandoned the central parliament in Sarajevo, and formed the Assembly of the Serb People of Bosnia and Herzegovina on Oct 24, 1991, which marked the end of the tri-ethnic coalition that governed after the elections in 1990.
A declaration of Bosnia and Herzegovina sovereignty in October 1991 was followed by a referendum for independence from Yugoslavia in February and March 1992 boycotted by the great majority of the Serbs. The turnout in the independence referendum was 63.4 per cent and 99.7 per cent of voters voted for independence.
Bosnia and Herzegovina is a parliamentary republic, which has a bicameral legislature and a 3 member Presidency composed of a member of each major ethnic group.
The Parliamentary Assembly is the lawmaking body in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
It consists of 2 houses: the House of Peoples and the House of Representatives.
The House of Peoples has 15 delegates, two-thirds of which come from the Federation (5 Croat and 5 Bosniaks) and one-third from the Republika Srpska (5 Serbs). The House of Representatives is composed of 42 Members, two-thirds elected from the Federation and one-third elected from the Republika Srpska.
Bosnian Parliament Building
The Chair of the Council of Ministers is nominated by the Presidency and approved by the House of Representatives.
New Government
In Dec 2011, Bosnia's Muslim, Croat and Serb political leaders reach agreement on formation of new central government, bringing to an end 14 months of deadlock since 2010 general election.
In Jan 2012 Parliament elects Croat Vjekoslav Bevanda as Prime Minister under the December agreement
Bosnia's parliament approved a new central government on Friday Feb 10,2012, ending 16 months of deadlock(since an inconclusive parliamentary election in October 2010 ) between Serb, Croat and Muslim leaders that left the economy floundering and stalled reforms needed to revive Bosnia's bid to join the European Union.
The New Prime Minister, Bosnian Croat economist Vjekoslav Bevanda, said the government's priorities would be adopting a state budget for 2012 and a general fiscal framework for 2012-14.
Bosnia-Herzegovina 20th anniversary of civil war(1992 -2012)
The conflict began in April 1992 following the break-up of the former Yugoslavia.An estimated 100,000 people were killed and nearly half the population were forced from their homes.
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