BackgroundOurs travelogue of the vanished nation: Yugoslavia |
Background
A former country of southeast Europe bordering on the Adriatic Sea. It was
formed in 1918 as the "Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes" after the collapse
of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and was renamed Yugoslavia in 1929. Under the
leadership of Marshal Tito the country became a Communist-led regime after World
War II. After Tito's death in 1980, a collective presidency assumed power, but
economic problems and ethnic tensions grew. Communist party control ended in
1990, and four of the six constituent republics (Slovenia
,
Croatia
, Bosnia-Herzegovina
,
and Macedonia
) declared independence
from 1991. The two remaining republics, Serbia & Montenegro, formed a new
country in April 1992. "Yugoslavia" renamed as "Serbia &
Montenegro"
in 2003. On
21st May 2006, Montenegro decleared to be an independent nation after referendum
on termination of union between Serbia and Montenegro. (Please refer appendix
if interested)│
Slavic 族人本居住於俄羅斯中部，公元4-5 世紀，部份Slavic 舉族入侵歐洲東南部的巴爾幹半島，並在此地落地生根，這些移民巴爾幹半島的人又分Serbs、Croats、Slovenes、Macedonians、Montenegrins
及Bosniaks ，大家雖共同源於同一祖先，血緣相近，但因巴爾幹半島位於山區，令各地區的人被山脈阻隔，以至文化上個別發展，再加上各受不同外族統治，以致不論言語、宗教、文化都有不同。
南斯拉夫建於WW1 後，由原本從Austro-Hungarian Empire 爭取獨立的Slavic 各族組成。WW2 之後，南斯拉夫實行社會主義，由Josip
Broz Tito 出任總統，與蘇聯保持距離之餘，努力發展自己的經濟，使南斯拉夫在東歐國家裡成為比較富有的一員，並仿傚蘇聯將全國按民族分為6 個共和國
(Bosnia Hercegonvia +Croatia +Macedonia +Montenegro+Serbia +Slovenia) 及2 個自治州(Vojvodina+Kosovo)，並強硬對付民族主義活動。由於Tito
受各民族信服，故其領導時代民族紛爭沒有出現。
及至1980年Tito逝世，南斯拉夫開始走下坡之餘，各民族之間衝突不斷加劇。基於各共和國政治背景、宗教信仰(天主教/ 基督教/ 猶太教/ 回教 etc)、文化傳統和經濟發展上的差異，在東歐劇變和蘇聯解體後，各民族開始各自爭取自治和獨立。1991年7月，北部的克羅地亞
及斯洛文尼亞 宣佈獨立，由Serbs 控制的Rep. of
Yugoslavia 派兵鎮壓，在Croatia 出現激戰，至1992年3月，中部波斯尼亞
宣佈獨立，由於境內有大量Serbs 居住，故中央放棄Croatia 而派兵鎮壓Bosnia 的獨立運動，結果Croatia 及Slovenia 成功獨立，Bosnia
則爆發為期3年，二次大戰後歐洲最慘烈之戰爭，後來更要UN
介入，才於1995年平息；與此同時，馬其頓
於1993年成為第4 個脫離聯幫之國家。這股獨立浪潮蔓延至國內較多回教徒Albanian 的Kosovo (科索沃)自治州，由於殘酷鎮壓，1999年北約(NATO)
介入並向南斯拉夫開戰，結果戰敗並讓北約
接管Kosovo。最後Yugoslavia
只餘下塞爾維亞及黑山兩個共和國。2003年2月，南斯拉夫聯盟議會兩院分別以多數票表決通過「Serbia & Montenegro」宣告成立，南斯拉夫作為國名正式消失於歷史裡。2006年5月，黑山透過公民投票決定正式獨立，Serbia
& Montenegro 因而面臨解散。
The journey
At the time when we began to know more about our world, there were news about
wars presist in the region for a long time causing so many political problems,
as well as death and broken families......yet it seems to be somewhere far far
away.
As getting older, the world tells us that the Gulf wars was mainly due to energy
crisis(?), then what the Yugoslav wars for? Different races with different religions
lived here over thousands of years and actually they got the same origin!!!
