|
||||||||
Bosnia and Herzegovina |
|
||||||||
|
|
Bosnia and Herzegovina |
|
|
|||
|
Bosnia and HerzegovinaBosnia and Herzegovina (officially Bosna i Hercegovina/, shortened to BiH, also in English variously written Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bosnia and Hercegovina, Bosnia-Hercegovina) is a mountainous country in the western Balkans. Its capital is Sarajevo and it was formerly one of the six federal units constituting Yugoslavia. The republic gained its independence in the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s and due to the Dayton Accords, it is currently administered by a High Representative selected by the UN Security Council. It is also decentralized and administratively divided into two entities, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republika Srpska. History of Bosnia and HerzegovinaThe territories of today's Bosnia and Herzegovina were part of Illyria and later part of the Roman Empire (provinces Dalmatia and Pannonia). After the fall of Rome, the area was contested by the Byzantine Empire and Rome's successors in the West. Slavs settled the region in the 7th century. The first mention of the term Bosnia is in De Administrando Imperio, a book by Constantine Porphyrogenitus, Byzantine emperor and historian. The kingdoms of Serbia and Croatia split control of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 9th century. The 11th and 12th centuries saw the rule of the region by the kingdom of Hungary. The medieval banate of Bosnia gained autonomy by the end of the 12th century, and grew into an independent kingdom in 1377 under king Tvrtko Kotromanic. Bosnia remained independent up until 1463, when Ottoman Turks conquered the region and established the Ottoman province of Bosnia. In these times there also lived a certain amount of adherents to the so-called Bosnian Church (variously referred to as krstjani, bogumili, etc) which belonged neither to the Western nor to the Eastern Christian churches. During the four centuries of Ottoman rule, many Bosnians dropped their ties to Christianity in favor of Islam, including most of the faithful of the Bosnian Church. Bosnia was under Ottoman rule until 1878, when it became a colony under Austria-Hungary. While those living in Bosnia were from 1908 officially in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, South Slavs in Serbia and elsewhere were calling for a South Slav state; World War I began with the assassination in Sarajevo of Archduke Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, the assassin was Gavrilo Princip, a member of the "Mlada Bosna" organization. Following the war, Bosnia became part of the South Slav kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later renamed to kingdom of Yugoslavia). When Yugoslavia was invaded in World War II, all of BH was ceded to Nazi-puppet Croatia. The Cold War saw the establishment of the Communist Yugoslavia under Tito, and the reestablishment of Bosnia and Herzegovina as a republic within its Ottoman borders. The Bosnian-Herzegovinian declaration of sovereignty in October of 1991, was followed by a referendum for independence from Yugoslavia in February 1992 boycotted by the Bosnian-Herzegovinian Serbs. Serbia and Bosnian Serbs responded shortly thereafter with armed attacks on Bosnian-Herzegovinian Croats and Bosniaks aimed at partitioning the republic along ethnic lines and joining Serb-held areas. The UNPROFOR (UN Protection Force) was deployed in Bosnia and Herzegovina in mid-1992. 1992 and 1993 saw the greatest bloodshed in Europe after 1945. In March 1994, Bosniaks and Croats reduced the number of warring factions from three to two by signing an agreement creating a joint Bosniak-Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Each nation reported many casualties in the three sided conflict, in which the Bosniaks reported the highest number of deaths and casualties. However, the only case officially ruled by the U.N. Hague tribunal as genocide was the Srebrenica massacre of 1995. At the end of the war more than anywhere from 102,000 to 278,000 had been killed and more than 2 million people fled their homes (including over 1 million to neighboring nations and the west). On November 21, 1995, in Dayton, Ohio, presidents of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Alija Izetbegovic), Croatia (Franjo Tudman), and Serbia (Slobodan Miloševic) signed a peace agreement that brought a halt to the three years of war in the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (the final agreement was signed in Paris on 14 December 1995). The Dayton Agreement succeeded in ending the bloodshed in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and it institutionalized the division between the Bosnian-Herzegovinian Muslim and Croat entity - Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (51% of the territory), and the Bosnian-Herzegovinian Serb entity - Republika Srpska (49%). The enforcement of the implementation of the Dayton Agreement was through a UN mandate using various multinational forces: NATO-led IFOR (Implementation Force), which transitioned to the SFOR (Stabilisation Force) the next year, which in turn transitioned to the EU-led EUFOR at end of 2004. The civil administration of Bosnia and Herzegovina is headed by the High Representative of the international community. Politics of Bosnia and HerzegovinaThe Chair of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina rotates among three members (Bosniak, Serb, Croat), each elected as the Chair for a 8-month term within their 4-year term as a member. The three members of the Presidency are elected directly by the people (Federation votes for the Bosniak/Croat, Republika Srpska for the Serb). The Chair of the Council of Ministers is nominated by the Presidency and approved by the House of Representatives. He or she is then responsible for appointing a Foreign Minister, Minister of Foreign Trade, and others as