Bosnia and Herzegovina marks 35 years since Karadžić’s genocide threats

The 35th anniversary of Radovan Karadžić’s threats against the Bosniak people is being marked. In October 1991, during a session of the Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Bosnian Serb wartime leader issued warnings that the country would face a “highway of hell and suffering” similar to what occurred in Slovenia and Croatia.

Karadžić stated that the Bosniak people might face “extinction” because they would be unable to defend themselves in the event of war. These public statements are viewed as an early, unambiguous announcement of the genocide that would follow if Bosnia and Herzegovina pursued sovereignty and independence from Yugoslavia.

In response to these threats, the first President of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Alija Izetbegović, declared that Karadžić’s rhetoric provided a clear explanation for why the country might no longer wish to remain part of Yugoslavia.