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What does freedom mean for each of us?
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Are we convinced that
freedom is guaranteed
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in every aspect of our lives,
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or are we forgetting the sacrifices made
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by those who came before us
in order for us to have it?
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From the times of antiquity until now,
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the role that freedom
played in people's lives
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changed many times.
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But in the 18th century, it took
on a whole new dimension.
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In ancient times, man considered freedom
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to be the possibility to know
the truth with his own mind.
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But with the advent of Christianity,
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freedom referred to the free will to act
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or not to act according to God's morals.
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Throughout this period,
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individual freedoms were
the privilege of the few,
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until the awareness of collective freedom
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emerged in the 18th century.
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This was after the French Revolution
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that awoke national
consciousness across Europe.
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This powerful movement
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permanently changed the
borders of feudal Europe
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as well as the consciousness
of its inhabitants
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over the next two centuries.
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The Italian city of Turin,
the capital of Piedmont,
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it's certainly a breathtaking
tourist destination,
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but many people aren't aware
that the Italy we know today
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was formed thanks to a movement
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that started from right here,
the Kingdom of Piedmont.
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The king of Piedmont and
Sardinia, Victor Emmanuel II
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launched a series of political initiatives
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to unite the small states
on the Apennine Peninsula.
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He succeeded in 1865 by
proclaiming the Kingdom of Italy.
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An identical example in the same period
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was the unification of Germany,
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which was led by the Kingdom of Prussia.
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These movements formed the
world in which we live,
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and they owe their success
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not only to the political
capabilities of rulers,
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but also to the consciousness
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that individuals share
cultural, linguistic,
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and often religious
identities with others.
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And they know that collective freedom
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in a society is best guaranteed
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through the institution of a nation state.
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Aided by the romantic movement,
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The vision of the State
as the only guarantor
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of preserving the authenticity of a nation
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spread through Europe.
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It saw collective liberation
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as the only means of national existence.
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And how is freedom manifested
in the 21st century?
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According to the 2013 census,
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12 Klingons and as many as 76 Jedi
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live in today's Bosnia and Herzegovina.
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Certain media outlets are
increasingly promoting
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the flat-Earth theory
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or discussing the possibility
of an alien invasion
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under the pretext that
everyone has the right
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to freedom of expression.
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This creates the danger of freedom
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being perceived as limitless
or becoming a triviality.
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Freedom without limits means
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that justice becomes the
advantage of the stronger.
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Monuments such as this
speak of the rebellion
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against such an advantage.
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And those who rebelled
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certainly had a spiritual
understanding of freedom.
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The Kozara Memorial was erected
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in memory of more than
30,000 civilian victims
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of this part of Republika Srpska
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in the fight against fascist
occupiers during World War II.
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There are several monuments
across Republika Srpska
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for those who died in
the struggle for freedom.
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Nothing's infinite, not even freedom.
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But freedom's value doesn't
lie in its infinity,
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but rather in its ability
to preserve unique
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and authentic characteristics.
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To that extent, the Republika
Srpska is an example
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that a nation can preserve its identity
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only if it's free to organise its life.
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To me, Republika Srpska is a territory
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where a culture is being
defended from being marginalized.
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In every way, that culture
deserves to survive
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as it has its language, script,
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literature, and cultural code.
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Republika Srpska, an entity
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of the state of Bosnia and
Herzegovina in Southeast Europe,
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was created after the disintegration
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of the Socialist Yugoslavia
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and is largely inhabited by Serbs.
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Following the war in
Bosnia and Herzegovina,
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between 1992 and 1995,
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the Dayton Peace Agreement
shaped the country
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as a unique federation.
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Republika Srpska
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isn't an internationally
recognised country,
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but it has administrative powers
to preserve the tradition,
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identity, and culture of its nation.
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For Serbs, a turbulent history,
rough geographical position,
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and strong awareness of belonging
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made the creation of a state
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not a precondition as it
was for Italy and Germany,
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but rather a consequence
of a firm national identity
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in which freedom is its ultimate value.
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"O boundless, O endless infinite freedom,
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come already and visit my country
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because everything is nothing without you,
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nothing is everything with you."
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These words written by Petar Kocic,
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a Serbian poet from the 19th century,
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speak of the value of freedom
in the consciousness of Serbs.
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And the best example of how
this nation sees freedom today
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is Republika Srpska, which
emerged as a consequence
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of the belief that freedom
really is everything.
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In 1984, Sarajevo was the host city
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of the Winter Olympic Games.
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It sparked the development of
winter tourism in the region,
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embodied in the now popular
ski resort on Jahorina,
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just a snowball throw
from Sarajevo itself.
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The games also provided
a unique opportunity
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for Socialist Yugoslavia to
present itself to the world
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as well as its federal republic
with an intriguing past,
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Bosnia and Herzegovina.
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00:08:01,800 --> 00:08:04,169
The archaeological sites
in the Republika Srpska
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are a testimony of the
continuity of life here
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since the Stone Age
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00:08:08,430 --> 00:08:09,570
Near the town of Sokolac,
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we can find one of the more significant
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archaeological sites, that
of the Glasinac culture
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which can be traced back
from the early Bronze Age
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to the early Iron Age,
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with its peak around
the fourth century BC.
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In the time of antiquity,
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tribes that were in earth called Illyrians
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left their mark here, until the
arrival of the Roman Empire,
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which conquered the Illyrian tribes.
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During the Middle Ages,
Christianity spread in these parts
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and gained full momentum,
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as evidenced by the Stecak
tombstones as medieval monuments,
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which speak of class affiliation
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and mostly testify to the Christian rite
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originating from Byzantium.
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More than a thousand athletes
from as many as 49 countries
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competed at Sarajevo Olympics,
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while more than 4,000 journalists
reported on the games.
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However, twists and turns
of the competing athletes
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certainly weren't the only
thing spectators could see.
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The Church of the Holy Archangel Michael
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00:09:07,230 --> 00:09:10,739
is popularly known as the Old
Orthodox Church in Bascarsija,
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and it was built around the 14th century.
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The turbulent history has taken
its toll on this building,
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which is one of the
oldest religious buildings
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in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
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It was burned several
times throughout history,
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until it was finally restored
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at the end of the 18th century.
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Not far from the old church,
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we see one of the most
magnificent buildings
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in all of Sarajevo, the
Orthodox Cathedral Church
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of the Nativity of the Theotokos.
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The construction, which
lasted more than a decade,
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was completed in 1874
with the consecration
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of the Bishop of Dabro-Bosnia, Paisius.
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The church was built exclusively
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through donations from the faithful,
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and represents the symbolic contribution
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of the Serbian people to the
architecture of Sarajevo,
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which has its foundation
in medieval Bosnia
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that started developing
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around the source of the river Bosna.
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After the 10th century, Bosnia,
like other Serbian states,
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started developing independently,
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with the state of Raska,
under the Nemanjic Dynasty,
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soon becoming dominant among them.
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Bosnia was originally ruled by bans,
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with the most prominent
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and notable historic
ruler being Ban Kulin,
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who embodied the so-called Bosnian age
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of peace and prosperity.
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The 13th century ushered in the rule
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of the Kotromanic Dynasty.
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The most important ruler of this dynasty,
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Stefan Tvrtko Kotromanic I
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was the king of the
Kingdom of Serbs and Bosnia
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and tried to unite the two medieval states
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of Bosnia and Raska.
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The 15th century witnessed
the foundation of Herzegovina,
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a territory named after the
title of Herceg of Saint Sava,
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the first Serbian archbishop
from the Nemanjic dynasty
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which gave the Nemanjic seal
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to the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina,
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something that remains to this day.
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The Kotromanic Dynasty ruled Bosnia
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for almost two centuries.
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Now, the rise of the state of Bosnia
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was slowed down by the death
of Tvrtko Kotromanic I,
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which led to dynastic power struggles.
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00:11:11,520 --> 00:11:13,079
At the end of the 15th century,
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Bosnia fell under the rule
of the Ottoman Empire,
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which was dominated by Islam
and remained in this area
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until the Congress of Berlin
in the late 19th century.
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00:11:28,756 --> 00:11:31,859
More than 200,000 tickets
were sold for the Olympics,
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and around two billion people
watched the live broadcast.
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00:11:34,890 --> 00:11:36,179
It must have been interesting for them
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to see scenes of a
typically oriental city,
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only to then cut to scenes
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of typical Central European architecture.
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00:11:44,250 --> 00:11:46,289
At the beginning of the 19th century,
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an uprising against the Ottomans in Serbia
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led to the creation of the
Principality of Serbia.
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This was an incentive for
the Serbs in Herzegovina
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to rebel against the
Ottoman occupier in 1875.
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Their success was without reward,
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00:12:02,310 --> 00:12:04,049
because Bosnia and Herzegovina
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00:12:04,050 --> 00:12:06,959
was quickly occupied by Austria-Hungary,
217
00:12:06,960 --> 00:12:09,933
which ruled this area until
the end of World War I.
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00:12:10,920 --> 00:12:13,499
It was from here, Schonbrunn Palace,
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00:12:13,500 --> 00:12:16,739
that the Habsburg Dynasty
ruled the Austrian Empire.
220
00:12:16,740 --> 00:12:19,619
Now, the dynasty ruled
for more than 600 years,
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00:12:19,620 --> 00:12:21,899
and the internal stability of the empire
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00:12:21,900 --> 00:12:24,959
often depended on encouraging hostilities
223
00:12:24,960 --> 00:12:27,479
between the many nations
that were part of it.
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Bosnia and Herzegovina
can certainly be used
225
00:12:29,880 --> 00:12:32,519
as an example of Austria-Hungarian policy
226
00:12:32,520 --> 00:12:34,649
towards the occupied nations.
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As Serbs constituted the majority
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00:12:36,690 --> 00:12:39,479
in Bosnia and Herzegovina
during the occupation
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00:12:39,480 --> 00:12:42,959
and had a strong desire
to unite all South Slavs,
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00:12:42,960 --> 00:12:45,959
they were considered
hostile by the Austrians.
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00:12:45,960 --> 00:12:48,359
The second largest group, Muslims,
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00:12:48,360 --> 00:12:50,699
didn't have a clear national identity,
233
00:12:50,700 --> 00:12:52,439
but the Austria-Hungarian authorities
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00:12:52,440 --> 00:12:55,349
encouraged a new national consciousness
235
00:12:55,350 --> 00:12:59,279
in an attempt to exploit them
as a counterbalance to Serbs.
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00:12:59,280 --> 00:13:01,199
Croats, who were Catholic,
237
00:13:01,200 --> 00:13:04,049
were the smallest in number
of the three major nations
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00:13:04,050 --> 00:13:06,149
in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
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00:13:06,150 --> 00:13:08,249
But because of their
religious affiliation,
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00:13:08,250 --> 00:13:10,379
they were favoured by Austria-Hungary
241
00:13:10,380 --> 00:13:13,139
at the expense of the other two nations.
242
00:13:13,140 --> 00:13:14,879
Sounds complicated, doesn't it?
243
00:13:14,880 --> 00:13:16,289
And this game of playing favourites
244
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can be seen in the architecture as well.
245
00:13:18,600 --> 00:13:21,569
During the Austria-Hungarian
occupation, the magnificent
246
00:13:21,570 --> 00:13:23,879
Catholic Cathedral of
the Sacred Heart of Jesus
247
00:13:23,880 --> 00:13:25,319
was built in Sarajevo,
248
00:13:25,320 --> 00:13:27,779
a Catholic school in
Travnik and other cities,
249
00:13:27,780 --> 00:13:30,539
as well as in specific
infrastructural, cultural,
250
00:13:30,540 --> 00:13:32,729
and economic projects.
251
00:13:32,730 --> 00:13:35,009
Every war needs a pretext.
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00:13:35,010 --> 00:13:37,079
The political elites, who start wars
253
00:13:37,080 --> 00:13:39,839
motivated by their own self-interests,
254
00:13:39,840 --> 00:13:43,619
always seek out an event
to justify the reason given
255
00:13:43,620 --> 00:13:45,809
for such a disastrous phenomenon.
256
00:13:45,810 --> 00:13:47,159
One such event happened
257
00:13:47,160 --> 00:13:49,769
because of a boyish faith in humane ideals
258
00:13:49,770 --> 00:13:51,693
right at this spot in Sarajevo.
259
00:13:52,710 --> 00:13:55,439
On June 28th, 1914,
260
00:13:55,440 --> 00:13:59,009
a member of the Young Bosnia
Organisation, Gavrilo Princip,
261
00:13:59,010 --> 00:14:02,549
shot the heir to the throne of
the Austria-Hungarian Empire,
262
00:14:02,550 --> 00:14:06,389
Franz Ferdinand, killing him and his wife.
263
00:14:06,390 --> 00:14:08,549
In Vienna, this act inflamed
264
00:14:08,550 --> 00:14:11,519
the already hostile
attitude towards Serbia,
265
00:14:11,520 --> 00:14:14,643
with Austria-Hungary soon
declaring a full-blown war.
266
00:14:15,690 --> 00:14:18,599
It is interesting that an
almost identical assassination
267
00:14:18,600 --> 00:14:20,519
on an Austria-Hungarian princess,
268
00:14:20,520 --> 00:14:23,699
which was carried out
by an Italian in 1898,
269
00:14:23,700 --> 00:14:25,889
wasn't used as a pretext for war.
270
00:14:25,890 --> 00:14:29,129
Austria-Hungary wanted to
expand its empire to the East.
271
00:14:29,130 --> 00:14:30,659
And I know this sounds gruesome,
272
00:14:30,660 --> 00:14:32,279
but the assassination in Sarajevo
273
00:14:32,280 --> 00:14:34,979
served as an excellent excuse for that.
274
00:14:34,980 --> 00:14:36,419
However, the result was not
275
00:14:36,420 --> 00:14:38,309
what Austria-Hungary had hoped for.
276
00:14:38,310 --> 00:14:40,739
The conflict between
Austria-Hungary and Serbia
277
00:14:40,740 --> 00:14:44,039
turned into World War I,
which ended with the collapse
278
00:14:44,040 --> 00:14:46,649
of the Austria-Hungarian
Empire that started it
279
00:14:46,650 --> 00:14:49,169
and the formation of the Kingdom of Serbs,
280
00:14:49,170 --> 00:14:52,139
Croats and Slovenes, which
later changed its name
281
00:14:52,140 --> 00:14:53,999
to the Kingdom of Yugoslavia
282
00:14:54,000 --> 00:14:55,863
that existed up until World War II.
283
00:14:57,180 --> 00:15:01,139
It was here that Mesa Selimovic's
words were most evident.
284
00:15:01,140 --> 00:15:03,089
Selimovic, who was born a Bosnian Muslim,
285
00:15:03,090 --> 00:15:05,009
but traced back his Serbian roots,
286
00:15:05,010 --> 00:15:07,499
said, "Man becomes free by choice,
287
00:15:07,500 --> 00:15:10,229
resistance, and disobedience."
288
00:15:10,230 --> 00:15:12,779
In 1941, demonstrators gathered here,
289
00:15:12,780 --> 00:15:14,519
in Serbia's capital Belgrade,
290
00:15:14,520 --> 00:15:17,549
to protest any form of
alliance with Nazi Germany,
291
00:15:17,550 --> 00:15:20,579
the largest military
force of the 20th century,
292
00:15:20,580 --> 00:15:23,909
significantly more powerful
than the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.
293
00:15:23,910 --> 00:15:25,559
Despite the Kingdom of Yugoslavia
294
00:15:25,560 --> 00:15:27,689
securing a non-aggression pact,
295
00:15:27,690 --> 00:15:32,069
the Serbian people cried out
"Better a grave than a slave".
296
00:15:32,070 --> 00:15:33,929
Following the people's uprising,
297
00:15:33,930 --> 00:15:36,750
Hitler invaded Yugoslavia in April 1941.
298
00:15:37,800 --> 00:15:40,829
The disastrous bombing
of major cities in Serbia
299
00:15:40,830 --> 00:15:43,259
marked the beginning of the occupation.
300
00:15:43,260 --> 00:15:46,679
The first thing Hitler demanded
from occupied Yugoslavia
301
00:15:46,680 --> 00:15:49,139
was to bring in the plaque
that marked the spot
302
00:15:49,140 --> 00:15:52,623
where Gavrilo Princip shot
and killed Archduke Ferdinand.
303
00:15:53,610 --> 00:15:57,389
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was
divided into occupation zones
304
00:15:57,390 --> 00:16:00,329
by fascist and Nazi forces.
305
00:16:00,330 --> 00:16:02,699
The liberation of Belgrade in 1944
306
00:16:02,700 --> 00:16:05,369
marked the victory of the
communist-led partisans
307
00:16:05,370 --> 00:16:08,309
and led to a change in the
political system of Yugoslavia.
308
00:16:08,310 --> 00:16:12,119
In 1945, the Socialist
Yugoslavia was formed,
309
00:16:12,120 --> 00:16:16,169
whose first and lifelong
president was Josip Broz Tito.
310
00:16:16,170 --> 00:16:19,439
Tito became known worldwide in 1948
311
00:16:19,440 --> 00:16:20,849
for rejecting the Soviets
312
00:16:20,850 --> 00:16:23,369
in their attempts to control Yugoslavia,
313
00:16:23,370 --> 00:16:25,289
and later initiating the creation
314
00:16:25,290 --> 00:16:27,089
of the Non-Aligned Movement.
315
00:16:27,090 --> 00:16:29,189
The countries that made up this movement
316
00:16:29,190 --> 00:16:30,210
didn't want to take part
317
00:16:30,211 --> 00:16:32,639
in the Cold War era division of the world
318
00:16:32,640 --> 00:16:35,669
and sought a third way in
international relations.
319
00:16:35,670 --> 00:16:38,849
Despite being held four
years after Tito's death,
320
00:16:38,850 --> 00:16:40,199
the Sarajevo Olympics remained
321
00:16:40,200 --> 00:16:42,509
the only Olympic games held in a country
322
00:16:42,510 --> 00:16:44,909
that was a member of the
Non-Aligned Movement.
