Sarajevo: The Besieged City (Part One)
"Dici che il fiume
Trova la via al mare
E come il fiume
Giungerai a me
Oltre i confini
E le terre assetate
Dici che come il fiume
Come il fiume...
L'amore giungerà
L'amore...
E non so più pregare
E nell'amore non so più sperare
E quell'amore non so più aspettare"
-U2, Miss Sarajevo
My father and I received a rather warm welcome from our host in Sarajevo - a lady about 60 years of age who ran a pension in the city center of Sarajevo. Once settled, we curiously asked our host about good places around the city where we could learn about the "Civil War" which took place in the early 1990s. We had already seen so much scars the nation of Bosnia and Herzegovina bore in Mostar. We were sure that the capital city had more for all of us to learn about the cruelty of a monster called war.
It turned out that we were absolutely right - at the cost of unintentionally stirring up the emotions of our dear host.
"Oh no. Don't call it a "Civil War"! There was nothing "civil" about it! Civil Wars are wars fought between people of the same nation. To us, that war was pure"aggression" - it was a carefully planned invasion against our people by another nation. So just call it "aggression", at least that's what we call it here in Sarajevo. After all it was them who fired the first shot.......at us................"
So who was responsible for "the war"? - a neutral term everyone regardless of a Bosnian's ethnic background could accept?
Well, depending on who you ask.
It was true that certain members from all three main ethnic groups of Bosnia: Muslim Bosniaks, Orthodox Serbs, and Catholic Croats, committed unforgivable crimes even foreigners like you and I would denounce. Finding a way to tell a relatively objective version of the history of that tragic war would be as complicated as the nation of Bosnia itself. Up to today, the country remains divided: Around one half is controlled by the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina - a union formed by ethnic Bosniaks and Croats, while the other half is controlled by Repulika Srpska - the Republic of Serbs.
The city of Sarajevo sits right on the boundary of the two political entities. The surrounding mountains and the suburb of East Sarajevo today belong to Republika Srpska, whereas the main city in the valley belongs to the Federation and serves as the capital city of the united Bosnia and Herzegovina.
You are probably already confused: what is going on here?
Before we talk about what the country looks like today, let's first talk about how it got here.We'll start with the collapse of Yugoslavia in 1991. (Above are two videos on Youtube that did somewhat either a great or horrible job on explaining the fall of Yugoslavia. However, these two videos with a total length of 20 minutes will definitely be the most informative one in such a short time frame).
Many say that the seed for the break up of the Southern Slavic nation was planted when Marshal Tito - the country's beloved leader passed away in 1980. During Tito's reign since the end of World War Two until his death, Yugoslavia enjoyed relative stability - especially true in ethnic relations as the government supported the idea of "Brotherhood and Unity" and at the same time crashed nationalism. The government encouraged citizens to identify themselves as "Yugoslavians"- rather than "Serbs", "Croats", "Slovenes", or "Montenegrins".
After Tito's death,the balance of ethnic relation was broken. Nationalism was on the rise. Among the ethnic groups, Serbs were the most populous and had been the most influential since the Yugoslavian Kingdom era. The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was founded by Serbia following the defeat of Austro-Hungarian Empire. The King of Serbia also took the tile of the King of Yugoslavia. The union of Yugoslavia was based on the fact that Southern Slavic ethnicities such as Serbs, Croats, Slovenes and Montenegrins shared the same Slavic ancestors and they all spoke similar, if not the same language.
Among them, Serbs and Croats spoke mutually intelligible languages and are closely related genetically as well. The major difference that made someone Serb or someone Croat was the type of religion they adhered to: Orthodox Christians were the Serbs, and Roman Catholics were the Croats. These two identities further drifted away from each other when modern day Croatia became an integral part of Western powers such as Venice and Austria, whereas modern day Serbia was ruled by the Ottoman Empire for centuries. During the Ottoman rule, the Ottoman Imperial court had attempted to Islamize the inhabitants of its Balkan territories, such as those in modern day Serbia and Albania through offering tax incentives and giving special status to people who converted to Islam. As a result, a large number of former Orthodox Serbs during the Ottoman rule converted to Islam.
Eventually in the 1960s, the government of Yugoslavia officially recognized those in Bosnia and Herzegovina whose religious background was Islam, rather than Orthodox Christianity as a new ethnic group :"Muslims". The new Muslim ethnicity was the third largest group in Yugoslavia and formed the majority of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Because Sarajevo contained large population of Serbs, Croats, and the new "Muslims" - Yugoslavia's three largest ethnic groups, the city became the nation's cultural center as it became the base for film and music productions (such as Walter Defends Sarajevo).
