Prelude to Genocide 2

On November 18, 1990, the first multi-party parliamentary elections were held in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which resulted in a national assembly dominated by three ethnically based parties, which had formed a loose coalition to oust the communists from power.

A signicant split soon developed on the issue of whether to stay with the Yugoslav federation (overwhelmingly favored among Serbs) or to seek independence (overwhelmingly favored among Bosniaks and Croats). Bosnia and Herzegovina declared independence on March 3, 1992.

Croatia and Slovenia's subsequent declarations of independence placed Bosnia and Herzegovina and its three constituent peoples in an awkward position.

The Serbian Yugoslavian army invaded Croatia following its secession under the pretext of protecting ethnic Serbians in Croatia. So began the ethnic cleansing of the Croats. They began in the city of Vukovar where hundreds of Croatian men were executed and buried in mass graves. The Serbs were not in favor of breaking up a large nation in which their people held most of the political power.