323
00:16:44,910 --> 00:16:47,609
Yugoslavia was organised
on a federal principle
324
00:16:47,610 --> 00:16:52,079
with six republics:
Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia,
325
00:16:52,080 --> 00:16:55,593
Macedonia, Montenegro, and
Bosnia and Herzegovina.
326
00:16:57,300 --> 00:16:59,639
You're listening to something
called a Sevdalinka,
327
00:16:59,640 --> 00:17:02,729
a song authentic to the area
of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
328
00:17:02,730 --> 00:17:04,499
However, it could always be heard
329
00:17:04,500 --> 00:17:06,929
throughout Serbia and other republics,
330
00:17:06,930 --> 00:17:09,419
which speaks of the influence
of culture from this area
331
00:17:09,420 --> 00:17:10,620
throughout Yugoslavia.
332
00:17:19,188 --> 00:17:20,909
The people in Yugoslavia also listen
333
00:17:20,910 --> 00:17:23,279
to another type of music from Sarajevo,
334
00:17:23,280 --> 00:17:25,649
like songs of Bijelo Dugme.
335
00:17:25,650 --> 00:17:29,429
In the 1970s, a rock band from
Sarajevo named Bijelo Dugme
336
00:17:29,430 --> 00:17:32,249
held the biggest rock concert
in Yugoslavia's history,
337
00:17:32,250 --> 00:17:35,077
right here in the
country's capital Belgrade.
338
00:17:42,240 --> 00:17:43,799
The youth of many Yugoslavs
339
00:17:43,800 --> 00:17:46,439
was marked by other rock
bands from Sarajevo,
340
00:17:46,440 --> 00:17:51,239
such as Indexi, Zabranjeno
pusenje, or Crvena jabuka.
341
00:17:51,240 --> 00:17:53,579
Rock bands aside, many ordinary citizens
342
00:17:53,580 --> 00:17:55,649
who contributed to the state
through their hard work
343
00:17:55,650 --> 00:17:56,939
were also popular.
344
00:17:56,940 --> 00:17:58,829
They were placed on bank notes
345
00:17:58,830 --> 00:18:01,109
of Yugoslavia's national
currency, the dinar.
346
00:18:01,110 --> 00:18:06,110
And the most famous were Alija
Sirotanovic and Arif Heralic,
347
00:18:06,510 --> 00:18:08,339
who were from Bosnia and Herzegovina.
348
00:18:08,340 --> 00:18:12,269
The two were known as
Udarniks or shock workers.
349
00:18:12,270 --> 00:18:14,009
Udarniks were highly productive workers
350
00:18:14,010 --> 00:18:17,189
known for their superproductive,
enthusiastic labour,
351
00:18:17,190 --> 00:18:19,049
and incredible results.
352
00:18:19,050 --> 00:18:21,299
This award promoted economic development
353
00:18:21,300 --> 00:18:24,119
that was evident in
Bosnia and Herzegovina.
354
00:18:24,120 --> 00:18:27,959
After Tito's death in 1980,
Yugoslavia somewhat opened up
355
00:18:27,960 --> 00:18:30,539
to criticism of social problems.
356
00:18:30,540 --> 00:18:32,009
The Top List of the Surrealists
357
00:18:32,010 --> 00:18:35,549
started airing a radio comedy
segment in the early 1980s,
358
00:18:35,550 --> 00:18:38,999
later becoming a sketch comedy
and variety television show
359
00:18:39,000 --> 00:18:41,669
which aired on Sarajevo
TV and, to an extent,
360
00:18:41,670 --> 00:18:43,589
on Yugoslav radio television.
361
00:18:43,590 --> 00:18:45,899
The show sketches discussed social issues
362
00:18:45,900 --> 00:18:50,339
in a satirical manner, often
predicting events to come.
363
00:18:50,340 --> 00:18:53,609
In criticising the extensive
bureaucratic apparatus,
364
00:18:53,610 --> 00:18:55,139
the surrealists filmed a sketch
365
00:18:55,140 --> 00:18:56,519
in which government officials
366
00:18:56,520 --> 00:18:58,739
and politicians staged a strike
367
00:18:58,740 --> 00:19:01,739
because industrial workers
were demanding their paychecks
368
00:19:01,740 --> 00:19:04,631
and the citizens constantly
had their own requests.
369
00:19:04,632 --> 00:19:07,381
They're wasteful and keep
asking for paychecks...
370
00:19:07,382 --> 00:19:08,776
No more!
371
00:19:10,800 --> 00:19:12,839
The already seriously deteriorated
372
00:19:12,840 --> 00:19:14,849
financial status of the citizens
373
00:19:14,850 --> 00:19:18,059
was presented satirically
in the show "Prize Robbery"
374
00:19:18,060 --> 00:19:20,249
in which citizens participated in a game
375
00:19:20,250 --> 00:19:22,386
in which they were
deprived of their property.
376
00:19:22,387 --> 00:19:24,839
As you know, we're taking their TV now.
377
00:19:24,840 --> 00:19:27,222
Let's hope the lucky losers are at home.
378
00:19:27,223 --> 00:19:29,788
I see the TV is a
"Hyundai" from South Korea.
379
00:19:29,789 --> 00:19:30,630
A "Hyundai"?!
380
00:19:30,631 --> 00:19:32,309
At the beginning of the 1990s,
381
00:19:32,310 --> 00:19:34,289
as ethnic tensions were rising,
382
00:19:34,290 --> 00:19:37,139
the surrealists staged
a fake news programme
383
00:19:37,140 --> 00:19:39,179
declaring that Bosnia and Herzegovina
384
00:19:39,180 --> 00:19:42,479
is threatened by an outbreak of peace.
385
00:19:42,480 --> 00:19:45,269
Humour through satire, as a
way of dealing with problems
386
00:19:45,270 --> 00:19:48,149
and shortcomings, remains
present to this day
387
00:19:48,150 --> 00:19:49,799
in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
388
00:19:49,800 --> 00:19:51,569
But in addition to this phenomenon,
389
00:19:51,570 --> 00:19:54,209
there are hidden dangers
for the uninformed visitor.
390
00:19:54,210 --> 00:19:55,769
Here you have to be very careful.
391
00:19:55,770 --> 00:19:57,839
For example, when it comes to food,
392
00:19:57,840 --> 00:20:00,509
especially when it comes
to a specialty, burek,
393
00:20:00,510 --> 00:20:01,926
if you accidentally order...
394
00:20:01,927 --> 00:20:03,127
Burek with cheese.
395
00:20:06,198 --> 00:20:08,181
I mean... with potatoes?
396
00:20:11,411 --> 00:20:12,611
Some cream?
397
00:20:15,758 --> 00:20:17,465
Burek is only with meat.
398
00:20:24,660 --> 00:20:26,009
The cuisine of this area
399
00:20:26,010 --> 00:20:29,429
is characterised by the
dynamics of mixing cultures
400
00:20:29,430 --> 00:20:32,519
so the dishes are very
colourful and delicious,
401
00:20:32,520 --> 00:20:35,099
thanks to the spices that
come from the orient.
402
00:20:35,100 --> 00:20:38,339
Every visitor has to try the Bosnian pot,
403
00:20:38,340 --> 00:20:42,599
tufahije, baklava, sogan dolma, cevapi,
404
00:20:42,600 --> 00:20:44,489
and many other dishes.
405
00:20:44,490 --> 00:20:47,519
However, I definitely first
recommend you try burek.
406
00:20:47,520 --> 00:20:49,529
The dough, made using old techniques,
407
00:20:49,530 --> 00:20:50,730
with a delicious filling
408
00:20:50,731 --> 00:20:53,519
is something most people
here consume every day,
409
00:20:53,520 --> 00:20:55,189
and it's something that
holds a special place
410
00:20:55,190 --> 00:20:58,886
in the hearts of all who live
in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
411
00:21:05,250 --> 00:21:08,099
After Jure Franko won the first ever
412
00:21:08,100 --> 00:21:10,169
Winter Olympics medal for Yugoslavia
413
00:21:10,170 --> 00:21:11,609
at the Games in Sarajevo,
414
00:21:11,610 --> 00:21:13,746
Franko was celebrated with the slogan
415
00:21:13,747 --> 00:21:16,746
"I love Jurek more than burek."
416
00:21:16,747 --> 00:21:18,265
Jure! Jure!
417
00:21:18,266 --> 00:21:19,099
Jure! Jure!
418
00:21:19,100 --> 00:21:20,999
However, the mix of
cultures wasn't evident
419
00:21:21,000 --> 00:21:23,669
in just the food, but also
in the political system
420
00:21:23,670 --> 00:21:25,829
of the socialist Bosnia and Herzegovina
421
00:21:25,830 --> 00:21:27,839
inhabited by its constituent nations,
422
00:21:27,840 --> 00:21:30,989
Serbs, Croats, and Muslims.
423
00:21:30,990 --> 00:21:31,860
Maybe you're confused
424
00:21:31,861 --> 00:21:33,899
why we're talking about
Muslims as a nation
425
00:21:33,900 --> 00:21:35,999
when you know that Muslims
are a religious group,
426
00:21:36,000 --> 00:21:38,249
which is different from an ethnic group.
427
00:21:38,250 --> 00:21:41,039
Well, in 1971, the Yugoslav census
428
00:21:41,040 --> 00:21:43,169
allowed members of
Bosnia and Herzegovina's
429
00:21:43,170 --> 00:21:45,629
Muslim religious community
to declare themselves
430
00:21:45,630 --> 00:21:48,243
as Muslim by ethnicity for the first time.
431
00:21:49,654 --> 00:21:52,353
The moment when someone
is declared a nation
432
00:21:52,354 --> 00:21:54,594
as is the case in linguistics,
433
00:21:54,595 --> 00:21:56,440
he becomes a political nation,
434
00:21:56,441 --> 00:21:58,548
which, given the time,
435
00:21:58,549 --> 00:22:02,169
stops caring about the past.
436
00:22:02,170 --> 00:22:03,959
Their historical genesis
can be traced back
437
00:22:03,960 --> 00:22:06,389
to the Balkan conquest
of the Ottoman Empire,
438
00:22:06,390 --> 00:22:08,369
which was predominantly Muslim.
439
00:22:08,370 --> 00:22:12,419
In 1971, many identified
their ethnicity as Muslim.
440
00:22:12,420 --> 00:22:16,739
While as of 1993, they
identify as Bosniak.
441
00:22:16,740 --> 00:22:19,169
Serbs, Bosniaks, and Croats
442
00:22:19,170 --> 00:22:21,029
all participated in the creation
443
00:22:21,030 --> 00:22:24,059
of Bosnia and Herzegovina's
cultural uniqueness.
444
00:22:24,060 --> 00:22:25,769
And in the Socialist Yugoslavia,
445
00:22:25,770 --> 00:22:28,079
the system was devised in such a way
446
00:22:28,080 --> 00:22:30,449
that no matter which group
was greater in number,
447
00:22:30,450 --> 00:22:32,489
they all had an equal opportunity
448
00:22:32,490 --> 00:22:34,473
to participate in policymaking.
449
00:22:37,920 --> 00:22:39,779
Mostar is a Herzegovinian city
450
00:22:39,780 --> 00:22:41,789
named after the guardians of the bridges
451
00:22:41,790 --> 00:22:43,889
and bridge builders on the river Neretva
452
00:22:43,890 --> 00:22:45,389
where it's located.
453
00:22:45,390 --> 00:22:46,560
And the Old Bridge
454
00:22:46,561 --> 00:22:48,813
is the most recognisable part of the city.
455
00:22:51,150 --> 00:22:53,429
The bridge was built during
the Ottoman occupation
456
00:22:53,430 --> 00:22:55,019
in the 16th century,
457
00:22:55,020 --> 00:22:57,179
but it was demolished by Croatian forces
458
00:22:57,180 --> 00:22:59,549
during the war in 1993.
459
00:22:59,550 --> 00:23:01,259
The spirit of the people who live here
460
00:23:01,260 --> 00:23:03,396
is reflected in the
black humour joke that,
461
00:23:03,397 --> 00:23:07,349
"After the demolition, they'll
build an even older bridge."
462
00:23:07,350 --> 00:23:09,929
After a war that's destroyed
much of the historic city,
463
00:23:09,930 --> 00:23:12,449
the task of rebuilding
is finally underway.
464
00:23:12,450 --> 00:23:15,149
The rebuild bridge is
called the New Old Bridge,
465
00:23:15,150 --> 00:23:17,759
and a specific tradition
is connected to it,
466
00:23:17,760 --> 00:23:21,179
which speaks of the courage
of Herzegovinian young men.
467
00:23:21,180 --> 00:23:23,823
And that tradition looks like this.
468
00:24:03,472 --> 00:24:05,999
Herzegovinian young men,
known for their courage,
469
00:24:06,000 --> 00:24:08,219
certainly took the lead in such jumps.
470
00:24:08,220 --> 00:24:10,949
But the period after the 1984 Olympics
471
00:24:10,950 --> 00:24:14,073
brought new types of confirmation
of this characteristic.
472
00:24:17,940 --> 00:24:20,699
If you were a young guy
during the Sarajevo Olympics,
473
00:24:20,700 --> 00:24:22,919
you knew that a Volkswagen Golf
474
00:24:22,920 --> 00:24:25,353
worked wonders for your
reputation in the city.
475
00:24:31,264 --> 00:24:34,271
Not many had a Volkswagen Golf back then,
476
00:24:34,272 --> 00:24:36,137
it just started getting made in Vogosca,
477
00:24:36,138 --> 00:24:40,595
but whoever had it
could easily get a girl.
478
00:24:40,596 --> 00:24:42,012
I didn't have a Golf
479
00:24:42,013 --> 00:24:45,495
but I had other skills that
helped with the ladies.
480
00:24:45,496 --> 00:24:47,070
I don't want to brag,
481
00:24:47,071 --> 00:24:50,870
but you can imagine what
that was like at age 20.
482
00:24:50,871 --> 00:24:55,871
What was life in Sarajevo
like for a 20-year-old
483
00:24:56,011 --> 00:24:59,360
during the Winter Olympics?
484
00:24:59,361 --> 00:25:01,493
It was more than good.
485
00:25:01,494 --> 00:25:05,235
An incredible euphoria swept the region.
486
00:25:05,236 --> 00:25:08,401
A great atmosphere, awesome vibes,
487
00:25:08,402 --> 00:25:11,984
the Olympic spirit that
flared up and spread then
488
00:25:11,985 --> 00:25:15,326
still lives in the
generation of that time.
489
00:25:15,327 --> 00:25:17,816
It was truly unique.
490
00:25:17,817 --> 00:25:20,465
We all gave it our best to be good hosts,
491
00:25:20,466 --> 00:25:22,574
to tidy up our balconies,
492
00:25:22,575 --> 00:25:26,115
yards, buildings, facades, etc.
493
00:25:26,116 --> 00:25:28,956
We were all like one
494
00:25:28,957 --> 00:25:33,489
and succeeded in being good hosts.
495
00:25:39,300 --> 00:25:41,129
The expansion of cooperation
496
00:25:41,130 --> 00:25:43,799
with the German auto-making
giant Volkswagen
497
00:25:43,800 --> 00:25:45,359
was supposed to be the pinnacle
498
00:25:45,360 --> 00:25:48,449
of Bosnia and Herzegovina's
economic development.
499
00:25:48,450 --> 00:25:51,269
But in 1989, the Berlin Wall fell.
500
00:25:51,270 --> 00:25:52,410
And the very next year,
501
00:25:52,411 --> 00:25:55,409
the 14th Congress of the
Communist Party in Belgrade
502
00:25:55,410 --> 00:25:57,209
saw the delegations of the republics
503
00:25:57,210 --> 00:25:59,969
of Slovenia and Croatia leave the party.
504
00:25:59,970 --> 00:26:02,549
With Slovenia and Croatia's
declarations of independence,
505
00:26:02,550 --> 00:26:05,159
the stable rule of the
Communist Party of Yugoslavia
506
00:26:05,160 --> 00:26:08,279
turned into a civil war in 1991.
507
00:26:08,280 --> 00:26:10,649
Thus, at the end of the 20th century,
508
00:26:10,650 --> 00:26:13,379
we saw that history
didn't leave scars here,
509
00:26:13,380 --> 00:26:15,753
but rather open wounds.
510
00:26:35,340 --> 00:26:37,829
The dissolution of the
Christian church in 1054
511
00:26:37,830 --> 00:26:41,099
into a western Catholic
church with its centre in Rome
512
00:26:41,100 --> 00:26:42,839
and an Eastern Orthodox church
513
00:26:42,840 --> 00:26:44,639
with its centre in Constantinople
514
00:26:44,640 --> 00:26:46,949
brought a millennium of
bloody religious wars
515
00:26:46,950 --> 00:26:49,079
to the area of Southeast Europe.
516
00:26:49,080 --> 00:26:52,289
The understanding of religion
as being a reason to go to war
517
00:26:52,290 --> 00:26:54,809
appeared as a relic at the
end of the 20th century
518
00:26:54,810 --> 00:26:57,179
right here around the river Bosna,
519
00:26:57,180 --> 00:26:59,009
which was, and remains,
520
00:26:59,010 --> 00:27:00,810
one of the borders of this division.
521
00:27:01,950 --> 00:27:03,060
As the central government
522
00:27:03,061 --> 00:27:05,009
of the Communist Party was weakening,
523
00:27:05,010 --> 00:27:07,649
the major ethnic groups
in Bosnia and Herzegovina
524
00:27:07,650 --> 00:27:10,499
all founded their national
political parties.
525
00:27:10,500 --> 00:27:14,309
Although the so-called Croatian
Democratic Union or HDZ
526
00:27:14,310 --> 00:27:18,389
was founded by Franjo Tudman
in early 1990 in Croatia.
527
00:27:18,390 --> 00:27:21,869
The HDZ operated in Bosnia
and Herzegovina itself
528
00:27:21,870 --> 00:27:24,659
representing the
interests of Croats there.