For this reason, we come here.......│
小時候常覺得自己生於和平盛世，只因家中外公/ 婆頻頻「想當年打仗果陣…………」。及至成長階段，從新聞報導不斷聽到有「伊拉克入侵科威特」、「南斯拉夫內戰」、「東帝汶獨立」、「車臣遊擊隊」……雖然不太清楚好些地方之實在位置，但這世界根本就是戰火連連~~
開展工作生涯，感恩有收入、有假期。再加上香港人有2 本護照[SAR 和BN(O)] 可互補不同免簽証國家之關係，結果，做就了這3 次旅程：
| Hungary | Bosnia- Hercegoniva |
|
Croatia | |
Slovenia | |
photo album | ||||
| Romania | Serbia |  |
Montenegro |  |
Kosovo | Croatia | |
Switz | photo album | ||
| Bulgaria | Macedonia | |
Serbia | |
Albania | Czech Rep | photo album |
After the journey
Appednix:
A brief timeline of the Yugoslav Wars
| 1980 May | Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito dies. Without Tito's strong leadership, Yugoslavia begins its slow collapse. |
| 1988 - 1989 | 600th anniversary of the Battle of Kosovo is celebrated by Serbs around
Yugoslavia. The occasion is used to raise nationalist fervor. Ethnic tensions
in Kosovo between ethnic Albanians and Serbs begin to rise. |
| 1990 | First democratic elections in 45 years are held in Yugoslavia in an attempt
to bring the Yugoslav socialist model into the new, post-Cold War world.
Nationalist options win majority in almost all republics. In the wake of the election and subsequent revisions to Republic constitutions Serbs in Croatia start a rebellion against the newly elected government, an event frequently reffered to as the "Balvan revolution" (tree-log revolution). |
1991 May - Jun |
Rising ethnic violence in Croatia. Slovenia and Croatia declare independence. The ethnic homogeneity of Slovenia allows the country to avoid much fighting. The Yugoslav army leaves Slovenia quickly but supports rebel Serb forces in Croatia. Slovenian War of Independence (1991), Croatian War of Independence (1991-1995) follows. |
| 1992 Jan | Macedonia declares independence. No wars erupted in this area. Slovenia and Croatia are internationally recognized. |
| 1992 Apr | Bosnia declares independence. The diversity in this republic causes an
ethnic strain and war ensues. Serbia and Montenegro elect Slobodan Milosevic as their leader. The Siege of Sarajevo begins. The Siege was fought between Bosnian and Serb forces. And this was the Bosnian Civil War (1992-1995) |
| 1993 Mar | Fighting begins between Bosnian Muslims and Croats. |
| 1994 Mar | Peace treaty between Bosnian Muslims and Croats is signed. The treaty was arbitrated by the United States. |
| 1995 Aug | Croatia launches Operation Storm and in 3 days reclaims almost 70% of its pre-conflict territory, resulting in approximately 250,000 Serb refugees. The results of the operation puts pressure on the Serbian side, paving the way for cease-fire negotiations. |
| 1995 Nov | Bosnia, Croatia, and Serbia sign a cease-fire. |
| 1995 Dec | Dayton Agreement signed in Paris ending the war in Bosnia and Croatia. |
| 1996 | Former Yugoslavia recognizes Croatia and Bosnia & Herzegovina. |
| 1998 Mar | Fighting breaks out between Serbs and ethnic Albanians in Kosovo. Milosevic sends in troops. |
| 1999 Mar | NATO starts the military campaign Operation Allied Force in Kosovo. |
| 1999 Jun | Control of Kosovo is given to the United Nations, but still remains a part of Serbia. |
| 2000 Oct | Slobodan Milosevic is deposed, and Kostunica becomes new president of Yugoslavia. |
| 2000 Feb | Milosevic is put on trial in The Hague on charges of war crimes and genocide. |
| 2003 Feb | Yugoslavia becomes the nation of Serbia and Montenegro. |
| 2006 Mar | Milosevic dies in Hague prison, before being sentenced. |
| 2006 May | Rreferendum on termination of union between Serbia and Montenegro. Montenegro voted to leave the State Union. |
| 2006 Jun | Montenegro declared independence and recognized as an independent nation by Serbia. Also, Montenegro became the 192nd member state of UN. |
References
| Websites | |
| The history guy | http://www.historyguy.com/balkan_war_third.htm |
| Answers.com | http://www.answers.com |
| Perry-Castaneda Library Map Collection | http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/atlas_east_europe/yugoslavia-map.jpg |
| Yahoo! 知識+ | http://hk.knowledge.yahoo.com/ |
| Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page |
Books |
|
Masters, Tom et al. (2005). Eastern Europe (8th ed). Footscray,
Vic.: Lonely Planet  |
|