Preliminary communication
THE CELEBRATION OF A VIOLENT PAST: ABOUT SOME LOCAL SOURCES OF THE RECENT WAR IN BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA
Mart Bax
Abstract
Bosnia-Herzegovina is the site of a striking number of World War II
monuments erected on or in the immediate vicinity of mass graves.
These memorials are bones of contention and generate violent inter-
-ethnic animosity. This article gives an extensive description of the
trials and tribulations of one of these war monuments and the Serb
and Croat communities involved. It addresses an aspect of ethnic
cleansing that has hitherto been the focus of very little research, i.e.
the destruction of mass graves. It is hypothesized that mass graves
and the related commemorative ceremonies constitute a key to
understanding the stagnating ethnic identification and the recent
revival of war violence in rural Bosnia-Herzegovina. The article
advocates a more systematic inquiry into the local sources of the war
in this part of the former Yugoslavia.
Keywords
political anthropology; war; Bosnia-Herzegovina
Hrčak ID:
33477
URI
Publication date:
13.6.2000.
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