529
00:27:24,660 --> 00:27:26,279
In May of 1990,
530
00:27:26,280 --> 00:27:29,939
the Islamist Party of
Democratic Action or SDA
531
00:27:29,940 --> 00:27:33,419
was founded by Alija Izetbegovic
in Bosnia and Herzegovina
532
00:27:33,420 --> 00:27:35,909
representing the interests of Muslims.
533
00:27:35,910 --> 00:27:37,023
The Serbs in that republic
534
00:27:37,024 --> 00:27:39,689
were the last to form
their national party.
535
00:27:39,690 --> 00:27:42,929
The Serbian Democratic Party or SDS
536
00:27:42,930 --> 00:27:46,079
led by Sarajevo psychiatrist,
Radovan Karadzic,
537
00:27:46,080 --> 00:27:48,179
representing the political will of Serbs
538
00:27:48,180 --> 00:27:50,669
in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
539
00:27:50,670 --> 00:27:53,939
After the first multi-party
elections in the republic,
540
00:27:53,940 --> 00:27:58,940
the Muslim SDA took 86
seats, the Serb SDS 72 seats,
541
00:27:59,040 --> 00:28:02,729
and the Croat HDZ 45 seats.
542
00:28:02,730 --> 00:28:04,439
According to the constitution,
543
00:28:04,440 --> 00:28:06,449
major decisions could not have been made
544
00:28:06,450 --> 00:28:10,109
without a consensus reached
by all three nations,
545
00:28:10,110 --> 00:28:12,779
but the political leaders
of the Muslims and Croats
546
00:28:12,780 --> 00:28:14,823
decided to ignore this golden rule.
547
00:28:15,870 --> 00:28:17,999
It's considered that the
creation of modern nations
548
00:28:18,000 --> 00:28:21,359
took place at the end of
the 18th and 19th century
549
00:28:21,360 --> 00:28:23,759
with the French, German,
and Italian nations
550
00:28:23,760 --> 00:28:25,889
serving as the best examples.
551
00:28:25,890 --> 00:28:26,940
But the Serbian people
552
00:28:26,941 --> 00:28:28,589
don't owe their awareness of belonging
553
00:28:28,590 --> 00:28:31,079
to the constitution of the state itself,
554
00:28:31,080 --> 00:28:32,823
but to their ancient identity.
555
00:28:34,320 --> 00:28:36,779
In one of the most important
historical writings
556
00:28:36,780 --> 00:28:39,689
from the 10th century,
De Administrando Imperio,
557
00:28:39,690 --> 00:28:42,899
written by Byzantine
emperor Constantine VII,
558
00:28:42,900 --> 00:28:45,539
he mentions the small land of Bosnia
559
00:28:45,540 --> 00:28:49,469
and these towns there, he
says, are inhabited by Serbs.
560
00:28:49,470 --> 00:28:52,919
The bans or rulers in Bosnia
in the early Middle Ages
561
00:28:52,920 --> 00:28:55,199
were more or less in a vassal position
562
00:28:55,200 --> 00:28:57,479
in relation to the powerful Hungary,
563
00:28:57,480 --> 00:28:59,579
but the ethnic composition of their land
564
00:28:59,580 --> 00:29:01,409
posed no dilemma for them.
565
00:29:01,410 --> 00:29:03,578
In his charter from 1249,
566
00:29:03,579 --> 00:29:07,439
Ban Matej Ninoslav signed
himself as Matej Stefan,
567
00:29:07,440 --> 00:29:08,939
reflective of his connection
568
00:29:08,940 --> 00:29:10,889
with the Serbian Nemanjic dynasty
569
00:29:10,890 --> 00:29:14,129
as all its members also
took the name Stefan.
570
00:29:14,130 --> 00:29:16,769
The ban sees his subjects as Serbs,
571
00:29:16,770 --> 00:29:19,979
while Pope Urban III, in
the Dubrovnik charter,
572
00:29:19,980 --> 00:29:23,279
even sees Bosnia itself ruled by Kulin Ban
573
00:29:23,280 --> 00:29:25,559
as a part of Serbia.
574
00:29:25,560 --> 00:29:26,909
Seven centuries ago,
575
00:29:26,910 --> 00:29:30,179
right here at the Mileseva
Monastery in present day Serbia,
576
00:29:30,180 --> 00:29:32,399
the most important Bosnian ruler,
577
00:29:32,400 --> 00:29:34,889
Tvrtko Kotromanic I was crowned.
578
00:29:34,890 --> 00:29:37,739
And with this act, he put
a stamp on the identity
579
00:29:37,740 --> 00:29:39,446
of the people of Bosnia.
580
00:29:39,447 --> 00:29:42,599
Tvrtko Kotromanic I was
crowned in front of the relics
581
00:29:42,600 --> 00:29:45,919
of the most important
Nemanjic, Saint Sava.
582
00:29:45,920 --> 00:29:47,879
Tvrtko took the name Stefan,
583
00:29:47,880 --> 00:29:49,859
put lilies on his coat of arms
584
00:29:49,860 --> 00:29:54,059
and in his signature called
himself the King of the Serbs.
585
00:29:54,060 --> 00:29:57,659
These gestures are all typical
of the Nemanjic Dynasty,
586
00:29:57,660 --> 00:30:01,289
which show how the most significant
ruler of medieval Bosnia
587
00:30:01,290 --> 00:30:03,633
saw himself and his people.
588
00:30:06,000 --> 00:30:07,919
This is the flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina
589
00:30:07,920 --> 00:30:10,079
that the Bosniaks designed
during the war years,
590
00:30:10,080 --> 00:30:12,959
and it was official up until 1998.
591
00:30:12,960 --> 00:30:15,059
They used the same emblem on the uniform
592
00:30:15,060 --> 00:30:17,669
of the Bosniak-dominated army
of Bosnia and Herzegovina
593
00:30:17,670 --> 00:30:18,899
during the war.
594
00:30:18,900 --> 00:30:21,869
This is the flag of Serbia.
595
00:30:21,870 --> 00:30:25,949
Look closer. Remarkable resemblance.
596
00:30:25,950 --> 00:30:27,959
However, Bosniaks didn't see the lilies
597
00:30:27,960 --> 00:30:29,939
as the Nemanjic heritage of Bosnia,
598
00:30:29,940 --> 00:30:33,869
which they factually represent
but as its exact antithesis,
599
00:30:33,870 --> 00:30:36,659
a negation of Bosnia's own history.
600
00:30:36,660 --> 00:30:40,589
The Nemanjic legacy was also
denied in the name Herzegovina
601
00:30:40,590 --> 00:30:44,009
despite it originating from
the medieval area of Hum,
602
00:30:44,010 --> 00:30:47,039
which the founder of the
Nemanjic Dynasty, Stefan Nemanja,
603
00:30:47,040 --> 00:30:48,299
called his homeland
604
00:30:48,300 --> 00:30:50,729
and was ruled by the
most prominent members
605
00:30:50,730 --> 00:30:51,930
of the Serbian court.
606
00:30:54,090 --> 00:30:56,339
To understand this historical ignorance,
607
00:30:56,340 --> 00:30:59,309
we have to discuss the Stecak tombstones.
608
00:30:59,310 --> 00:31:00,143
Now, we mentioned
609
00:31:00,144 --> 00:31:01,799
that they were erected
here in the Middle Ages
610
00:31:01,800 --> 00:31:04,469
and that Herzegovina has
the largest number of them.
611
00:31:04,470 --> 00:31:07,079
Just in one town, here in Nevesinje,
612
00:31:07,080 --> 00:31:09,209
there are more of these tombstones
613
00:31:09,210 --> 00:31:11,489
than in all of Central Bosnia.
614
00:31:11,490 --> 00:31:13,859
And this site is
considered to be the place
615
00:31:13,860 --> 00:31:15,993
where the medieval state originated.
616
00:31:17,010 --> 00:31:20,009
These medieval tombstones
are on UNESCO's list
617
00:31:20,010 --> 00:31:21,569
of intangible heritage.
618
00:31:21,570 --> 00:31:23,219
In the form of an epitaph,
619
00:31:23,220 --> 00:31:25,619
they expressed a certain social status
620
00:31:25,620 --> 00:31:29,309
or some peculiarity for the
one who was buried there.
621
00:31:29,310 --> 00:31:31,079
At the time that the Stecak tombstones
622
00:31:31,080 --> 00:31:34,349
were already being built in
Bosnia, Bogomilism appeared,
623
00:31:34,350 --> 00:31:36,149
an autochthonous response to the people
624
00:31:36,150 --> 00:31:39,869
who weren't close to either
Orthodox or Catholic Christians.
625
00:31:39,870 --> 00:31:42,239
Both churches considered them heretics.
626
00:31:42,240 --> 00:31:45,479
Now, some historians claim
that the Stecak tombstones
627
00:31:45,480 --> 00:31:46,859
were linked to the Bogomils
628
00:31:46,860 --> 00:31:49,409
through inscriptions and
paintings found on them,
629
00:31:49,410 --> 00:31:52,109
and this claim is used
by many Bosniaks today
630
00:31:52,110 --> 00:31:55,589
to try to present themselves
as descendants of the Bogomils
631
00:31:55,590 --> 00:31:57,539
and to argue that their genesis
632
00:31:57,540 --> 00:32:01,889
can in no way be traced
to Serbs or Croats.
633
00:32:01,890 --> 00:32:04,469
However, the inscription
on a Stecak tombstone
634
00:32:04,470 --> 00:32:06,839
doesn't deal with religious affiliation,
635
00:32:06,840 --> 00:32:09,869
but rather tries to
emphasise social status,
636
00:32:09,870 --> 00:32:13,229
while the Bogomils were against
anything that is material,
637
00:32:13,230 --> 00:32:15,753
including the construction of tombstones.
638
00:32:16,860 --> 00:32:19,139
The Cajnice Gospel, a liturgical book
639
00:32:19,140 --> 00:32:20,579
written in the 15th century,
640
00:32:20,580 --> 00:32:22,739
is one of the most
important Cyrillic writings
641
00:32:22,740 --> 00:32:25,289
from the territory of
Bosnia and Herzegovina.
642
00:32:25,290 --> 00:32:28,199
The strong presence of
Byzantine rituals and emergence
643
00:32:28,200 --> 00:32:30,719
of some of the most
important Cyrillic writings
644
00:32:30,720 --> 00:32:34,199
demonstrates a formed
identity of Serbs in this area
645
00:32:34,200 --> 00:32:37,071
in the first centuries
of the second millennium.
646
00:32:37,072 --> 00:32:39,562
A nation can be defined
647
00:32:39,563 --> 00:32:42,178
as a community tied by a common language.
648
00:32:42,179 --> 00:32:45,961
This is the strength of a nation
649
00:32:45,962 --> 00:32:49,577
and not, as some philosophers consider it,
650
00:32:49,578 --> 00:32:51,934
a "tribal construct".
651
00:32:51,935 --> 00:32:53,942
It is the last line of defense
652
00:32:53,943 --> 00:32:57,114
of a kind of culture that is threatened.
653
00:32:57,115 --> 00:32:59,519
The worldview of a person
living in the Middle Ages
654
00:32:59,520 --> 00:33:01,679
was largely defined by religion.
655
00:33:01,680 --> 00:33:03,989
Depending on which religion you belong to,
656
00:33:03,990 --> 00:33:06,599
you'd be a part of a
certain cultural pattern.
657
00:33:06,600 --> 00:33:09,299
Catholics used the Latin
language and script
658
00:33:09,300 --> 00:33:10,619
while Orthodox Christians
659
00:33:10,620 --> 00:33:13,079
used the Greek language and alphabet.
660
00:33:13,080 --> 00:33:15,809
As Serbs accepted
Christianity from Byzantium
661
00:33:15,810 --> 00:33:17,189
in the ninth century
662
00:33:17,190 --> 00:33:20,039
but didn't originate from
a Greek-speaking area,
663
00:33:20,040 --> 00:33:22,859
an authentic script for
understanding liturgical books
664
00:33:22,860 --> 00:33:25,079
was developed, Cyrillic.
665
00:33:25,080 --> 00:33:27,959
The Serbian Cyrillic
alphabet remains a feature
666
00:33:27,960 --> 00:33:30,389
of Serbian culture to this day,
667
00:33:30,390 --> 00:33:33,479
but it was also very
present in medieval Bosnia.
668
00:33:33,480 --> 00:33:35,969
For example, in the Charter of Kulin Ban
669
00:33:35,970 --> 00:33:38,969
and in Miroslav's Gospel,
which is still preserved
670
00:33:38,970 --> 00:33:41,099
as one of the most important monuments
671
00:33:41,100 --> 00:33:43,120
of Serbian cultural heritage.
672
00:33:47,550 --> 00:33:48,839
Criticising democracy,
673
00:33:48,840 --> 00:33:51,216
English philosopher
Thomas Hobbes argued that,
674
00:33:51,217 --> 00:33:54,539
"In absolutism power can
be abused by one man,
675
00:33:54,540 --> 00:33:57,387
while in democracy it can
be abused by many more."
676
00:33:58,950 --> 00:34:01,859
Alija Izetbegovic, the ideologue, founder,
677
00:34:01,860 --> 00:34:05,549
and leader of the Party of
Democratic Action in the 1990s,
678
00:34:05,550 --> 00:34:09,389
was sentenced to 14
years of prison in 1983
679
00:34:09,390 --> 00:34:11,429
in the then Socialist Yugoslavia,
680
00:34:11,430 --> 00:34:13,529
along with nine other accomplices,
681
00:34:13,530 --> 00:34:16,559
for Muslim nationalism
and hostile propaganda.
682
00:34:16,560 --> 00:34:18,719
Seven years later, the same year
683
00:34:18,720 --> 00:34:21,509
when Izetbegovic founded
his political party,
684
00:34:21,510 --> 00:34:22,889
the first edition of his book
685
00:34:22,890 --> 00:34:26,099
called "The Islamic
Declaration" was published.
686
00:34:26,100 --> 00:34:29,519
In it he explicitly said
that the Islamic movement
687
00:34:29,520 --> 00:34:33,029
must take power when it becomes
strong enough in numbers.
688
00:34:33,030 --> 00:34:36,479
And when it takes over, it
should create a new government
689
00:34:36,480 --> 00:34:40,979
which corresponds exclusively
to the Islamic worldview.
690
00:34:40,980 --> 00:34:42,839
Following what he himself wrote,
691
00:34:42,840 --> 00:34:44,819
"there is no peace or coexistence
692
00:34:44,820 --> 00:34:47,669
between the Islamic faith
and non-Islamic social
693
00:34:47,670 --> 00:34:50,121
and political institutions",
694
00:34:50,122 --> 00:34:53,129
Izetbegovic wanted an independent
Bosnia and Herzegovina.
695
00:34:53,130 --> 00:34:54,120
And the Croats,
696
00:34:54,121 --> 00:34:56,129
following the example
of neighbouring Croatia
697
00:34:56,130 --> 00:34:58,079
which had already declared independence,
698
00:34:58,080 --> 00:34:59,759
also wanted to secede.
699
00:34:59,760 --> 00:35:01,319
Taught by their own history,
700
00:35:01,320 --> 00:35:04,679
the Serbs saw their survival
in a union with Serbia,
701
00:35:04,680 --> 00:35:06,659
that is in Yugoslavia.
702
00:35:06,660 --> 00:35:08,069
And they were ready to resolve
703
00:35:08,070 --> 00:35:10,295
any disagreements by consensus.
704
00:35:10,296 --> 00:35:13,344
We've all decided there
would be no outvoting.
705
00:35:13,345 --> 00:35:15,203
No decision of this Assembly
706
00:35:15,204 --> 00:35:17,186
is worth any potential divisions
707
00:35:17,187 --> 00:35:18,719
in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
708
00:35:18,720 --> 00:35:20,129
But they were duped.
709
00:35:20,130 --> 00:35:22,259
After several unsuccessful attempts
710
00:35:22,260 --> 00:35:26,069
for a unilateral decision
by Muslim and Croat MPs,
711
00:35:26,070 --> 00:35:28,889
on October 14th, 1991,
712
00:35:28,890 --> 00:35:30,749
as the session of Bosnia and Herzegovina's
713
00:35:30,750 --> 00:35:32,304
parliament was ending...
714
00:35:32,305 --> 00:35:33,488
I'm ending the session,
715
00:35:33,489 --> 00:35:35,099
thank you for your presence.
716
00:35:35,100 --> 00:35:39,029
Muslim and Croat MPs waited
for the Serb MPs to leave
717
00:35:39,030 --> 00:35:41,339
and then, well after midnight,
718
00:35:41,340 --> 00:35:43,169
without the presence of Serbs,
719
00:35:43,170 --> 00:35:45,839
they adopted the memorandum of sovereignty
720
00:35:45,840 --> 00:35:47,493
of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
721
00:35:52,110 --> 00:35:53,459
Making crucial decisions
722
00:35:53,460 --> 00:35:56,579
that affect the destinies of
millions of people in secret
723
00:35:56,580 --> 00:35:58,049
in the wee hours of the night
724
00:35:58,050 --> 00:36:00,843
is reminiscent of a Sevdalinka song.
725
00:36:02,520 --> 00:36:07,387
Mujo is horse shoeing in the moonlight.
726
00:36:16,308 --> 00:36:21,308
Mujo's horse shoeing, his
mother is cursing him.
727
00:36:38,145 --> 00:36:42,820
My son,
728
00:36:46,641 --> 00:36:50,244
listen to your mother,
729
00:36:54,633 --> 00:36:59,566
horse shoeing isn't done in the moonlight,
730
00:37:00,983 --> 00:37:05,966
but at daytime in the sunlight.
731
00:37:16,170 --> 00:37:19,109
He talks about a young man
criticised by his wise mother,
732
00:37:19,110 --> 00:37:21,959
who says that important
work isn't done at night.
733
00:37:21,960 --> 00:37:24,209
He justifies it by being in love.