Following the death of Tito, Serbs- who were the largest and historically the most influential ethnic group, became dominant inside the Yugoslavian government. Nationalism became strong among both Serbs and Croats - the two largest ethnic groups. However, the balance was first shaken by the ethnic Albanians - who made up the majority of the Serbian province of Kosovo. By 1991, almost all of the Yugoslav republics declared independence - except Serbia, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Serbia and Montenegro remained in a union all the way until 2006 after Montenegrins held a referendum regarding the future of Montenegro. The majority chose independence and the two nations parted way peacefully.
Then there was the referendum of 1992 in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This referendum didn't turn quite as well as the one in Montenegro. Rather, it was the beginning of chaos that lasted until at least 1995. What was the outcome of this referendum? What happened afterwards? We will explore these questions further in Part Two.
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Chapter 3
"Heil Hitler!" The man in brown trench coat saluted SS Colonel von Dietrich.
Von Dietrich returned the man a salute: " So how was it?"
"The mission was a great success, colonel. We have destroyed the bridge." The man in brown trench coat replied.
"Excellent."
"But colonel", the man in brown trench continued, " we had encountered some unexpected situations. While we were on the mission, we got intercepted by our own military patrol."
Then the man turned to Bischoff, who was standing beside Von Dietrich:
"You! Bischoff! You told me that there would be no problems! You told me that you had already cleared the path for us to accomplish this mission!"
"Listen, Mr. Lieutenant....." Bischoff was about to explain. He appeared to be anxious, and he realized that Von Dietrich was also staring at him.
"Enough! For God's sake! How many times do I have to tell you!? Don't call me by my rank! Call my pseudonym! It's Kondor!" The man in brown trench coat yelled at Bischoff.
"Yes, Kondor. I did issue the order for all the deployment to be relocated for this mission. Those military patrol, I swear, were from elsewhere who just happened to pass by that area. It was a total accident!" Explained Bischoff.
"Your stupid accident cost the lives of five German soldiers!" Kondor was furious. "And my life was in danger too!"
"Kondor, please allow me to explain....."
"Gentlemen. I thought we had already made everything clear that we wouldn't blame each other for any so called 'accidents'?" Von Dietrich lighted a cigarette. "It's no point to do that now. We can't save the lives of anyone who have already died. Please don't do that in the future as well."
Then Von Dietrich stood up and walked towards his office. Bischoff and Kondor followed.
"This accident, gentlemen, occured at the right time" Von Dietrich told his two subordinates. "Kondor. You killed German soldiers like a real partisan. This action alone will make less people doubt that you aren't Walter."
"You are absolutely right colonel. Everyone I am working with all believe that I am Walter." Kondor spoke with pride.
"Excellent! I'm very please that our plan is going so well right now! For only three days you have successfully established yourself as this Walter figure among the some members of the resistance movement and organized a fake partisan committee. I'm really impressed with the progress you've made so far! This is such a huge success!"
"Colonel, I think Kondor doesn't deserve all the credits here! Without Shooter, whom Kondor got in touch with inside the partisan movement, he wouldn't be this successful and stick his nose this high!" Bischoff couldn't stand how Von Dietrich was praising Kondor like Kondor was already a national hero of Germany.
"This Shooter figure you mentioned, as far as I know, was a dedicated partisan not even that long ago.I don't know why you would give credit to this Shooter figure, especially when we don't even know whether this person is reliable or not!" Kondor questioned Bischoff.
"Oh! You shouldn't worry about that! Shooter is very trustworthy and personally reports to me!" Bischoff fought back.
"Let me tell you what. I just don't like this Shooter." Kondor became frank with his dislike of Shooter, as well as Bischoff.
" I think we can continue using Shooter." said Von Dietrich. "How many members are in your fake partisan committee?"
"Five real partisans, and Shooter", replied Kondor.
"Good! You should let these partisans to expand your fake committee. The more members you have, the better." Von Dietrich continued. "Meanwhile, as the imposter of Walter, you should pose yourself as a leader and role model. Try your best to blend in any characteristics we know about the real Walter."
"I promise, colonel, that I'll even be better than the real one. I'll be more Walter than the original Walter."
"I don't think it's that easy, Kondor." Von Dietrich spoke to Kondor seriously, "I don't think you have undertaken something this important before."
