So I’ve moved on from Mostar to Sarajevo. I know there are tons of things I need to tell you about the last place before I get into the new stuff. Since I haven’t really done anything here yet it’s not a problem as I haven’t gone exploring just yet.
So Mostar was fought over by just about everyone during the break up of the Yugoslavian state. In 1992/3 Bosnia & Herzegovina declared independence from Yugoslavia which caused the town to be under siege for 18 months.
First, the Jugoslavian army (mostly Serbian I guess) attacked. They took control of much of the town. The Croatians and the Bosniaks joined forces and booted them. This prompted a big shelling of the city. They shelled the city without actual military targets in mind destroying mosques, libraries, monasteries and more.
Finally the Serbians were pushed out. Eventually the nationalist elements in the Croatian government which was also apparently controlling elements in the Bosnian governing bodies, decided to take action against the Bosniaks (mostly Muslim) and so the Croats took over the west side and the Bosniaks the east and so began yet another war for control. Six of the seven bridges were destroyed by the Yugoslav army. The last bridge standing was Stari Most (the old bridge) which would be destroyed eventually.
According to Wikipedia:
HVO [Croatian Defense Force] forces (and its smaller divisions) engaged in a mass execution, ethnic cleansing and rape on the Bosniak people of the West Mostar and its surrounds and a fierce siege and shelling campaign on the Bosnian Government run East Mostar. HVO campaign resulted in thousands of injured and killed.
So, terrible, terrible things happened there and even today there’s a silent war going on. A war of attrition, terror and intimidation. A Muslim major was elected but has been barred from taking his office actively. There is racial-aimed graffiti in the city and many other things are going on that shouldn’t be. It’s a community that’s split but still bound together. While Croats, Serbs and Bosniaks worked together to save their neighbors, friends and families during the conflict, the visible signs of such cooperation have
gone by the wayside. If there is any cooperation of this kind it’s covert and secret. I’ve heard tell that if you call yourself Bosniak first and something else second it could be problematic. You could lose your job or more straightway. Some other reason might be made up and I have no real proof only the word of someone I now consider a friend.
So let’s look at some photos shall we?
Mostar Area Gallery (from the tour including sound and video….of the waterfalls):
KPICASA_GALLERY(MostarAreaTour)
So that’s not what you wanted to see is it? You want to see the bombed out buildings, the bullet riddled walls and the general disarray right? Check out the other Mostar gallery then.