734
00:37:24,210 --> 00:37:27,243
However, what excuse did
the much older MPs have?
735
00:37:30,690 --> 00:37:33,449
The October 15th decision
was a consequence
736
00:37:33,450 --> 00:37:36,779
of a clear desire expressed
by Alija Izetbegovic
737
00:37:36,780 --> 00:37:40,019
in his own words during
a parliamentary session
738
00:37:40,020 --> 00:37:41,510
of the same year.
739
00:37:43,140 --> 00:37:45,509
"I would sacrifice peace
740
00:37:45,510 --> 00:37:48,209
for a sovereign Bosnia and Herzegovina.
741
00:37:48,210 --> 00:37:52,979
For peace, I would not
sacrifice sovereignty."
742
00:37:52,980 --> 00:37:54,449
The message was clear.
743
00:37:54,450 --> 00:37:57,749
Decisions would no longer
be made by consensus,
744
00:37:57,750 --> 00:38:02,750
but rather by outvoting the
Serbs, even at the cost of war.
745
00:38:02,765 --> 00:38:04,397
War is not our goal,
746
00:38:04,398 --> 00:38:06,597
but fighting would be the
means to achieve our goal
747
00:38:06,598 --> 00:38:08,909
if no other way is possible.
748
00:38:08,910 --> 00:38:11,099
The Serbs are a nation
whose collective memory
749
00:38:11,100 --> 00:38:13,079
dates back more than a millennium.
750
00:38:13,080 --> 00:38:15,869
And in that memory, the era
of the Ottoman occupation
751
00:38:15,870 --> 00:38:17,549
is certainly engraved,
752
00:38:17,550 --> 00:38:21,140
a time when their rights
were extremely endangered.
753
00:38:21,141 --> 00:38:25,149
In Ottoman-ruled Bosnia and Herzegovina,
754
00:38:25,150 --> 00:38:27,073
in its spahiluks,
755
00:38:27,074 --> 00:38:32,006
as they called the territories
governed by local vassals,
756
00:38:32,007 --> 00:38:36,752
there were 35 kanuns - Ottoman laws,
757
00:38:36,753 --> 00:38:40,652
And in those 35 kanuns,
they wrote down in detail
758
00:38:40,653 --> 00:38:44,210
that if you wanted to
restore a destroyed church
759
00:38:44,211 --> 00:38:48,226
or, better yet, build a new one -
760
00:38:48,227 --> 00:38:49,148
you couldn't.
761
00:38:49,149 --> 00:38:54,148
The complex system of corruption
that existed in the laws
762
00:38:54,473 --> 00:38:59,473
and which actually had
their Kafkaesque order,
763
00:38:59,480 --> 00:39:03,358
made it impossible to exercise
one's religious rights.
764
00:39:04,830 --> 00:39:07,139
The desecration and
destruction of churches,
765
00:39:07,140 --> 00:39:08,849
ruthless retributions,
766
00:39:08,850 --> 00:39:10,979
and harsh living conditions of Christians
767
00:39:10,980 --> 00:39:13,379
also caused the migration of this group
768
00:39:13,380 --> 00:39:16,439
into neighbouring empires
such as Austria-Hungary,
769
00:39:16,440 --> 00:39:18,269
which, by the end of the 19th century,
770
00:39:18,270 --> 00:39:21,563
significantly changed the
ethnic composition of this area.
771
00:39:23,910 --> 00:39:25,499
One of the most acclaimed writers
772
00:39:25,500 --> 00:39:28,139
from Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Mesa Selimovic
773
00:39:28,140 --> 00:39:30,449
was very aware of this change.
774
00:39:30,450 --> 00:39:34,739
He was born into a Bosnian
Muslim family in Tuzla in 1910,
775
00:39:34,740 --> 00:39:37,409
but discovered that his
ancestors, who were Serb,
776
00:39:37,410 --> 00:39:40,739
converted to Islam to protect
their Christian brethren.
777
00:39:40,740 --> 00:39:43,799
According to a census at
the end of the 15th century,
778
00:39:43,800 --> 00:39:48,800
over 99% of Christian families
and less than 1% of Muslims
779
00:39:48,990 --> 00:39:52,109
lived in the administrative
unit of the Bosnian Sanjak.
780
00:39:52,110 --> 00:39:55,889
While in the 19th century, the
Muslim population represented
781
00:39:55,890 --> 00:39:58,379
38% of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
782
00:39:58,380 --> 00:40:01,769
Selimovic said, "To be a Serb is glorious,
783
00:40:01,770 --> 00:40:03,569
but also expensive."
784
00:40:03,570 --> 00:40:05,879
And the cost of this
violent change of identity
785
00:40:05,880 --> 00:40:07,259
was a collective trauma
786
00:40:07,260 --> 00:40:10,609
best described by Serbian
Nobel Prize winner Ivo Andric
787
00:40:10,610 --> 00:40:13,289
in his literary work "The
Bridge on the Drina".
788
00:40:13,290 --> 00:40:14,729
Despite being written centuries
789
00:40:14,730 --> 00:40:16,289
after the events it portrays,
790
00:40:16,290 --> 00:40:18,239
it vividly and, in great detail,
791
00:40:18,240 --> 00:40:21,419
describes the Ottoman
custom called the blood tax,
792
00:40:21,420 --> 00:40:24,779
the forceful abduction of male
children from their families
793
00:40:24,780 --> 00:40:26,459
for conversion to Islam.
794
00:40:26,460 --> 00:40:29,069
The children were taken
across this very bridge
795
00:40:29,070 --> 00:40:31,143
in the town of Visegrad to Istanbul.
796
00:40:32,430 --> 00:40:34,323
In his work, Andric writes,
797
00:40:36,157 --> 00:40:38,369
"It was already the sixth year
798
00:40:38,370 --> 00:40:41,669
since the last collection
of this tribute of blood,
799
00:40:41,670 --> 00:40:46,079
and so this time the choice
had been easy and rich.
800
00:40:46,080 --> 00:40:49,199
The necessary number of healthy, bright,
801
00:40:49,200 --> 00:40:53,249
and good-looking lads
between 10 and 15 years old
802
00:40:53,250 --> 00:40:55,409
had been found without difficulty,
803
00:40:55,410 --> 00:40:57,829
even though many parents
had hidden their children
804
00:40:57,830 --> 00:41:01,649
in the forests, taught them
how to appear half-witted,
805
00:41:01,650 --> 00:41:04,439
clothed them in rags
and let them get filthy
806
00:41:04,440 --> 00:41:07,109
to avoid the aga's choice.
807
00:41:07,110 --> 00:41:10,409
Some went so far as to
maim their own children,
808
00:41:10,410 --> 00:41:13,053
cutting off one of their
fingers with an axe.
809
00:41:13,920 --> 00:41:17,669
The chosen children were laden
onto little Bosnian horses
810
00:41:17,670 --> 00:41:18,927
in a long convoy."
811
00:41:20,340 --> 00:41:22,803
Those convoys passed through here.
812
00:41:24,450 --> 00:41:26,009
I can't even begin to imagine
813
00:41:26,010 --> 00:41:28,960
how frightened those
young kidnapped boys were
814
00:41:29,970 --> 00:41:32,270
and how the children's
mothers must have felt.
815
00:41:34,657 --> 00:41:38,609
"A little way behind the last
horses in that strange convoy,
816
00:41:38,610 --> 00:41:41,609
straggled, dishevelled and exhausted,
817
00:41:41,610 --> 00:41:44,189
many parents and relatives
of those children
818
00:41:44,190 --> 00:41:47,609
who were being carried away
forever to a foreign world
819
00:41:47,610 --> 00:41:50,699
where they would be
circumcised, become Turkish,
820
00:41:50,700 --> 00:41:54,119
and forgetting their faith, their country,
821
00:41:54,120 --> 00:41:56,909
and their origin would pass their lives
822
00:41:56,910 --> 00:41:59,069
in the ranks of the janissaries
823
00:41:59,070 --> 00:42:02,669
or in some other, higher,
service of the empire.
824
00:42:02,670 --> 00:42:07,529
They were, for the most part,
women, mothers, grandmothers
825
00:42:07,530 --> 00:42:10,259
and sisters of the stolen children.
826
00:42:10,260 --> 00:42:11,699
When they came too close,
827
00:42:11,700 --> 00:42:14,669
the aga's horseman would
drive them away with whips,
828
00:42:14,670 --> 00:42:17,577
urging their horses at them
with loud cries to Allah."
829
00:42:22,950 --> 00:42:25,919
After being outvoted
by Muslim and Croat MPs
830
00:42:25,920 --> 00:42:30,920
on October 15th, 1991, Serb
MPs gathered nine days later
831
00:42:31,200 --> 00:42:34,049
and constituted the assembly
of the Serbian people
832
00:42:34,050 --> 00:42:38,189
in Bosnia and Herzegovina
with its seat in Sarajevo.
833
00:42:38,190 --> 00:42:39,120
At its first session,
834
00:42:39,121 --> 00:42:41,219
a plebiscite was called for November 10,
835
00:42:41,220 --> 00:42:43,049
which had the aim of defining the will
836
00:42:43,050 --> 00:42:45,359
of the Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina
837
00:42:45,360 --> 00:42:47,789
and asking them if they
were in favour of remaining
838
00:42:47,790 --> 00:42:50,279
in the Yugoslav community or not.
839
00:42:50,280 --> 00:42:54,573
More than 1,350,000 Serbs took part in it,
840
00:42:55,500 --> 00:42:58,653
and 96% voted to stay in Yugoslavia.
841
00:42:59,610 --> 00:43:02,309
This was indeed a desperate attempt
842
00:43:02,310 --> 00:43:06,149
by the Serb political elite to
maintain political visibility
843
00:43:06,150 --> 00:43:09,269
and try to prevent a
new demographic decline
844
00:43:09,270 --> 00:43:12,149
due to a potential loss
of political rights.
845
00:43:12,150 --> 00:43:14,039
The Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina,
846
00:43:14,040 --> 00:43:16,229
which operated without
Serb representatives
847
00:43:16,230 --> 00:43:18,779
after October 15th, 1991,
848
00:43:18,780 --> 00:43:23,219
scheduled its own referendum
for February 29th, 1992,
849
00:43:23,220 --> 00:43:25,829
in which its citizens would be
asked if they were in favour
850
00:43:25,830 --> 00:43:28,439
of an independent Bosnia and Herzegovina.
851
00:43:28,440 --> 00:43:30,359
Serbs boycotted the referendum,
852
00:43:30,360 --> 00:43:32,999
aware that their participation
would give legitimacy
853
00:43:33,000 --> 00:43:36,989
to a system of outvoting rather
than reaching a consensus.
854
00:43:36,990 --> 00:43:39,719
The referendum was held on February 29th
855
00:43:39,720 --> 00:43:42,329
and March 1st, 1992.
856
00:43:42,330 --> 00:43:45,929
Sure enough, over 99% of those who voted,
857
00:43:45,930 --> 00:43:48,119
voted to leave Yugoslavia.
858
00:43:48,120 --> 00:43:50,519
Serbs meanwhile organised
themselves politically
859
00:43:50,520 --> 00:43:53,759
in municipalities where they
had a significant majority,
860
00:43:53,760 --> 00:43:56,039
wanting to articulate
their political interests
861
00:43:56,040 --> 00:43:58,709
expressed in the 1991 plebiscite.
862
00:43:58,710 --> 00:44:01,649
The Muslims and Croats thus
had a political platform,
863
00:44:01,650 --> 00:44:04,379
but the Serbs posed an
"obstacle" of sorts.
864
00:44:04,380 --> 00:44:07,169
The Serbs possessed significant
properties, influence,
865
00:44:07,170 --> 00:44:10,019
and positions throughout
Bosnia and Herzegovina,
866
00:44:10,020 --> 00:44:11,279
and they were interwoven
867
00:44:11,280 --> 00:44:13,259
with the Muslim and Croat communities
868
00:44:13,260 --> 00:44:16,019
to the extent that no de
facto unitary government
869
00:44:16,020 --> 00:44:17,669
could be established.
870
00:44:17,670 --> 00:44:21,239
That obstacle could only
be removed through war,
871
00:44:21,240 --> 00:44:24,839
and the pretext came faster
than anyone expected.
872
00:44:24,840 --> 00:44:28,199
One shot articulated all
the political violence
873
00:44:28,200 --> 00:44:30,239
that the Muslim and Croatian side
874
00:44:30,240 --> 00:44:32,279
had been committing for a year.
875
00:44:32,280 --> 00:44:34,769
On March 1st, 1992,
876
00:44:34,770 --> 00:44:37,649
as the voting on the
referendum was still ongoing,
877
00:44:37,650 --> 00:44:39,389
but Ramiz Delalic Celo,
878
00:44:39,390 --> 00:44:41,879
who was previously convicted for violence,
879
00:44:41,880 --> 00:44:44,759
fired shots at a Serb wedding in Sarajevo.
880
00:44:44,760 --> 00:44:47,549
He killed the father of
the groom, Nikola Gardovic
881
00:44:47,550 --> 00:44:49,109
as the wedding guests were departing
882
00:44:49,110 --> 00:44:52,319
to the old Orthodox Church
for the wedding ceremony.
883
00:44:52,320 --> 00:44:55,471
The reason was, as the
executor said himself...
884
00:44:55,472 --> 00:45:00,472
They took out their Serbian
flags and started waving them.
885
00:45:00,780 --> 00:45:03,179
The same Serbian flag that was banned
886
00:45:03,180 --> 00:45:07,199
by the Austro-Hungarian government
less than a century ago.
887
00:45:07,200 --> 00:45:09,119
Nikola Gardovic was killed only
888
00:45:09,120 --> 00:45:11,729
because he was open about being a Serb.
889
00:45:11,730 --> 00:45:14,669
As no one was convicted or
even arrested for the crime,
890
00:45:14,670 --> 00:45:17,372
the killing of Serbs was
essentially legalised.
891
00:45:18,570 --> 00:45:21,049
This crime is considered
the beginning of the war
892
00:45:21,050 --> 00:45:22,859
in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
893
00:45:22,860 --> 00:45:24,959
The Muslim side denies this.
894
00:45:24,960 --> 00:45:28,379
But the fact remains that
the executor, Ramiz Delalic,
895
00:45:28,380 --> 00:45:31,139
as a member of the
Muslim's military forces,
896
00:45:31,140 --> 00:45:34,589
was decorated by Alija
Izetbegovic in person
897
00:45:34,590 --> 00:45:36,779
in the war that engulfed the country.
898
00:45:36,780 --> 00:45:38,639
The killing was a long-awaited excuse
899
00:45:38,640 --> 00:45:41,879
to implement the ideology
of "The Islamic Declaration"
900
00:45:41,880 --> 00:45:44,459
as demonstrated in the days, months,
901
00:45:44,460 --> 00:45:46,031
and years after the murder.
902
00:45:53,160 --> 00:45:55,649
The division into small and big nations
903
00:45:55,650 --> 00:45:56,820
cannot be merely determined
904
00:45:56,821 --> 00:45:59,669
by counting how many people
are a part of a nation,
905
00:45:59,670 --> 00:46:01,649
but rather according to the contribution
906
00:46:01,650 --> 00:46:04,139
a nation makes to civilization.
907
00:46:04,140 --> 00:46:06,119
And when it comes to the Serbian nation,
908
00:46:06,120 --> 00:46:10,529
they often gave the most
valuable thing they could, life.
909
00:46:10,530 --> 00:46:12,089
At the end of the 19th century,
910
00:46:12,090 --> 00:46:14,759
the Serbs of this area initiated uprisings
911
00:46:14,760 --> 00:46:18,449
and wars against the Ottoman
occupiers in the Balkans.
912
00:46:18,450 --> 00:46:21,539
From this spot, not far
from the town of Nevesinje,
913
00:46:21,540 --> 00:46:23,339
the Serbs rebelled in their desire
914
00:46:23,340 --> 00:46:26,519
to rid themselves of the now
renegade Ottoman authorities
915
00:46:26,520 --> 00:46:29,099
and they freed themselves
from the occupier.
916
00:46:29,100 --> 00:46:31,900
But this occupier was instantly
replaced by another one.
917
00:46:33,240 --> 00:46:35,549
At the moment, when the
Austro-Hungarian occupier
918
00:46:35,550 --> 00:46:38,489
was taking control over
Bosnia and Herzegovina,
919
00:46:38,490 --> 00:46:41,669
Serbs made up 43% of the population there
920
00:46:41,670 --> 00:46:44,639
and with a single largest ethnic group.
921
00:46:44,640 --> 00:46:47,489
This didn't suit the new
Austro-Hungarian occupier,
922
00:46:47,490 --> 00:46:49,559
so the ethnic composition
was to be adjusted
923
00:46:49,560 --> 00:46:51,119
in a two-step process:
924
00:46:51,120 --> 00:46:53,369
one, changing the national structure;
925
00:46:53,370 --> 00:46:56,223
and two, controlling
inter-ethnic relations.
926
00:46:57,210 --> 00:46:59,939
Already in the first years
of Austro-Hungarian rule,
927
00:46:59,940 --> 00:47:02,369
migrants were brought
in, mostly from Bavaria,
928
00:47:02,370 --> 00:47:04,679
but from other parts
of the empire as well.
929
00:47:04,680 --> 00:47:07,832
The first migrant colony near
Banja Luka was Windhorst.
930
00:47:07,833 --> 00:47:09,929
They were nicknamed Kuferasi,
931
00:47:09,930 --> 00:47:11,699
loosely translated to foreigners
932
00:47:11,700 --> 00:47:13,589
who only brought a suitcase with them.
933
00:47:13,590 --> 00:47:15,539
The exact number of the Kuferasi
934
00:47:15,540 --> 00:47:17,489
was never precisely determined,
935
00:47:17,490 --> 00:47:21,059
but estimates go as high
as 200,000 migrating
936
00:47:21,060 --> 00:47:22,499
in two decades.