Then Von Dietrich turned to both men:
"Don't you all forget, that Operation 'Läufer' officially begins in 7 days. We must make sure Army Group E will get the fuel they need. At the same time, we must ensure the whole operation will remain in secrecy. Gentlemen, you will make sure that the whole resistance movement in Sarajevo will sink into chaos! We need to keep Walter busy with cleaning up the mess we are about to leave them. In the end, they will only focus on saving themselves, rather than finding a way to ruin Operation 'Läufer'. Most importantly, they must know absolutely nothing regarding Operation 'Läufer'!"
"Yes, colonel. I will give you full a list of the names of the resistance movement. Not only that, I will also get any information regarding who their leaders are, how they communicate, and where they gather. Here are the names of people who were involved in exploding the bridge."
After passing the note to von Dietrich, Kondor then looked at Bischoff, "Meanwhile, as for all other basic and unimportant tasks, you can assign them to Bischoff".
"First Lieutenant Bischoff, why don't we start right away?" Von Dietrich ordered. "Five of our soldiers were killed while defending the railway. We already have the names of the perpetrators, thanks to Kondor. Why don't you and your men punish these criminals at once?"
"Yes, colonel!"
"Bischoff, listen to me", Kondor interrupted, "for now, don't arrest Obran on the list yet. He is the switchman at the station who helped us to escape last night."
"He came out of nowhere? Very good!" Von Dietrich clapped his hands. "We will set up surveillance on him, and see what we can get from him. Since he was able to act on his own, maybe he is someone who might tell us more about Walter."
Trova la via al mare
E come il fiume
Giungerai a me
Oltre i confini
E le terre assetate
Dici che come il fiume
Come il fiume...
L'amore giungerà
L'amore...
E non so più pregare
E nell'amore non so più sperare
E quell'amore non so più aspettare"
-U2, Miss Sarajevo
 |
| Even today, many beautiful fields across Bosnia has ugly and dangerous surprises hidden underneath |
 |
| Like this landmine |
"Oh no. Don't call it a "Civil War"! There was nothing "civil" about it! Civil Wars are wars fought between people of the same nation. To us, that war was pure"aggression" - it was a carefully planned invasion against our people by another nation. So just call it "aggression", at least that's what we call it here in Sarajevo. After all it was them who fired the first shot.......at us................"
 |
| An aerial shot of Sarajevo. Mass graveyards, marked by its white marble columns, could be seen across the city. |
 |
| One of the mass graves for ethnic Muslim Bosniak victims during the Bosnian War |
Well, depending on who you ask.
 |
| A sign embedded on the wall of Sarajevo's historic City Hall building accusing Serbs of their wrongdoings during the Bosnian War. Today, the majority of the residents in the city of Sarajevo are Muslim Bosniaks. |
 |
| One of the mass graves in Sarajevo |
You are probably already confused: what is going on here?
 |
| The skyscrapers in the background served as the unofficial boundaries between old Sarajevo and new Sarajevo, which was built during the Yugoslav era |
 |
| A statue of Marshal Tito inside University of Sarajevo. Even today, one of the main roads in Sarajevo remains to be named "Marshal Tito Boulevard". Nostalgic feelings towards Yugoslavia and Tito was very strong in Bosnia, regardless of one's ethnicity |
Among them, Serbs and Croats spoke mutually intelligible languages and are closely related genetically as well. The major difference that made someone Serb or someone Croat was the type of religion they adhered to: Orthodox Christians were the Serbs, and Roman Catholics were the Croats. These two identities further drifted away from each other when modern day Croatia became an integral part of Western powers such as Venice and Austria, whereas modern day Serbia was ruled by the Ottoman Empire for centuries. During the Ottoman rule, the Ottoman Imperial court had attempted to Islamize the inhabitants of its Balkan territories, such as those in modern day Serbia and Albania through offering tax incentives and giving special status to people who converted to Islam. As a result, a large number of former Orthodox Serbs during the Ottoman rule converted to Islam.
 |
| Emperor's Mosque is one of the oldest mosques in the Balkans |
 |
| Sarajevo's Baščaršija neighbourhood |
 |
| Hum Tower as shown in this picture was partially destroyed during the Bosnian War |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 3
"Heil Hitler!" The man in brown trench coat saluted SS Colonel von Dietrich.
Von Dietrich returned the man a salute: " So how was it?"
"The mission was a great success, colonel. We have destroyed the bridge." The man in brown trench coat replied.
"Excellent."
"But colonel", the man in brown trench continued, " we had encountered some unexpected situations. While we were on the mission, we got intercepted by our own military patrol."
