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East Central Europe: The Former Yugoslavia. A case study in political and cultural geography. Brief History. End of WWI many boundaries redrawn. Yugoslavia home of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes Serbs took charge - caused tensions with other groups
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East Central Europe:The Former Yugoslavia A case study in political and cultural geography
Brief History • End of WWI many boundaries redrawn. • Yugoslavia home of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes • Serbs took charge - caused tensions with other groups • After WWII Tito took strong control-communism not compatible with nationalism of groups • Set up six republics & two autonomous regions • Tito died in 1980 - nationalism re-emerged.
Brief History Monte-Negro Kosovo
Slovenes & Croats - in north, Roman Catholic. Use the Roman alphabet Serbs & Macedonians - in south are Eastern Orthodox. Use the cyrillic alphabet Bosnians - in centre are Muslim and Eastern Orthodox Albanian - Muslim,in south. Separate state from Yugoslavia, but large numbers of ethnic group in southern Yugoslavia Nationalist Groups
After Tito’s death in 1980 • Slovenes and Croats, in the north,felt dominated by Serbs. Declared independence in 1991. • Macedonia, in the south, making plans for secession • Bosnia-Herzegovina in centre most ethnically varied yet dominated by Serbs • Bosnian government supported Serbs; Serbs afraid Bosnia would become Muslim state; Muslims remain loyal to government. • UN peacekeepers still remain
Macedonia declared independence in 1992. • Within the state of Yugoslavia, Serbs were becoming uneasy with Muslims, Croats and Albanian nationals, many had higher birth rates and were economically dependent • Slobodan Milosevic power started war against Albanian nationals in the sw Yugoslavian province of Kosovo. • Kosovo was site of important religious sites in Eastern Orthodox religion.
Kosovo • Milosevic attacked Albanians • NATO intervened and bombed Kosovo • Milosevic arrested and charged with crimes against humanity • “Ethnic Cleansing” of Muslims in order to eradicate other nationals from state: • assimilation, expulsion and extermination • Rape as a war crime