937
00:47:22,500 --> 00:47:24,569
Their main role was to take over jobs
938
00:47:24,570 --> 00:47:26,069
in the developing industry.
939
00:47:26,070 --> 00:47:29,849
Up to 60% of civil
service jobs were reserved
940
00:47:29,850 --> 00:47:31,409
for the Kuferasi.
941
00:47:31,410 --> 00:47:33,389
In addition to migrating
peoples to colonies
942
00:47:33,390 --> 00:47:34,949
such as Franzjosefsfeld,
943
00:47:34,950 --> 00:47:37,679
not far from the city of
Bijeljina, where I'm standing,
944
00:47:37,680 --> 00:47:39,329
the Austro-Hungarians manipulated
945
00:47:39,330 --> 00:47:42,330
the existing ethnic relations
in an attempt to control them.
946
00:47:43,290 --> 00:47:45,809
Beni Kallay was an
Austro-Hungarian statesman,
947
00:47:45,810 --> 00:47:47,999
who, as administrator of the condominium
948
00:47:48,000 --> 00:47:50,669
of Bosnia and Herzegovina,
believed he could strengthen
949
00:47:50,670 --> 00:47:52,529
Austria-Hungary's authority there
950
00:47:52,530 --> 00:47:54,719
by weakening national movements.
951
00:47:54,720 --> 00:47:57,659
He first tried to create
a unified Bosnian nation
952
00:47:57,660 --> 00:48:00,504
using the word Bosnjak or Bosniak
953
00:48:00,505 --> 00:48:02,945
to describe all the inhabitants of Bosnia.
954
00:48:02,946 --> 00:48:05,579
Significant funds were
invested in this project,
955
00:48:05,580 --> 00:48:08,579
even a newspaper called
Bosnjak was printed,
956
00:48:08,580 --> 00:48:10,769
but this idea was rejected by Muslims
957
00:48:10,770 --> 00:48:13,229
as well as Serbs and Croats.
958
00:48:13,230 --> 00:48:15,809
As this project failed,
another one was launched
959
00:48:15,810 --> 00:48:18,543
to turn Bosnian Muslims
into a separate nation.
960
00:48:19,530 --> 00:48:21,449
The works of literature that were devised
961
00:48:21,450 --> 00:48:22,949
as a part of that project
962
00:48:22,950 --> 00:48:25,019
talked about Serbian Cyrillic writings
963
00:48:25,020 --> 00:48:27,896
as a special alphabet called Bosancica.
964
00:48:27,897 --> 00:48:30,029
The Bogomils suddenly became a part
965
00:48:30,030 --> 00:48:32,489
of the so-called Bosnian Church,
966
00:48:32,490 --> 00:48:34,529
while the medievals that took tombstones
967
00:48:34,530 --> 00:48:37,863
were classified as supposed
remnants of that church.
968
00:48:38,970 --> 00:48:41,729
Travnik is the birthplace of Ivo Andric.
969
00:48:41,730 --> 00:48:45,119
In his novel "Chronicle of
Travnik" or "Bosnian Chronicle",
970
00:48:45,120 --> 00:48:47,459
he describes the impact
on national relations
971
00:48:47,460 --> 00:48:50,219
when the government, when it
comes to existential issues,
972
00:48:50,220 --> 00:48:53,699
favours one national group
in relation to the others.
973
00:48:53,700 --> 00:48:56,473
Andric presents the French
and Austrian consuls
974
00:48:56,474 --> 00:48:58,559
who were sent Travnik as the embodiment
975
00:48:58,560 --> 00:49:01,769
of the great European powers
influence on this area.
976
00:49:01,770 --> 00:49:03,839
According to the origin of the consul,
977
00:49:03,840 --> 00:49:05,789
a certain nation rejoices,
978
00:49:05,790 --> 00:49:08,279
convinced that it's
political, ideological,
979
00:49:08,280 --> 00:49:10,379
or religious resemblance to the consul
980
00:49:10,380 --> 00:49:13,773
will give it an existential
advantage over other nations.
981
00:49:14,610 --> 00:49:16,289
Andric's message that consuls
982
00:49:16,290 --> 00:49:18,509
and everything they represent come and go,
983
00:49:18,510 --> 00:49:20,909
but neighbours stay was never clear enough
984
00:49:20,910 --> 00:49:22,360
to the people from this area.
985
00:49:23,430 --> 00:49:26,399
The hatred that the
Austro-Hungarian government created,
986
00:49:26,400 --> 00:49:28,589
using the same social mechanisms
987
00:49:28,590 --> 00:49:31,259
that Andric skillfully
recognised in his novel,
988
00:49:31,260 --> 00:49:33,539
left a disastrous legacy.
989
00:49:33,540 --> 00:49:36,719
The modern European coloniser
emphasised in every way
990
00:49:36,720 --> 00:49:41,219
the sublime culture brings
to a dark post-Ottoman realm.
991
00:49:41,220 --> 00:49:43,709
However, the incitement
of hatred came equally
992
00:49:43,710 --> 00:49:45,029
from the Ottoman canopies
993
00:49:45,030 --> 00:49:46,833
as it did from the European courts.
994
00:49:47,850 --> 00:49:49,919
The people of Bosnia and Herzegovina
995
00:49:49,920 --> 00:49:52,979
couldn't fully grasp how the
Austro-Hungarian conquerors
996
00:49:52,980 --> 00:49:57,689
saw them in 1878, but the
press testifies to that.
997
00:49:57,690 --> 00:50:02,690
They were seen as savages,
animals, linking them to pigs.
998
00:50:03,180 --> 00:50:08,180
A Muslim, Serb, and
Croat squashed like bugs.
999
00:50:08,640 --> 00:50:11,699
Absurdity is best answered with absurdity,
1000
00:50:11,700 --> 00:50:13,559
and that answer was best articulated
1001
00:50:13,560 --> 00:50:14,909
by somebody who was educated
1002
00:50:14,910 --> 00:50:18,069
in the capital of Austria, Petar Kocic.
1003
00:50:18,070 --> 00:50:21,269
Petar Kocic was a Serbian poet, writer,
1004
00:50:21,270 --> 00:50:24,239
and politician at the
turn of the 20th century.
1005
00:50:24,240 --> 00:50:26,519
After returning home from
his studies in Vienna,
1006
00:50:26,520 --> 00:50:29,219
he began his political
struggle in Sarajevo
1007
00:50:29,220 --> 00:50:32,549
to improve the conditions of
serfs, as the lowest class,
1008
00:50:32,550 --> 00:50:35,339
and the general living condition of Serbs.
1009
00:50:35,340 --> 00:50:38,489
For this, he was sentenced
to prison and persecuted.
1010
00:50:38,490 --> 00:50:40,326
And in his most successful short story
1011
00:50:40,327 --> 00:50:41,579
"The Badger on Trial",
1012
00:50:41,580 --> 00:50:44,099
he described the
Austro-Hungarian judiciary,
1013
00:50:44,100 --> 00:50:47,669
which, according to him,
has a law for everyone,
1014
00:50:47,670 --> 00:50:49,356
even a badger.
1015
00:50:49,357 --> 00:50:51,959
"The Badger on Trial"
talks about the attitude
1016
00:50:51,960 --> 00:50:54,599
of the Austro-Hungarian
government towards Serbs.
1017
00:50:54,600 --> 00:50:56,069
Based on a true story,
1018
00:50:56,070 --> 00:50:58,559
the main character is
the unassuming David,
1019
00:50:58,560 --> 00:51:00,929
a Serb farmer who wants to sue a badger
1020
00:51:00,930 --> 00:51:02,283
for damaging his crops.
1021
00:51:03,420 --> 00:51:04,620
Standing before the judges,
1022
00:51:04,621 --> 00:51:06,209
David talks about his hardships
1023
00:51:06,210 --> 00:51:08,459
under the occupation through satire.
1024
00:51:08,460 --> 00:51:10,469
He says that now that he's
deprived of everything,
1025
00:51:10,470 --> 00:51:13,979
he's finally free and
happy, although hungry.
1026
00:51:13,980 --> 00:51:15,479
The judges accept everything,
1027
00:51:15,480 --> 00:51:18,633
satisfied that David isn't
blaming the state for his demise.
1028
00:51:19,830 --> 00:51:20,700
The literary work
1029
00:51:20,701 --> 00:51:23,429
subjects the Austrian
authorities to ridicule,
1030
00:51:23,430 --> 00:51:25,293
but defiantly attacks them as well.
1031
00:51:26,670 --> 00:51:28,439
For many, the assassination in Sarajevo
1032
00:51:28,440 --> 00:51:29,550
served to finally turn
1033
00:51:29,551 --> 00:51:32,129
their anti-Serbian thoughts into action.
1034
00:51:32,130 --> 00:51:33,929
Immediately following the assassination,
1035
00:51:33,930 --> 00:51:36,329
demonstrators demolished the Hotel Evropa
1036
00:51:36,330 --> 00:51:38,879
simply because it was owned by a Serb.
1037
00:51:38,880 --> 00:51:41,429
Numerous Serb houses were obliterated.
1038
00:51:41,430 --> 00:51:43,589
The offices of the
"Serbian Word" newspaper
1039
00:51:43,590 --> 00:51:46,739
and many other Serbian-owned
businesses were attacked.
1040
00:51:46,740 --> 00:51:49,169
The crowd chanted "Down with the Serbs"
1041
00:51:49,170 --> 00:51:52,559
and the abolition of Serbian
schools was demanded.
1042
00:51:52,560 --> 00:51:55,139
The true face of the
Austro-Hungarian occupier
1043
00:51:55,140 --> 00:51:58,319
was not only reflected in
the destruction of property,
1044
00:51:58,320 --> 00:52:01,419
but also in the prohibition
of everything Serbian,
1045
00:52:01,420 --> 00:52:04,589
their flag, Cyrillic script,
1046
00:52:04,590 --> 00:52:07,379
and the celebration of their patron saint.
1047
00:52:07,380 --> 00:52:09,509
The first Allied victory of World War I
1048
00:52:09,510 --> 00:52:12,149
was won by the Kingdom of Serbia's Army.
1049
00:52:12,150 --> 00:52:14,369
Sadly, however, this initial success
1050
00:52:14,370 --> 00:52:16,919
in no way foreshadowed
the immense sacrifice
1051
00:52:16,920 --> 00:52:19,129
the war would demand of the Serbs.
1052
00:52:29,430 --> 00:52:32,999
Austria-Hungary eventually
managed to occupy Serbia,
1053
00:52:33,000 --> 00:52:35,549
and Serbia's entire army and government
1054
00:52:35,550 --> 00:52:37,439
retreated to the Mediterranean.
1055
00:52:37,440 --> 00:52:40,409
With this, the Serbs in
Bosnia and Herzegovina
1056
00:52:40,410 --> 00:52:42,749
lost the support they had in Serbia,
1057
00:52:42,750 --> 00:52:45,059
and the occupier had no more obstacles
1058
00:52:45,060 --> 00:52:47,909
in dealing with them in a cruel way.
1059
00:52:47,910 --> 00:52:49,229
What the oriental conqueror
1060
00:52:49,230 --> 00:52:52,349
didn't even think about doing
to Serbs for four centuries
1061
00:52:52,350 --> 00:52:55,049
was done by the "enlightened
conqueror" from the west.
1062
00:52:55,050 --> 00:52:58,289
Concentration camps for
Serbs, like the one in Doboj,
1063
00:52:58,290 --> 00:53:00,046
were a hint of what awaited all of Europe
1064
00:53:00,047 --> 00:53:02,039
only a few decades later.
1065
00:53:02,040 --> 00:53:03,839
It has not been fully determined
1066
00:53:03,840 --> 00:53:07,229
how many Serbs died in the
Doboj concentration camp.
1067
00:53:07,230 --> 00:53:10,469
But it's estimated that in 1916 alone,
1068
00:53:10,470 --> 00:53:15,470
over 600 children under the
age of 10 died in that camp.
1069
00:53:15,510 --> 00:53:19,679
And in 1917, 1,000 children died.
1070
00:53:19,680 --> 00:53:20,909
In addition to the camp,
1071
00:53:20,910 --> 00:53:23,969
an auxiliary volunteer
militia group was established
1072
00:53:23,970 --> 00:53:27,749
known as the Schutzkorps,
composed of Croats and Muslims
1073
00:53:27,750 --> 00:53:30,689
who hunted down Serbs, mostly civilians,
1074
00:53:30,690 --> 00:53:33,479
and committed robberies
and crimes against them.
1075
00:53:33,480 --> 00:53:36,569
The Turkish sultan, as
a religious authority,
1076
00:53:36,570 --> 00:53:38,886
also encouraged hatred by calling Serbs
1077
00:53:38,887 --> 00:53:41,223
"enemies of Islam" in a fatwa.
1078
00:53:42,780 --> 00:53:44,249
The cemetery of Serbian soldiers
1079
00:53:44,250 --> 00:53:46,589
near Thessaloniki in
Greece is called Zeitenlik,
1080
00:53:46,590 --> 00:53:48,899
after the olive trees that once grew here.
1081
00:53:48,900 --> 00:53:51,509
Cemeteries such as this
all over the Mediterranean
1082
00:53:51,510 --> 00:53:55,469
testify to the profound
sacrifice made by a small kingdom
1083
00:53:55,470 --> 00:53:57,993
in a fight against a
10 times larger empire.
1084
00:53:59,280 --> 00:54:03,149
In 1917 and 1918, the Kingdom of Serbia
1085
00:54:03,150 --> 00:54:04,889
made an enormous contribution
1086
00:54:04,890 --> 00:54:07,349
to Allied victory in World War I.
1087
00:54:07,350 --> 00:54:09,389
However, in this conflict,
1088
00:54:09,390 --> 00:54:13,795
3 out of every 10 citizens
of Serbia lost their lives.
1089
00:54:39,030 --> 00:54:41,669
As the victorious power
that militarily controlled
1090
00:54:41,670 --> 00:54:44,039
all of what we know today as Yugoslavia,
1091
00:54:44,040 --> 00:54:46,949
Serbia had the chance to
create a Greater Serbia,
1092
00:54:46,950 --> 00:54:49,199
but its government decided not to do so,
1093
00:54:49,200 --> 00:54:51,933
opting instead to unite with
its neighbouring nations.
1094
00:54:53,190 --> 00:54:55,679
The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes
1095
00:54:55,680 --> 00:54:57,929
was being created, which soon became
1096
00:54:57,930 --> 00:54:59,759
the Kingdom of Yugoslavia,
1097
00:54:59,760 --> 00:55:02,039
without any national characteristics,
1098
00:55:02,040 --> 00:55:04,953
both in terms of
organisation and politics.
1099
00:55:10,620 --> 00:55:12,809
World War I brought four years of death
1100
00:55:12,810 --> 00:55:14,369
and destruction to Europe.
1101
00:55:14,370 --> 00:55:16,679
However, according to
"The Good Soldier Svejk",
1102
00:55:16,680 --> 00:55:18,899
all that could easily have been avoided
1103
00:55:18,900 --> 00:55:21,119
if only Franz Ferdinand was fat
1104
00:55:21,120 --> 00:55:24,381
because then he would've died
earlier of a heart attack.
1105
00:55:26,055 --> 00:55:29,039
Svejk, the good humoured,
simple-minded soldier
1106
00:55:29,040 --> 00:55:30,869
who pretends to be enthusiastic
1107
00:55:30,870 --> 00:55:33,449
to serve Austria-Hungary in World War I,
1108
00:55:33,450 --> 00:55:36,269
is a character from a
satirical dark comedy novel
1109
00:55:36,270 --> 00:55:39,989
by a Czech writer who, as a
contemporary of World War I,
1110
00:55:39,990 --> 00:55:41,703
conveyed a message of peace.
1111
00:55:42,600 --> 00:55:43,949
This message was recognised
1112
00:55:43,950 --> 00:55:46,289
by the famous Serbian director, writer,
1113
00:55:46,290 --> 00:55:49,619
and intellectual born in
Sarajevo, Emir Kusturica
1114
00:55:49,620 --> 00:55:51,869
during the construction
of the Andricgrad project
1115
00:55:51,870 --> 00:55:53,789
in the city of Visegrad.
1116
00:55:53,790 --> 00:55:56,819
The purpose of the complex
itself is to gather the memory
1117
00:55:56,820 --> 00:56:00,839
of all the Serbian cultural
greats in one place,
1118
00:56:00,840 --> 00:56:02,069
and it is named after
1119
00:56:02,070 --> 00:56:05,117
the only Serbian Nobel
laureate, Ivo Andric.
1120
00:56:07,460 --> 00:56:11,549
On January 9th, 1992, at
the Sarajevo Holiday Inn,
1121
00:56:11,550 --> 00:56:13,289
the Republic of the Serb people
1122
00:56:13,290 --> 00:56:16,019
of Bosnia and Herzegovina was proclaimed.
1123
00:56:16,020 --> 00:56:18,059
The Serbs had this historical memory
1124
00:56:18,060 --> 00:56:20,309
that whenever they lost
their political significance
1125
00:56:20,310 --> 00:56:23,853
and connection to Serbia, they
were exposed to persecution.
1126
00:56:24,750 --> 00:56:27,029
Radovan Karadzic became
the first president,
1127
00:56:27,030 --> 00:56:29,849
and Momcilo Krajisnik, the
president of the assembly.
1128
00:56:29,850 --> 00:56:32,789
Apart from the constitution
and political organisation,
1129
00:56:32,790 --> 00:56:35,009
Republika Srpska did not have an army
1130
00:56:35,010 --> 00:56:36,899
as the politicians were convinced
1131
00:56:36,900 --> 00:56:40,949
that the Yugoslav People's Army
or JNA would preserve peace
1132
00:56:40,950 --> 00:56:42,449
and that a solution to the crisis
1133
00:56:42,450 --> 00:56:44,069
would be found politically.