Then the man turned to Bischoff, who was standing beside Von Dietrich:
"You! Bischoff! You told me that there would be no problems! You told me that you had already cleared the path for us to accomplish this mission!"
"Listen, Mr. Lieutenant....." Bischoff was about to explain. He appeared to be anxious, and he realized that Von Dietrich was also staring at him.
"Enough! For God's sake! How many times do I have to tell you!? Don't call me by my rank! Call my pseudonym! It's Kondor!" The man in brown trench coat yelled at Bischoff.
"Yes, Kondor. I did issue the order for all the deployment to be relocated for this mission. Those military patrol, I swear, were from elsewhere who just happened to pass by that area. It was a total accident!" Explained Bischoff.
"Your stupid accident cost the lives of five German soldiers!" Kondor was furious. "And my life was in danger too!"
"Kondor, please allow me to explain....."
"Gentlemen. I thought we had already made everything clear that we wouldn't blame each other for any so called 'accidents'?" Von Dietrich lighted a cigarette. "It's no point to do that now. We can't save the lives of anyone who have already died. Please don't do that in the future as well."
Then Von Dietrich stood up and walked towards his office. Bischoff and Kondor followed.
"This accident, gentlemen, occured at the right time" Von Dietrich told his two subordinates. "Kondor. You killed German soldiers like a real partisan. This action alone will make less people doubt that you aren't Walter."
"You are absolutely right colonel. Everyone I am working with all believe that I am Walter." Kondor spoke with pride.
"Excellent! I'm very please that our plan is going so well right now! For only three days you have successfully established yourself as this Walter figure among the some members of the resistance movement and organized a fake partisan committee. I'm really impressed with the progress you've made so far! This is such a huge success!"
"Colonel, I think Kondor doesn't deserve all the credits here! Without Shooter, whom Kondor got in touch with inside the partisan movement, he wouldn't be this successful and stick his nose this high!" Bischoff couldn't stand how Von Dietrich was praising Kondor like Kondor was already a national hero of Germany.
"This Shooter figure you mentioned, as far as I know, was a dedicated partisan not even that long ago.I don't know why you would give credit to this Shooter figure, especially when we don't even know whether this person is reliable or not!" Kondor questioned Bischoff.
"Oh! You shouldn't worry about that! Shooter is very trustworthy and personally reports to me!" Bischoff fought back.
"Let me tell you what. I just don't like this Shooter." Kondor became frank with his dislike of Shooter, as well as Bischoff.
" I think we can continue using Shooter." said Von Dietrich. "How many members are in your fake partisan committee?"
"Five real partisans, and Shooter", replied Kondor.
"Good! You should let these partisans to expand your fake committee. The more members you have, the better." Von Dietrich continued. "Meanwhile, as the imposter of Walter, you should pose yourself as a leader and role model. Try your best to blend in any characteristics we know about the real Walter."
"I promise, colonel, that I'll even be better than the real one. I'll be more Walter than the original Walter."
"I don't think it's that easy, Kondor." Von Dietrich spoke to Kondor seriously, "I don't think you have undertaken something this important before."
Then Von Dietrich turned to both men:
"Don't you all forget, that Operation 'Läufer' officially begins in 7 days. We must make sure Army Group E will get the fuel they need. At the same time, we must ensure the whole operation will remain in secrecy. Gentlemen, you will make sure that the whole resistance movement in Sarajevo will sink into chaos! We need to keep Walter busy with cleaning up the mess we are about to leave them. In the end, they will only focus on saving themselves, rather than finding a way to ruin Operation 'Läufer'. Most importantly, they must know absolutely nothing regarding Operation 'Läufer'!"
"Yes, colonel. I will give you full a list of the names of the resistance movement. Not only that, I will also get any information regarding who their leaders are, how they communicate, and where they gather. Here are the names of people who were involved in exploding the bridge."
After passing the note to von Dietrich, Kondor then looked at Bischoff, "Meanwhile, as for all other basic and unimportant tasks, you can assign them to Bischoff".
"First Lieutenant Bischoff, why don't we start right away?" Von Dietrich ordered. "Five of our soldiers were killed while defending the railway. We already have the names of the perpetrators, thanks to Kondor. Why don't you and your men punish these criminals at once?"
"Yes, colonel!"
"Bischoff, listen to me", Kondor interrupted, "for now, don't arrest Obran on the list yet. He is the switchman at the station who helped us to escape last night."
"He came out of nowhere? Very good!" Von Dietrich clapped his hands. "We will set up surveillance on him, and see what we can get from him. Since he was able to act on his own, maybe he is someone who might tell us more about Walter."
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