Embedded Files
Bosniak
Bosniak
Or Bosnians who practice Islam: Bosnian Muslims . These individuals were the targets of ethnic cleansing by Serbian Nationalists.
After Yugoslavia was established Bosniaks lost their right as an ethnic group and had to identify with either Serbs or Croats (2020). Along with this they had lost their right to their name, Bosniak, and did not attain that right back until September of 1993 (2020). Seeing how individuals could not identify with their culture as Bosnian or Bosniak helps in developing an understanding for the lack of rights these individuals had both socially and legally.
Bosnian
Bosnian
Those that reside in Bosnia and Herzegovina which speak Bosnian or formerly known as "Serbo-Croat" (2015). Predominately Muslim and make up the majority of Bosnia and Herzegovina. (2015) To be Bosnian is to be marginalized on the basis of ones nationality but, also religion in the case of this Bosnian practicing Islam.
Bosnian-Serb
Bosnian-Serb
Understanding the intersecting identity of a Serbian and a Bosnian is incredibly important in knowing their role within the Bosnian War. Many Bosnian Serbs were against the independence of Bosnia Herzegovina and the majority of the population being that of the Muslim caused even further tensions (2015). Leading Bosnian Serbs to boycott the independence referendum.
Bosnian-Serbs or Serbians that reside in Bosnia are those which took part in the ethnic cleansing of Muslims.
Serbian
Serbian
Serbia is widely thought of as an unfinished state (2007). This shows how Serbians may want to continue expanding their boundaries in order to 'finish the state'.
Serbians are predominately Christian Orthodox (2015).
To be Serbian now is a completely different experience than it was before the war, during the war, and right after the war.
Croatian
Croatian
The Croatian population which was one of the more prominent nationalities with Bosnians and Serbians within Yugoslavia and were involved in the perpetration of the ethnic cleansing and also victims of such (2024).
After the republics of Slovenia and Croatia broke away from Yugoslavia the Serbian Military invaded Croatia on the basis of protecting the Serbian minority (2013).
Albanians
Albanians
Albanians make up the majority of the population in Kosovo and they have been rising in population since the 1940s (2020). These Kosovo Albanians majorly practice Islam and are Muslim although some are Christian (2022). Albanians have fought for Kosovo to be a Republic and independence from Serbian governance over the course of many years through protest and then on through the foundation of the KLA (Kosovo Liberation Army).
Yugoslav
Yugoslav
Those who resided in the Former Yugoslavia which do not identify with Bosnian, Serbian, Albanian, or Croatian. In 1991 there were only 8% of the Yugoslav population within the Yugoslavia Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (2013). These individuals originating from the Croats, Serbs, and Bosnians. These individuals positions within the genocide lie in whether they nationally are Serbian, Croat, or Bosnian.
Ethnic map of Yugoslavia based on 1991 census data. Created at U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, 1992.
Ethnic Map of the Former Yugoslavia Based on 1991 Census
The perpetrators:
Perpetrators were in opposition of the Bosniak majority in Bosnia along with an independent Bosnia (2013). These perpetrators were: Serbians, Bosnian-Serbs, and Croats. They participated in the ethnic cleansing of Muslims in Bosnia. Bosnian-Serbs held 31 percent of the population in Bosnia, Bosniaks held 44 percent of the population, 17 percent Croat, and 8 percent Yugoslav (2013).
Those who were targeted:
Bosniak or Bosnian Muslim group held 44 percent of the population in Bosnia when they were declaring their independence (2013). 17 percent of the population was Croat and another 8 percent was Yugoslav (2013). Civilians from both the Bosniak and Croatian groups were targeted by Serb/Bosnian-Serb Army during the ethnic cleansing of Bosnia-Herzegovina.
“About Bosniaks.” Congress of Bosniaks of North America, December 8, 2020. https://bosniak.org/about-bosniaks/.
“Background: Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1992-1995.” United States holocaust memorial museum, July 2013.
https://www.ushmm.org/genocide-prevention/countries/bosnia-herzegovina/1992-1995.
“Bosnian War.” Encyclopædia Britannica, March 28, 2024. https://www.britannica.com/event/Bosnian-War.
Ray, Michael. “Kosovo Conflict.” Encyclopædia Britannica, 2020. https://www.britannica.com/event/Kosovo-conflict.
Ristić, Irena. “Serbian Identity and the Concept of Europeanness.” Panoeconomicus 54, no. 2 (2007): 185–95. https://doi.org/10.2298/pan0702185r.
“Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina.” Minority Rights Group, June 2015.
2022 report on International Religious Freedom: Kosovo, 2022. https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-report-on-international-religious-
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