1134
00:56:44,070 --> 00:56:47,039
However, events in May of 1992,
1135
00:56:47,040 --> 00:56:50,399
such as the attack on a column
of retreating JNA soldiers
1136
00:56:50,400 --> 00:56:52,330
in Dobrovoljacka Street in Sarajevo
1137
00:56:53,400 --> 00:56:55,724
and in Tuzla just two weeks later
1138
00:56:58,410 --> 00:57:00,329
clearly showed why the Muslim side
1139
00:57:00,330 --> 00:57:05,159
organised their armed
forces as early as May 1991,
1140
00:57:05,160 --> 00:57:07,919
to wage war with the Serbs.
1141
00:57:07,920 --> 00:57:10,556
As the JNA withdrew from
Bosnia and Herzegovina,
1142
00:57:10,557 --> 00:57:12,929
the Serbs were left without protection
1143
00:57:12,930 --> 00:57:16,169
and that is why they formed
the Army of Republika Srpska
1144
00:57:16,170 --> 00:57:18,599
in the spring of 1992.
1145
00:57:18,600 --> 00:57:21,089
The Serbs were fearful of a
repeat of their experiences
1146
00:57:21,090 --> 00:57:23,639
of bearing the brunt
of fascism and Nazism,
1147
00:57:23,640 --> 00:57:25,379
the prevailing political ideologies
1148
00:57:25,380 --> 00:57:27,869
of Germany and Italy in the 1930s.
1149
00:57:27,870 --> 00:57:28,860
Now these ideologies
1150
00:57:28,861 --> 00:57:31,559
supposedly promoted peace
to the outside world,
1151
00:57:31,560 --> 00:57:33,659
but carried out terror at home.
1152
00:57:33,660 --> 00:57:35,369
With the rise of Adolf Hitler
1153
00:57:35,370 --> 00:57:37,829
and his Nazi party to power in Germany,
1154
00:57:37,830 --> 00:57:41,309
the ideology that Germans
were a higher race of people
1155
00:57:41,310 --> 00:57:44,249
and their claim to the
territories of other nations
1156
00:57:44,250 --> 00:57:47,639
opened the door to a new war in Europe.
1157
00:57:47,640 --> 00:57:49,079
The revolt of the Serbian people
1158
00:57:49,080 --> 00:57:51,329
against these morally distorted ideas
1159
00:57:51,330 --> 00:57:54,509
was perhaps best described
by the words of Branko Copic,
1160
00:57:54,510 --> 00:57:56,556
a contemporary of World War II.
1161
00:57:56,557 --> 00:57:58,919
"I watched our singing
youths fight and die
1162
00:57:58,920 --> 00:58:00,749
for the freedom of their homeland,
1163
00:58:00,750 --> 00:58:04,557
to save humanity from fascist
darkness and slavery."
1164
00:58:06,004 --> 00:58:09,389
Branko Copic, born in what
is today Republika Srpska,
1165
00:58:09,390 --> 00:58:12,539
was a writer, satirist,
but also a participant
1166
00:58:12,540 --> 00:58:15,479
in the anti-fascist
struggle of the partisans.
1167
00:58:15,480 --> 00:58:16,919
His participation in the war
1168
00:58:16,920 --> 00:58:19,649
significantly marked his literary work,
1169
00:58:19,650 --> 00:58:21,719
but his cheerful spirit will be remembered
1170
00:58:21,720 --> 00:58:24,299
through the works he wrote for children.
1171
00:58:24,300 --> 00:58:26,279
The deadly darkness of World War II
1172
00:58:26,280 --> 00:58:28,049
soon engulfed the Balkans,
1173
00:58:28,050 --> 00:58:29,789
bringing with it a chapter of his history
1174
00:58:29,790 --> 00:58:32,009
that's not so difficult to understand
1175
00:58:32,010 --> 00:58:34,079
as it is difficult to comprehend
1176
00:58:34,080 --> 00:58:37,177
how it could possibly have
been written by human beings.
1177
00:58:43,057 --> 00:58:44,609
"Never again."
1178
00:58:44,610 --> 00:58:46,169
This was the cry heard from Serbs
1179
00:58:46,170 --> 00:58:49,679
in Bosnia and Herzegovina in early 1992.
1180
00:58:49,680 --> 00:58:52,679
Those two words spoke of an entire century
1181
00:58:52,680 --> 00:58:54,995
of tragic experiences.
1182
00:58:58,486 --> 00:58:59,319
Donja Gradina was part
1183
00:58:59,320 --> 00:59:02,609
of the Jasenovac
concentration camp complex,
1184
00:59:02,610 --> 00:59:04,979
which testifies to the genocide committed
1185
00:59:04,980 --> 00:59:07,529
against civilians during World War II
1186
00:59:07,530 --> 00:59:09,989
in the former Kingdom of Yugoslavia.
1187
00:59:09,990 --> 00:59:13,799
With the invasion of Nazi
Germany in April 1941,
1188
00:59:13,800 --> 00:59:18,089
Yugoslavia was conquered and
divided into occupation zones.
1189
00:59:18,090 --> 00:59:20,849
The so-called Independent
State of Croatia,
1190
00:59:20,850 --> 00:59:23,999
a Nazi puppet state was
formed on the territories
1191
00:59:24,000 --> 00:59:26,489
roughly corresponding to today's Croatia,
1192
00:59:26,490 --> 00:59:28,799
combined with Bosnia and Herzegovina,
1193
00:59:28,800 --> 00:59:31,469
and parts of Serbia and Slovenia.
1194
00:59:31,470 --> 00:59:35,339
Its leader and political
creator was Ante Pavelic,
1195
00:59:35,340 --> 00:59:38,429
whose ideology was in
line with Nazi Germany's
1196
00:59:38,430 --> 00:59:42,059
regarding Jews, Roma, and Communists,
1197
00:59:42,060 --> 00:59:46,203
but was, in addition, extremely
hostile towards Serbs.
1198
00:59:47,250 --> 00:59:49,709
The real face of the
"enlightened colonisers"
1199
00:59:49,710 --> 00:59:52,859
who came to this area has
never been easily visible,
1200
00:59:52,860 --> 00:59:55,079
but it has always been subtly implemented
1201
00:59:55,080 --> 00:59:57,779
in the most important aspects of life.
1202
00:59:57,780 --> 01:00:00,329
Austria-Hungary, in their
construction of schools,
1203
01:00:00,330 --> 01:00:04,079
in what they saw as a backwards
Bosnia and Herzegovina,
1204
01:00:04,080 --> 01:00:06,839
can boast of the product
of their education system.
1205
01:00:06,840 --> 01:00:09,749
Ante Pavelic, the leader
of the later formed
1206
01:00:09,750 --> 01:00:12,149
fascist Croatian Ustase movement
1207
01:00:12,150 --> 01:00:14,609
and the Independent State of Croatia.
1208
01:00:14,610 --> 01:00:17,129
Historians have a well-founded suspicion
1209
01:00:17,130 --> 01:00:18,899
that it was at the Travnik gymnasium
1210
01:00:18,900 --> 01:00:22,019
that Pavelic accepted the
anti-Serbian teachings
1211
01:00:22,020 --> 01:00:25,889
of the Croatian nationalist
ideologue Ante Starcevic.
1212
01:00:25,890 --> 01:00:28,319
The goal of physically
reducing the number of Serbs,
1213
01:00:28,320 --> 01:00:30,599
thus extinguishing their
political significance,
1214
01:00:30,600 --> 01:00:32,399
remained the same during World War II
1215
01:00:32,400 --> 01:00:35,309
as it was during the
Austro-Hungarian occupation.
1216
01:00:35,310 --> 01:00:38,249
So the Ustase applied the same
recipe that was used in Doboj
1217
01:00:38,250 --> 01:00:42,599
27 years earlier, forming
concentration camps.
1218
01:00:42,600 --> 01:00:45,659
In addition to banning the
national symbols of Serbs
1219
01:00:45,660 --> 01:00:47,009
identical to measures
1220
01:00:47,010 --> 01:00:49,619
during the Austro-Hungarian occupation,
1221
01:00:49,620 --> 01:00:52,949
the Jasenovac concentration
camp complex was formed
1222
01:00:52,950 --> 01:00:56,669
in which the Ustase
rounded up Serbs, Jews,
1223
01:00:56,670 --> 01:00:59,579
Roma, communists, and others.
1224
01:00:59,580 --> 01:01:04,268
Known for their cruelty, these
camps even inturned children.
1225
01:01:11,490 --> 01:01:14,549
Although hundreds of
thousands were killed,
1226
01:01:14,550 --> 01:01:17,853
the final number of victims has
never been fully determined.
1227
01:01:22,470 --> 01:01:25,409
The question is, why did all
the conquerors of the past
1228
01:01:25,410 --> 01:01:27,149
see Serbs as the enemy?
1229
01:01:27,150 --> 01:01:28,919
Well, because whenever
Serbs were threatened
1230
01:01:28,920 --> 01:01:32,013
by an incomparably greater
force, they mostly resisted.
1231
01:01:33,140 --> 01:01:35,548
The struggle for freedom is key.
1232
01:01:35,549 --> 01:01:38,324
It is essentially a cultural nature.
1233
01:01:38,325 --> 01:01:41,132
Ignorant loudmouths don't
have a substitute for this.
1234
01:01:41,133 --> 01:01:43,923
They just say: "They are nationalists,
1235
01:01:43,924 --> 01:01:47,339
they are trying to defend
something that is indefensible."
1236
01:01:47,340 --> 01:01:50,169
And what is their counterweight?
1237
01:01:50,170 --> 01:01:52,494
They want to take away everything we have,
1238
01:01:52,495 --> 01:01:53,911
not only our culture,
1239
01:01:53,912 --> 01:01:58,224
but also our women and cars
and houses and apartments
1240
01:01:58,225 --> 01:02:01,349
so that they're the owners
and we're the users.
1241
01:02:01,350 --> 01:02:02,786
Well, no way.
1242
01:02:02,787 --> 01:02:03,840
No way.
1243
01:02:03,841 --> 01:02:05,729
The first in Europe who said this
1244
01:02:05,730 --> 01:02:08,879
to the largest military
power of the 20th century,
1245
01:02:08,880 --> 01:02:12,723
Nazi Germany, were the Serbs
right here in Nevesinje.
1246
01:02:13,710 --> 01:02:16,169
When the Serbs saw the genocidal system
1247
01:02:16,170 --> 01:02:19,439
of concentration camps and
the indiscriminate killings
1248
01:02:19,440 --> 01:02:20,939
that were taking place there,
1249
01:02:20,940 --> 01:02:23,969
they decided to rise up and take action.
1250
01:02:23,970 --> 01:02:27,029
An insurgency was quickly
organised in this area
1251
01:02:27,030 --> 01:02:29,399
that had a history of rebellion.
1252
01:02:29,400 --> 01:02:32,999
As early as June 23rd and 24th, 1941,
1253
01:02:33,000 --> 01:02:35,279
the entire municipality of Nevesinje,
1254
01:02:35,280 --> 01:02:38,493
except for two major military
strongholds, was liberated.
1255
01:02:39,720 --> 01:02:42,389
The first military victories
of the Soviet Union,
1256
01:02:42,390 --> 01:02:45,059
the United States, and
Great Britain over Germany
1257
01:02:45,060 --> 01:02:47,339
happened several years later.
1258
01:02:47,340 --> 01:02:49,289
For the Nazis and the Ustase, however,
1259
01:02:49,290 --> 01:02:51,809
one man was their biggest headache.
1260
01:02:51,810 --> 01:02:55,049
They described him as the
most dangerous rebel leader
1261
01:02:55,050 --> 01:02:56,969
because he's the most intelligent,
1262
01:02:56,970 --> 01:02:59,939
leads the largest and
strongest group of insurgents,
1263
01:02:59,940 --> 01:03:02,849
is very careful and
carries out his attacks
1264
01:03:02,850 --> 01:03:05,099
with systematic precision.
1265
01:03:05,100 --> 01:03:10,100
He was Mladen Stojanovic,
the legendary Dr. Mladen,
1266
01:03:10,470 --> 01:03:13,649
leader of the partisan
insurgents in Kozara.
1267
01:03:13,650 --> 01:03:16,259
The life story of the son of a priest,
1268
01:03:16,260 --> 01:03:18,359
a member of the Young Bosnia movement,
1269
01:03:18,360 --> 01:03:22,889
a poet, tennis player,
doctor, and national hero
1270
01:03:22,890 --> 01:03:24,989
is one of the most
exciting in the turbulent
1271
01:03:24,990 --> 01:03:26,939
and tragic history here.
1272
01:03:26,940 --> 01:03:29,549
In his youth, he met with Gavrilo Princip
1273
01:03:29,550 --> 01:03:32,009
and other freedom fighters in this area.
1274
01:03:32,010 --> 01:03:34,229
He conspired against the occupiers,
1275
01:03:34,230 --> 01:03:37,589
was arrested by the
Austro-Hungarian authorities,
1276
01:03:37,590 --> 01:03:40,289
treated hundreds of
Krajina peasants for free,
1277
01:03:40,290 --> 01:03:44,129
and gave money for medicine and
travel expenses to the poor.
1278
01:03:44,130 --> 01:03:45,839
At times, his life was reminiscent
1279
01:03:45,840 --> 01:03:48,629
of that of Cuban
revolutionary Che Guevara.
1280
01:03:48,630 --> 01:03:50,669
But people around the
world don't wear t-shirts
1281
01:03:50,670 --> 01:03:52,263
with the image of Dr. Mladen.
1282
01:03:53,220 --> 01:03:54,663
Although they really should.
1283
01:03:55,890 --> 01:03:58,259
After the German attack on Yugoslavia,
1284
01:03:58,260 --> 01:04:00,239
Dr. Mladen was arrested,
1285
01:04:00,240 --> 01:04:03,809
but he managed to escape from
prison and flee to Kozara,
1286
01:04:03,810 --> 01:04:05,129
where he became the commander
1287
01:04:05,130 --> 01:04:07,319
of the Kozara Partisan Detachment.
1288
01:04:07,320 --> 01:04:10,139
Dr. Mladen's group
engaged in heroic combat
1289
01:04:10,140 --> 01:04:12,839
against the occupiers and the Ustase.
1290
01:04:12,840 --> 01:04:15,179
Several offensives were
launched against him,
1291
01:04:15,180 --> 01:04:16,503
none were successful.
1292
01:04:17,700 --> 01:04:20,849
The legendary Dr. Mladen
managed to stay on Kozara
1293
01:04:20,850 --> 01:04:24,209
and continued carrying
out military operations.
1294
01:04:24,210 --> 01:04:27,479
Because of his wise and
uncompromising fight for freedom,
1295
01:04:27,480 --> 01:04:29,459
he became the most popular figure
1296
01:04:29,460 --> 01:04:31,323
amongst people living in this region.
1297
01:04:32,490 --> 01:04:35,279
While trying to unite as
many people as possible
1298
01:04:35,280 --> 01:04:39,479
for the struggle, he was ambushed
and shot in the forehead.
1299
01:04:39,480 --> 01:04:42,389
Incredibly, he survived the severe injury
1300
01:04:42,390 --> 01:04:45,059
and began to recover successfully.
1301
01:04:45,060 --> 01:04:47,849
But there was another betrayal
from within his ranks,
1302
01:04:47,850 --> 01:04:50,249
and Dr. Mladen was killed.
1303
01:04:50,250 --> 01:04:52,499
It was a tremendous blow to the Serbs
1304
01:04:52,500 --> 01:04:56,579
who made up 90% of the
partisan forces in this area.
1305
01:04:56,580 --> 01:04:57,780
Only a few months later,
1306
01:04:57,781 --> 01:05:00,809
Nazi Germany and the Ustase
launched an offensive
1307
01:05:00,810 --> 01:05:02,999
against the partisan movement.
1308
01:05:03,000 --> 01:05:07,139
The Battle of Kozara took
over 30,000 civilian lives,
1309
01:05:07,140 --> 01:05:10,079
largely Serbs, most of whom were killed
1310
01:05:10,080 --> 01:05:12,710
at the Jasenovac concentration camp.
1311
01:05:16,800 --> 01:05:18,989
The Kozara Memorial Park is one of many
1312
01:05:18,990 --> 01:05:20,519
throughout Republika Srpska
1313
01:05:20,520 --> 01:05:23,219
that attests to the heroic
struggle for freedom
1314
01:05:23,220 --> 01:05:25,769
of the largest resistance
movement in Europe
1315
01:05:25,770 --> 01:05:27,635
during World War II.
1316
01:05:43,023 --> 01:05:45,809
In the 1990s, the
interference of Western powers
1317
01:05:45,810 --> 01:05:49,349
in the Yugoslav conflict was
supposed to be a guarantee,
1318
01:05:49,350 --> 01:05:51,899
that the horrors of World
War II would not be repeated
1319
01:05:51,900 --> 01:05:54,719
and the disagreements would
be resolved peacefully.
1320
01:05:54,720 --> 01:05:56,459
Instead, Western powers
1321
01:05:56,460 --> 01:05:59,519
clearly began taking
sides in the conflict.
1322
01:05:59,520 --> 01:06:00,959
Germany heavily lobbied
1323
01:06:00,960 --> 01:06:03,539
the Council of Ministers
of the European community
1324
01:06:03,540 --> 01:06:07,499
to recognise the independence
of Croatia in 1991
1325
01:06:07,500 --> 01:06:10,709
despite the disenfranchisement
of Serbs living there,
1326
01:06:10,710 --> 01:06:13,469
and the same lobbying
continued for the recognition
1327
01:06:13,470 --> 01:06:17,519
of the independence of Bosnia
and Herzegovina in 1992.
1328
01:06:17,520 --> 01:06:20,699
The appeals of the politically
disenfranchised Serbs there
1329
01:06:20,700 --> 01:06:23,099
did not yield significant results.
1330
01:06:23,100 --> 01:06:26,009
Warnings of the return
of Nazism in these areas,
1331
01:06:26,010 --> 01:06:29,459
as seen in Vox Magazine, didn't
change the West's perception
1332
01:06:29,460 --> 01:06:32,579
of the tensions in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
1333
01:06:32,580 --> 01:06:35,249
The Austro-Hungarian
occupation provided a template
1334
01:06:35,250 --> 01:06:37,859
for turning ethnic groups
against each other,
1335
01:06:37,860 --> 01:06:39,929
and this is how it was done.
1336
01:06:39,930 --> 01:06:42,119
Muslims, Serbs, and Croats
1337
01:06:42,120 --> 01:06:44,789
lived together in peace for centuries,
1338
01:06:44,790 --> 01:06:47,549
their culture, language, history,
1339
01:06:47,550 --> 01:06:50,309
and personal lives often intertwined.
1340
01:06:50,310 --> 01:06:52,979
So, certain individuals from those groups
1341
01:06:52,980 --> 01:06:54,929
were chosen by the occupier
1342
01:06:54,930 --> 01:06:58,649
to sow hatred and exploit
religious feelings.
1343
01:06:58,650 --> 01:07:02,069
In World War I, this was done
by creating the Schutzkorps,
1344
01:07:02,070 --> 01:07:04,349
composed of members of two nations
1345
01:07:04,350 --> 01:07:08,039
who persecuted and killed
members of the third nation.
1346
01:07:08,040 --> 01:07:10,859
In World War II, a Nazi SS unit
1347
01:07:10,860 --> 01:07:12,929
called the Handschar Division was formed,
1348
01:07:12,930 --> 01:07:15,479
made up of Muslims whose
religious sentiments
1349
01:07:15,480 --> 01:07:17,759
were exploited by Nazi Germany
1350
01:07:17,760 --> 01:07:20,429
which in turn supported
the Ustase movement
1351
01:07:20,430 --> 01:07:24,239
led by Ante Pavelic in
its genocide of Serbs.
1352
01:07:24,240 --> 01:07:26,219
Thus, in the 1990s,
1353
01:07:26,220 --> 01:07:29,429
certain Western powers
supported Alija Izetbegovic
1354
01:07:29,430 --> 01:07:33,239
despite him being convicted
of religious fanaticism.
1355
01:07:33,240 --> 01:07:35,999
A speech by the Serb
representative, Radovan Karadzic,
1356
01:07:36,000 --> 01:07:39,809
in Bosnia and Herzegovina's
parliament in October 1991,
1357
01:07:39,810 --> 01:07:42,239
was relentlessly replayed
on television channels
1358
01:07:42,240 --> 01:07:43,966
around the world.
1359
01:07:43,967 --> 01:07:47,558
The road you are choosing
for Bosnia and Hercegovina
1360
01:07:47,559 --> 01:07:50,524
is the same highway of hell and suffering
1361
01:07:50,525 --> 01:07:52,965
Slovenia and Croatia have already taken.
1362
01:07:52,966 --> 01:07:55,373
Don't think that you won't take
1363
01:07:55,374 --> 01:07:57,207
Bosnia and Hercegovina to hell
1364
01:07:57,208 --> 01:07:59,265
and the Muslim people
perhaps into extinction,
1365
01:07:59,266 --> 01:08:00,523
because if there is a war,
1366
01:08:00,524 --> 01:08:02,706
Muslims will not be able
to defend themselves.
1367
01:08:03,547 --> 01:08:06,509
This was presented as a
threat and out of context,
1368
01:08:06,510 --> 01:08:10,049
sure, it sounds like one,
but was it a warning?
1369
01:08:10,050 --> 01:08:11,429
If the Serb politician's aim
1370
01:08:11,430 --> 01:08:15,029
was really to erase all Muslims
from Bosnia and Herzegovina,
1371
01:08:15,030 --> 01:08:16,499
then it certainly made little sense
1372
01:08:16,500 --> 01:08:17,909
for him to invite Izetbegovic
1373
01:08:17,910 --> 01:08:20,879
to the founding of their
political party in 1990
1374
01:08:20,880 --> 01:08:23,965
and even let him speak
as an honoured guest.
1375
01:08:23,966 --> 01:08:25,981
We're not against our Muslims.
1376
01:08:25,982 --> 01:08:28,229
We're against them dominating us Serbs.
1377
01:08:28,230 --> 01:08:31,049
Why would Serbs push for violent change
1378
01:08:31,050 --> 01:08:34,379
when the status quo of
Yugoslavia suited them best
1379
01:08:34,380 --> 01:08:37,979
as all Serbs lived in one unified state?
1380
01:08:37,980 --> 01:08:39,989
Nevertheless, Karadzic's statements
1381
01:08:39,990 --> 01:08:41,879
were used by many politicians
1382
01:08:41,880 --> 01:08:44,339
and media outlets around the world
1383
01:08:44,340 --> 01:08:47,399
as evidence that Serbs wanted war.
1384
01:08:47,400 --> 01:08:50,519
They ignored the fact
that just months after
1385
01:08:50,520 --> 01:08:53,849
Karadzic signed the
Carrington-Cutileiro Peace Plan,
1386
01:08:53,850 --> 01:08:55,589
known as the Lisbon Agreement,
1387
01:08:55,590 --> 01:08:59,069
the last peace deal
before the war erupted.
1388
01:08:59,070 --> 01:09:02,129
The agreement was also signed
by the leader of Croats
1389
01:09:02,130 --> 01:09:04,739
in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mate Boban,
1390
01:09:04,740 --> 01:09:07,739
and the Muslim leader, Alija Izetbegovic.
1391
01:09:07,740 --> 01:09:11,219
But then the US Ambassador to
Yugoslavia, Warren Zimmermann
1392
01:09:11,220 --> 01:09:13,919
convinced Izetbegovic to
withdraw his signature
1393
01:09:13,920 --> 01:09:15,120
from the peace plan.
1394
01:09:15,810 --> 01:09:17,159
By withdrawing his signature,
1395
01:09:17,160 --> 01:09:19,889
Alija Izetbegovic, not through a speech,
1396
01:09:19,890 --> 01:09:21,749
but through his concrete actions,
1397
01:09:21,750 --> 01:09:23,849
opened the gates of conflict
1398
01:09:23,850 --> 01:09:27,599
with the blessing of the
strongest global superpower.
1399
01:09:27,600 --> 01:09:29,459
The involvement of the United States
1400
01:09:29,460 --> 01:09:32,999
and Germany in the events
that followed was undisputed.
1401
01:09:33,000 --> 01:09:35,009
In fact, the three national groups
1402
01:09:35,010 --> 01:09:36,899
agreed on a petition.
1403
01:09:36,900 --> 01:09:39,599
And the United States, under
the previous administration,
1404
01:09:39,600 --> 01:09:42,479
opposed it because they were
worried about the precedent
1405
01:09:42,480 --> 01:09:44,969
that might set for the then Soviet Union.
1406
01:09:44,970 --> 01:09:47,909
An international community
fanning the flames of war
1407
01:09:47,910 --> 01:09:49,589
under the banner of peace
1408
01:09:49,590 --> 01:09:52,259
embodied in soldiers in white uniforms
1409
01:09:52,260 --> 01:09:56,073
was satirised by the Surrealists
on Yugoslav television.
1410
01:09:56,074 --> 01:09:59,056
Why don't you organize yourselves?
1411
01:09:59,057 --> 01:10:01,984
To secede and all that stuff?
1412
01:10:01,985 --> 01:10:03,359
Yeah, we will.
1413
01:10:03,360 --> 01:10:06,209
The Western countries openly taking sides
1414
01:10:06,210 --> 01:10:07,799
was accompanied by a narrative
1415
01:10:07,800 --> 01:10:10,739
that labelled Serbs as the aggressors.
1416
01:10:10,740 --> 01:10:12,299
Shortly after the United States
1417
01:10:12,300 --> 01:10:14,039
and Western Europe recognised
1418
01:10:14,040 --> 01:10:16,709
the independence of
Bosnia and Herzegovina,
1419
01:10:16,710 --> 01:10:19,099
Serb forces had invaded Bosnia.
1420
01:10:20,430 --> 01:10:22,199
All this, despite the fact
1421
01:10:22,200 --> 01:10:24,036
that Serbs have inhabited this area
1422
01:10:24,037 --> 01:10:26,429
since the early Middle Ages
1423
01:10:26,430 --> 01:10:28,619
and that they have been
an inalienable factor
1424
01:10:28,620 --> 01:10:31,829
to all elements of life here ever since,
1425
01:10:31,830 --> 01:10:33,959
this narrative fit into the propaganda
1426
01:10:33,960 --> 01:10:37,859
that accompanied the start of
all the wars in the Balkans.
1427
01:10:37,860 --> 01:10:39,689
Muslims in Bosnia and Herzegovina
1428
01:10:39,690 --> 01:10:42,869
always had a reputation across
Yugoslavia as good hosts,
1429
01:10:42,870 --> 01:10:44,309
people who loved a good joke,
1430
01:10:44,310 --> 01:10:45,633
which they call sega.
1431
01:10:46,470 --> 01:10:48,419
To push them into a war mentality,
1432
01:10:48,420 --> 01:10:50,755
their religious feelings were exploited.
1433
01:10:50,756 --> 01:10:53,021
In the early 1990s before the war,
1434
01:10:53,022 --> 01:10:55,363
a man in the town of Visoko asked me:
1435
01:10:55,364 --> 01:10:59,121
"Professor, what are
you? Are you one of us?"
1436
01:10:59,122 --> 01:11:01,712
I said: "Well, yes, I belong to everyone",
1437
01:11:01,713 --> 01:11:04,220
but he says: "And your wife, what is she?"
1438
01:11:04,221 --> 01:11:09,053
I responded: "She's Yugoslav,
a mix, Serbo-Croatian.
1439
01:11:09,054 --> 01:11:12,986
Father Serb, mother Croat, came by train."
1440
01:11:12,987 --> 01:11:14,961
He then says: "Brother,
1441
01:11:14,962 --> 01:11:17,318
it matters not which religion we are,
1442
01:11:17,319 --> 01:11:19,393
so long as we're Muslim."
1443
01:11:20,910 --> 01:11:22,409
From the moment the conflict started
1444
01:11:22,410 --> 01:11:24,869
until the war ended in 1995,
1445
01:11:24,870 --> 01:11:28,589
images of Sarajevo as a city
under siege by well-armed Serbs
1446
01:11:28,590 --> 01:11:30,239
circulated the world.
1447
01:11:30,240 --> 01:11:33,299
The circumstances were
completely different.
1448
01:11:33,300 --> 01:11:35,819
During the conflict in
Bosnia and Herzegovina,
1449
01:11:35,820 --> 01:11:37,679
Serbs wanted to defend the places
1450
01:11:37,680 --> 01:11:39,269
where they constituted a majority.
1451
01:11:39,270 --> 01:11:43,589
180,000 Serbs lived in Sarajevo,
1452
01:11:43,590 --> 01:11:46,709
so they formed military
and police authorities
1453
01:11:46,710 --> 01:11:48,509
in the Sarajevo municipalities
1454
01:11:48,510 --> 01:11:51,059
where Serbs made up the majority.
1455
01:11:51,060 --> 01:11:52,709
The rest of the city's territory
1456
01:11:52,710 --> 01:11:55,049
was under the control of Muslim forces,
1457
01:11:55,050 --> 01:11:58,139
the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
1458
01:11:58,140 --> 01:12:01,379
In none of the media reports
from war-torn Sarajevo
1459
01:12:01,380 --> 01:12:04,649
could you read or hear these facts:
1460
01:12:04,650 --> 01:12:06,179
The number of Serbian troops
1461
01:12:06,180 --> 01:12:08,669
participating in the
fighting around Sarajevo
1462
01:12:08,670 --> 01:12:11,219
never exceeded 13,000.
1463
01:12:11,220 --> 01:12:13,049
While the number of Muslim soldiers
1464
01:12:13,050 --> 01:12:15,059
was several times greater.
1465
01:12:15,060 --> 01:12:16,709
Throughout the entire war,
1466
01:12:16,710 --> 01:12:19,409
there was no concrete attempt by Serbs
1467
01:12:19,410 --> 01:12:21,509
to conquer the city itself.
1468
01:12:21,510 --> 01:12:24,059
Most of the higher
positions around the city
1469
01:12:24,060 --> 01:12:26,099
were controlled by the Muslim army.
1470
01:12:26,100 --> 01:12:29,429
Grenades were thrown from
Muslim-controlled territories
1471
01:12:29,430 --> 01:12:31,859
as well as Serb-controlled territories.
1472
01:12:31,860 --> 01:12:34,649
Both sides conducted military operations,
1473
01:12:34,650 --> 01:12:37,079
so it wasn't true that only civilians
1474
01:12:37,080 --> 01:12:39,419
resided in Sarajevo during the war.
1475
01:12:39,420 --> 01:12:40,769
But what made the civil war
1476
01:12:40,770 --> 01:12:43,979
in Bosnia and Herzegovina
unjustifiably horrific
1477
01:12:43,980 --> 01:12:46,893
were the numerous war crimes
committed by all sides.
1478
01:12:47,970 --> 01:12:51,779
Kravica is one of the many
places where mostly Serbs lived.
1479
01:12:51,780 --> 01:12:54,989
The population in the general
area west of Drina River
1480
01:12:54,990 --> 01:12:57,449
was a mix of Serbs and Muslims.
1481
01:12:57,450 --> 01:12:58,769
At the beginning of the war,
1482
01:12:58,770 --> 01:13:02,939
by invading the Serb majority
towns of Kravica and Bratunac,
1483
01:13:02,940 --> 01:13:05,339
Muslim forces committed horrific crimes
1484
01:13:05,340 --> 01:13:07,730
in the poorly defended
villages of this area.
1485
01:13:10,090 --> 01:13:14,131
ISLAM WILL WIN BECAUSE
BOSNIA IS AN ISLAMIC STATE
1486
01:13:15,810 --> 01:13:17,609
Determined to stop this threat,
1487
01:13:17,610 --> 01:13:19,349
the Army of Republika Srpska
1488
01:13:19,350 --> 01:13:22,829
launched a military operation in 1993,
1489
01:13:22,830 --> 01:13:24,779
after which the area of Srebrenica
1490
01:13:24,780 --> 01:13:27,779
was placed under the
protection of UN forces
1491
01:13:27,780 --> 01:13:31,109
as a safe area and demilitarised zone.
1492
01:13:31,110 --> 01:13:32,789
But it wasn't demilitarised
1493
01:13:32,790 --> 01:13:35,069
and the Muslim forces
continued carrying out
1494
01:13:35,070 --> 01:13:36,569
their military operations,
1495
01:13:36,570 --> 01:13:38,219
leading the Army of Republika Srpska
1496
01:13:38,220 --> 01:13:41,613
to decide to take over control
of the Srebrenica safe area.
1497
01:13:42,960 --> 01:13:45,089
The Army of Republika Srpska's entry
1498
01:13:45,090 --> 01:13:49,469
into Srebrenica in 1995 ignited chaos.
1499
01:13:49,470 --> 01:13:52,559
Though many civilians were
evacuated from the city,
1500
01:13:52,560 --> 01:13:57,089
many others, including children,
were killed by Serb forces.
1501
01:13:57,090 --> 01:13:58,439
Some Muslim soldiers,
1502
01:13:58,440 --> 01:14:00,689
who were attempting to
break through to Tuzla,
1503
01:14:00,690 --> 01:14:02,703
were captured and executed.
1504
01:14:07,530 --> 01:14:10,859
There's no justification
for such heinous crimes,
1505
01:14:10,860 --> 01:14:13,589
considered the largest
single act of mass killing
1506
01:14:13,590 --> 01:14:16,379
in the Yugoslav wars
and the worst in Europe
1507
01:14:16,380 --> 01:14:17,580
since World War II.
1508
01:14:25,680 --> 01:14:27,209
The International Criminal Tribunal
1509
01:14:27,210 --> 01:14:28,320
for the Former Yugoslavia
1510
01:14:28,321 --> 01:14:31,349
was established in 1993 in The Hague.
1511
01:14:31,350 --> 01:14:33,299
Now, The Hague Tribunal
was supposed to bring
1512
01:14:33,300 --> 01:14:36,299
justice to the victims and
reconciliation among the nations
1513
01:14:36,300 --> 01:14:38,279
following the end of the civil wars.
1514
01:14:38,280 --> 01:14:40,139
However, it would be eerily reminiscent
1515
01:14:40,140 --> 01:14:41,913
of earlier European courts.
1516
01:14:45,570 --> 01:14:47,219
Instead of reconciliation,
1517
01:14:47,220 --> 01:14:48,360
The Hague Tribunal
1518
01:14:48,361 --> 01:14:50,999
brought even deeper
divisions to this area,
1519
01:14:51,000 --> 01:14:52,979
by choosing to disproportionately punish
1520
01:14:52,980 --> 01:14:54,989
one side in the conflict.
1521
01:14:54,990 --> 01:14:57,419
If all the verdicts were added together,
1522
01:14:57,420 --> 01:14:59,999
Croats, Bosniaks, and Albanians
1523
01:15:00,000 --> 01:15:03,779
were sentenced to a total of
about 300 years in prison.
1524
01:15:03,780 --> 01:15:05,159
While Serbs alone
1525
01:15:05,160 --> 01:15:08,039
were sentenced to over
1,000 years in prison
1526
01:15:08,040 --> 01:15:10,559
for crimes in the former Yugoslavia.
1527
01:15:10,560 --> 01:15:12,089
The verdict of this court,
1528
01:15:12,090 --> 01:15:15,359
that what happened in
Srebrenica constituted genocide,
1529
01:15:15,360 --> 01:15:19,679
remains an open topic in
some circles to this day.
1530
01:15:19,680 --> 01:15:21,869
By politicising the victims of war,
1531
01:15:21,870 --> 01:15:24,089
it makes it that much
harder for one nation
1532
01:15:24,090 --> 01:15:27,539
to truly understand the
suffering and tragedy of another,
1533
01:15:27,540 --> 01:15:30,809
understanding not a
Bosniak's, nor a Croat's,
1534
01:15:30,810 --> 01:15:33,929
nor a Serb's pain, but
rather a human being's pain
1535
01:15:33,930 --> 01:15:36,329
would help to bring
closure to these dark pages
1536
01:15:36,330 --> 01:15:37,559
of human history.
1537
01:15:37,560 --> 01:15:40,139
But most importantly, help
prevent something like this
1538
01:15:40,140 --> 01:15:43,229
from ever happening again here
in Bosnia and Herzegovina,
1539
01:15:43,230 --> 01:15:44,433
and also in Croatia.
1540
01:15:48,000 --> 01:15:49,799
Knin is a city in Croatia where,
1541
01:15:49,800 --> 01:15:52,259
before the civil war in 1991,
1542
01:15:52,260 --> 01:15:55,649
Serbs made up 80% of the population.
1543
01:15:55,650 --> 01:15:59,159
With the conquest of the Ottoman
Empire in the 14th century,
1544
01:15:59,160 --> 01:16:02,669
many Serbs started migrating
north to neighbouring Austria.
1545
01:16:02,670 --> 01:16:05,339
Some of the displaced Serbs
settled in the border area,
1546
01:16:05,340 --> 01:16:07,829
which came to be known
as the Vojna Krajina
1547
01:16:07,830 --> 01:16:11,849
or Military Frontier, which
acted as the cordon sanitaire
1548
01:16:11,850 --> 01:16:14,729
against incursions from
the Ottoman Empire.
1549
01:16:14,730 --> 01:16:17,519
After the Ottomans left and
Austria-Hungary crumbled,
1550
01:16:17,520 --> 01:16:19,679
the number of Serbs living
in the Krajina region
1551
01:16:19,680 --> 01:16:21,359
remained significant.
1552
01:16:21,360 --> 01:16:24,299
After they fell victim to
genocide during World War II,
1553
01:16:24,300 --> 01:16:26,399
the Serbs became a constitutional part
1554
01:16:26,400 --> 01:16:29,523
of the Socialist Republic of
Croatia within Yugoslavia.
1555
01:16:32,460 --> 01:16:34,972
This meant that important
decisions about Croatia
1556
01:16:34,973 --> 01:16:37,229
were to be made by a consensus
1557
01:16:37,230 --> 01:16:40,199
between both Croats and Serbs.
1558
01:16:40,200 --> 01:16:43,679
But in 1991, Serbs were
outvoted in a referendum
1559
01:16:43,680 --> 01:16:46,739
and Croatia declared
Serbs a national minority,
1560
01:16:46,740 --> 01:16:49,323
thus marginalising their
political significance.
1561
01:16:50,340 --> 01:16:52,589
In the years leading up to the referendum,
1562
01:16:52,590 --> 01:16:54,389
Serbs and their properties
1563
01:16:54,390 --> 01:16:56,364
were the target of numerous attacks.
1564
01:16:56,365 --> 01:16:58,979
GREETINGS FROM THE USTASHE!
1565
01:16:58,980 --> 01:17:01,079
In an attempt to preserve their rights
1566
01:17:01,080 --> 01:17:02,879
and protect themselves,
1567
01:17:02,880 --> 01:17:05,879
Serbs proclaimed the
Republika Srpska Krajina,
1568
01:17:05,880 --> 01:17:08,609
which had all the elements of statehood.
1569
01:17:08,610 --> 01:17:12,029
A bloody war was fought until 1995
1570
01:17:12,030 --> 01:17:15,119
when the Croatian Army
launched Operation Storm,
1571
01:17:15,120 --> 01:17:18,299
a military operation that
effectively extinguished
1572
01:17:18,300 --> 01:17:20,159
the Republika Srpska Krajina
1573
01:17:20,160 --> 01:17:24,839
and expelled more than
200,000 Serbs from the area.
1574
01:17:24,840 --> 01:17:28,049
Those fleeing the army
had little to no time
1575
01:17:28,050 --> 01:17:30,029
to take with them what they could,
1576
01:17:30,030 --> 01:17:33,303
while many who remained in
their homes were killed.
1577
01:17:33,304 --> 01:17:36,269
The Serbian Krajina was a thorn in the eye
1578
01:17:36,270 --> 01:17:41,270
of all Croatian political
doctrines in the last 200 years,
1579
01:17:41,553 --> 01:17:46,300
because the Serbs that guarded
the Austro-Hungarian borders
1580
01:17:46,301 --> 01:17:50,483
didn't report to the local
authorities in Croatia,
1581
01:17:50,484 --> 01:17:52,808
but rather directly to
the Austrian throne.
1582
01:17:52,809 --> 01:17:56,966
And that hatred towards Serbs escalated,
1583
01:17:56,967 --> 01:18:01,125
not only in theory, but
also through mass killings.
1584
01:18:02,910 --> 01:18:06,209
Today, there are eight
times fewer Serbs in Knin
1585
01:18:06,210 --> 01:18:07,619
than before the war.
1586
01:18:07,620 --> 01:18:08,969
Almost no Serbs left
1587
01:18:08,970 --> 01:18:11,609
in practically all areas
of Bosnia and Herzegovina
1588
01:18:11,610 --> 01:18:14,369
that didn't become a
part of Republika Srpska.
1589
01:18:14,370 --> 01:18:16,349
Even in Mostar, the birthplace
1590
01:18:16,350 --> 01:18:19,679
of one of the greatest
Serbian poets, Aleksa Santic.
1591
01:18:19,680 --> 01:18:22,319
There were more than 19,000
Serbian residents here,
1592
01:18:22,320 --> 01:18:25,829
and now that number's
diminished down to about 3,000.
1593
01:18:25,830 --> 01:18:29,549
After the signing of the
Dayton Peace Agreement in 1995,
1594
01:18:29,550 --> 01:18:32,039
which ended the war in
Bosnia and Herzegovina,
1595
01:18:32,040 --> 01:18:36,654
about 150,000 Serbs left
the parts of Sarajevo,
1596
01:18:36,655 --> 01:18:38,655
where they lived, in the middle of winter.
1597
01:21:01,119 --> 01:21:02,950
I left everything I had.
1598
01:21:24,617 --> 01:21:26,429
During this exodus,
1599
01:21:26,430 --> 01:21:29,369
they even dug out their dead loved ones
1600
01:21:29,370 --> 01:21:32,108
in fear of their graves being desecrated.
1601
01:22:17,970 --> 01:22:20,009
The Serbs in Republika Srpska knew
1602
01:22:20,010 --> 01:22:22,649
that if they wanted to remain
on their historical land,
1603
01:22:22,650 --> 01:22:25,589
west of the Drina River, they
had to defend themselves,
1604
01:22:25,590 --> 01:22:27,867
just like their ancestors did.
1605
01:22:50,700 --> 01:22:52,979
On this spot, Serbs in Nevesinje
1606
01:22:52,980 --> 01:22:55,349
met with representatives
of Western powers,
1607
01:22:55,350 --> 01:22:58,739
urging them to reconsider
rebelling against the Ottomans
1608
01:22:58,740 --> 01:22:59,880
as Germany and Austria
1609
01:22:59,881 --> 01:23:02,849
didn't want instability
in their border areas.
1610
01:23:02,850 --> 01:23:05,369
Despite not having support from the West
1611
01:23:05,370 --> 01:23:08,579
or even Serbia, Montenegro, or Russia,
1612
01:23:08,580 --> 01:23:10,079
the Serbs of Nevesinje
1613
01:23:10,080 --> 01:23:13,469
raised an armed uprising by themselves.
1614
01:23:13,470 --> 01:23:17,159
When asked, "How will you fight
without food or ammunition,"
1615
01:23:17,160 --> 01:23:22,160
one of the rebels took a
handful of his land and said,
1616
01:23:22,477 --> 01:23:24,509
"This is my food and ammunition.
1617
01:23:24,510 --> 01:23:26,129
So as long as we have this,
1618
01:23:26,130 --> 01:23:28,250
we have the means to fight
1619
01:23:30,600 --> 01:23:33,847
and something to die for."
1620
01:23:35,070 --> 01:23:38,489
The Army of Republika Srpska
was almost twice as small
1621
01:23:38,490 --> 01:23:41,159
as the combined Muslim and Croat armies.
1622
01:23:41,160 --> 01:23:44,219
Despite not exceeding 80,000 fighters,
1623
01:23:44,220 --> 01:23:45,899
the Serbs controlled a front line
1624
01:23:45,900 --> 01:23:49,559
that at one point
spanned 3,000 kilometres.
1625
01:23:49,560 --> 01:23:51,749
They sometimes had the support of Serbia,
1626
01:23:51,750 --> 01:23:53,519
though even Serbia at one point
1627
01:23:53,520 --> 01:23:56,909
imposed sanctions
against Republika Srpska.
1628
01:23:56,910 --> 01:23:59,909
The international community
and Western politicians
1629
01:23:59,910 --> 01:24:01,949
as well as mainstream media outlets
1630
01:24:01,950 --> 01:24:04,379
were firmly against the Serbs.
1631
01:24:04,380 --> 01:24:07,109
With NATO even bombing Serb positions
1632
01:24:07,110 --> 01:24:10,559
in Republika Srpska in 1995.
1633
01:24:10,560 --> 01:24:12,329
Yet, despite all of this,
1634
01:24:12,330 --> 01:24:15,089
the Army of Republika Srpska resisted
1635
01:24:15,090 --> 01:24:19,023
and defended their homes just
like their ancestors did.
1636
01:24:19,860 --> 01:24:22,079
The strong resistance of the Serb soldiers
1637
01:24:22,080 --> 01:24:24,389
was all a part of the same heroism
1638
01:24:24,390 --> 01:24:26,073
that Jovan Ducic recognised.
1639
01:24:27,210 --> 01:24:29,729
Jovan Ducic was a Serb writer and diplomat
1640
01:24:29,730 --> 01:24:31,709
at the turn of the 20th century,
1641
01:24:31,710 --> 01:24:34,319
born in Trebinje in Herzegovina.
1642
01:24:34,320 --> 01:24:35,999
In writing about heroism,
1643
01:24:36,000 --> 01:24:38,429
he says that Serbs are the only people
1644
01:24:38,430 --> 01:24:41,789
whose hero ordeal is
similar to the ancient one;
1645
01:24:41,790 --> 01:24:45,753
as someone who sacrifices
himself for the good of others.
1646
01:24:46,830 --> 01:24:48,659
The heroes of the Battle of Kosovo
1647
01:24:48,660 --> 01:24:51,059
against the Ottomans in the 14th century,
1648
01:24:51,060 --> 01:24:53,009
Milos Obilic and Prince Lazar
1649
01:24:53,010 --> 01:24:54,929
as well as the entire Serbian army
1650
01:24:54,930 --> 01:24:57,899
knowingly gave their lives for freedom
1651
01:24:57,900 --> 01:25:00,539
and what that freedom represents.
1652
01:25:00,540 --> 01:25:02,039
Under the Ottoman occupation,
1653
01:25:02,040 --> 01:25:04,169
the heroes were called Hajduks,
1654
01:25:04,170 --> 01:25:07,649
outlaws who took from rich
Ottomans and gave to the poor,
1655
01:25:07,650 --> 01:25:10,919
risking their own lives for freedom.
1656
01:25:10,920 --> 01:25:13,109
The heroes of the first Serbian uprising
1657
01:25:13,110 --> 01:25:14,160
against the Ottomans
1658
01:25:14,161 --> 01:25:17,549
at the beginning of the 19th
century weren't noblemen.
1659
01:25:17,550 --> 01:25:20,849
They were simply those who
fought to liberate their people
1660
01:25:20,850 --> 01:25:23,909
through courage and sacrifice.
1661
01:25:23,910 --> 01:25:25,619
Despite terrible conditions,
1662
01:25:25,620 --> 01:25:27,959
faced with attacks from all sides,
1663
01:25:27,960 --> 01:25:30,479
the fighters of the
Army of Republika Srpska
1664
01:25:30,480 --> 01:25:32,189
managed to preserve the territory
1665
01:25:32,190 --> 01:25:35,039
where Serbs live in Bosnia and Herzegovina
1666
01:25:35,040 --> 01:25:36,753
during three years of war.
1667
01:25:55,860 --> 01:25:57,179
In order to show continuity
1668
01:25:57,180 --> 01:25:59,219
with their compatriots and ancestors,
1669
01:25:59,220 --> 01:26:02,009
who gave their lives for the
same struggle in World War I
1670
01:26:02,010 --> 01:26:04,289
and were buried in Zeitenlik in Greece,
1671
01:26:04,290 --> 01:26:05,759
this place of eternal rest
1672
01:26:05,760 --> 01:26:07,979
for the soldiers of the
Army of Republic Srpska
1673
01:26:07,980 --> 01:26:11,729
in Sokolac, near Sarajevo,
was named Mali Zejtnilik
1674
01:26:11,730 --> 01:26:13,353
or Small Zeitenlik.
1675
01:26:16,920 --> 01:26:18,749
For the first time in centuries,
1676
01:26:18,750 --> 01:26:20,849
Serbs west of the Drina River
1677
01:26:20,850 --> 01:26:23,159
have all the mechanisms to shape
1678
01:26:23,160 --> 01:26:25,529
and organise their own lives.
1679
01:26:25,530 --> 01:26:27,719
Republika Srpska covers around half
1680
01:26:27,720 --> 01:26:29,399
of Bosnia and Herzegovina
1681
01:26:29,400 --> 01:26:31,739
and has all the elements of statehood.
1682
01:26:31,740 --> 01:26:36,599
It has its own government,
assembly, president, police,
1683
01:26:36,600 --> 01:26:38,909
but also the ability to influence
1684
01:26:38,910 --> 01:26:42,599
the political course of
Bosnia and Herzegovina.
1685
01:26:42,600 --> 01:26:45,719
Therefore, Republika Srpska
isn't just a political entity,
1686
01:26:45,720 --> 01:26:47,189
it's the necessary minimum
1687
01:26:47,190 --> 01:26:50,399
for Serbs to survive in a land
where they've always lived.
1688
01:26:50,400 --> 01:26:53,399
The Principality of Serbia
was the first country,
1689
01:26:53,400 --> 01:26:56,309
aside from France, to abolish feudalism
1690
01:26:56,310 --> 01:26:59,939
and the only one that didn't
have nobility in Europe.
1691
01:26:59,940 --> 01:27:01,702
Everyone was equal.
1692
01:27:02,988 --> 01:27:07,109
In the two world wars, the
Serbs made enormous sacrifices
1693
01:27:07,110 --> 01:27:10,293
with the most per capita
deaths in the Great War.
1694
01:27:11,280 --> 01:27:14,009
This willingness to sacrifice
everything for freedom
1695
01:27:14,010 --> 01:27:16,889
is due to the Serbs' unique
attitude towards freedom,
1696
01:27:16,890 --> 01:27:19,019
which means to be one's own
1697
01:27:19,020 --> 01:27:21,239
and brings with it the cultural paradigm
1698
01:27:21,240 --> 01:27:24,721
that everyone must be
free, and thus equal.
1699
01:27:29,340 --> 01:27:31,889
That is why Serbs have always been a thorn
1700
01:27:31,890 --> 01:27:35,099
in the eye of many
colonisers and occupiers,
1701
01:27:35,100 --> 01:27:37,229
and they still are today.
1702
01:27:37,230 --> 01:27:39,269
As long as a Serb exists,
1703
01:27:39,270 --> 01:27:43,319
he or she has a spiritual
duty to fight slavery
1704
01:27:43,320 --> 01:27:45,989
and inequality in every way.
1705
01:27:45,990 --> 01:27:48,239
Republika Srpska wasn't planned.
1706
01:27:48,240 --> 01:27:51,269
It's a consequence of the
Serbs struggle for freedom,
1707
01:27:51,270 --> 01:27:53,369
and the pledge that will always exist
1708
01:27:53,370 --> 01:27:56,223
is at the heart of what
it means to be a Serb.
1709
01:27:57,515 --> 01:27:59,789
To be a Serb means to be free,
1710
01:27:59,790 --> 01:28:02,130
which bothers many.
1711
01:28:02,131 --> 01:28:05,479
And to be free means being
strong enough to be free
1712
01:28:05,480 --> 01:28:08,503
and live in a cathartic history
1713
01:28:08,504 --> 01:28:12,307
in which you never allowed
yourself to be defeated.
1714
01:28:12,308 --> 01:28:13,531
Serbs are a nation
1715
01:28:13,532 --> 01:28:16,357
that was never fully
defeated in its history.
1716
01:28:16,358 --> 01:28:19,282
It wasn't defeated during Turkish times,
1717
01:28:19,283 --> 01:28:21,423
when the Serbian and Russian churches
1718
01:28:21,424 --> 01:28:24,398
had very active cooperation
in the 16th century,
1719
01:28:24,399 --> 01:28:26,454
and afterwards, when it liberated itself
1720
01:28:26,455 --> 01:28:28,612
and created the conditions
1721
01:28:28,613 --> 01:28:31,708
for other nations to thrive in the region.
1722
01:28:31,709 --> 01:28:33,833
This was the First Serbian Uprising
1723
01:28:33,834 --> 01:28:35,862
or the First Serbian Revolution
1724
01:28:35,863 --> 01:28:38,687
in which Karadjordje essentially
helped all other nations
1725
01:28:38,688 --> 01:28:42,510
to go down the path to
where they are today.
1726
01:28:42,511 --> 01:28:47,452
Being undefeated is a
precondition for being free.
1727
01:28:48,385 --> 01:28:50,185
For me, that is the Serbian nation.
1728
01:28:53,580 --> 01:28:55,926
As Serb poet Aleksa Santic wrote,
1729
01:28:55,927 --> 01:28:58,799
"We know our fate and all we're in for;
1730
01:28:58,800 --> 01:29:02,249
O yet our hearts in
fright will not shiver.
1731
01:29:02,250 --> 01:29:05,879
Oxen bow down but men do not quiver,
1732
01:29:05,880 --> 01:29:10,014
for God unto men freedom did bestow."
140265
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