appropriate. The Parliamentary Assembly is the lawmaking body in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It consists of two houses: the House of Peoples and the House of Representatives. The House of Peoples includes 15 delegates, two-thirds of which come from the Federation (5 Croat and 5 Bosniaks) and one-third from the Republika Srpska (5 Serbs). The House of Representatives is composed of 42 Members, two-thirds elected from the Federation and one-third elected from the Republika Srpska. The Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina is the supreme, final arbiter of legal matters. It is composed of nine members: four members are selected by the House of Representatives of the Federation, two by the Assembly of the Republika Srpska, and three by the President of the European Court of Human Rights after consultation with the Presidency. Geography of Bosnia and HerzegovinaBosnia is located in the western Balkans, bordering Croatia to the north and south-west, and Serbia and Montenegro to the east. The country is mostly mountainous, encompassing the central Dinaric Alps. The northeastern parts reach into the Pannonian basin, while in the south it almost borders the Adriatic. The country has only 23 Km of coastline, around the town of Neum in the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton, although it's enclosed within Croatian territory and territorial waters. The country's name comes from the two regions Bosnia and Herzegovina, which have a very vaguely defined border between them. Bosnia occupies roughly the northern two thirds of the country, while the southern third is Herzegovina. The major cities are the capital Sarajevo, Banja Luka in the northwest region known as Bosanska Krajina, Tuzla in the northeast and Mostar, the capital of Herzegovina. Economy of Bosnia and HerzegovinaFor the most part, agriculture has been in private hands, but farms have been small and inefficient, and food has traditionally been a net import for the republic. The centrally planned economy has resulted in some legacies in the economy. Industry is greatly overstaffed, reflecting the rigidity of the planned economy. Under Josip Broz Tito, military industries were pushed in the republic; Bosnia hosted a large share of Yugoslavia's defense plants. Two major export companies in former Yugoslavia had theirs headquarters in the capital Sarajevo; UNIS holding and Energoinvest. During times of the former Yugoslavia, Bosnia and Herzegovina financed many large construction projects in former Yugoslavia and in other former Yugoslav republics. An example of this was the 'Bratstvo i jedinstvo' highway, which linked Ljubljana (Slovenia) - Zagreb (Croatia) - Belgrade (Serbia) - Skoplje (Macedonia). Even though Bosnia did not have anything to gain from this investment, as not even one single kilometer of that highway went through Bosnia and Herzegovina. Further projects, such as the construction of the so-called town of 'New Belgrade' (Serbia), Kosovo financing, and railway tracks near Belgrade - Bar in Serbia and Montenegro. This was due to the fact that the economy of the time was communist; with directives instead of a free economy like that in the West. In 1984, the capital, Sarajevo, was the host of the XIV Winter Olympic Games. A notable fact was that the games were the first 'profitable' games in terms of retrieving investment via profits. Three years of war destroyed a large part of the economy and infrastructure in Bosnia and Herzegovina, causing unemployment to soar and production to fall. The war caused a death toll of approx. 102,000 people based on current information from researchers at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) at the Hague, The Netherlands). Furthermore, it displacing half of the population. In others place the figure are around 278,000. With an uneasy peace in place (under the Dayton Accord), the economic has started to slowly recover, but the GDP remains below the 1990 level. Today Bosnia and Herzegovina has one of the best banking sector in former Yugoslavia. The currency (the Convertible Mark KM or Bosnian Mark BAM, BAM ratio to the Euro 1: 0,51), which is based on the fixed value of the deutschmark, is also very stable. Also yearly inflation is the lowest compared to other countries which were a part of former Yugoslavia. The inflation rate was 1.9% in 2004 (source: CIA WFB), and international debt was approx. $2 billion; making it the smallest amount of debt owed from the former Yugoslav countries (Serbia and Montenegro's international debt is $15.2 billion). Real GDP growth rate is 5.0% for 2004 according to the Bosnian Central Bank of BiH and Statistical Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 2004 the top foreign investors in Bosnia and Herzegovina were: Top Foreign company investors in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1994-2004): LNM Holding / KCIC Holland Antilles / Kuwait / Metal processing Hypo Alpe Adria Bank / Austria / Banking Unicredito / Transmadrid Italia / Spain / Banking Petrol / Slovenia / Trade Coca Cola Beverages Holdings / Holland / Food industry Deutsche Telekom / Germany / Telecommunication Heidelberger Zement / Germany / Construction materials Dubai I.B., A.I.B. and Islamic Development Bank / UAE and Saudi Arabia / Banking Alpha Baumanergement Gesellschaft / Austria / Tourism Bosmal / Malaysia-Bosnia and Herzegovina / Construction Source: B&H Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations (2005) Demographics of Bosnia and HerzegovinaLarge population migrations durings the Yugoslav wars in the 1990s have caused a large demographic shift. No census was held since 1991 and is not planned for the near future due to political disagreements. Since censuses are the only statistical, inclusive, and objective way to analyze demographics, almost all of the post-war data is simply an estimate. Most sources, however, estimate the population at roughly 4 million (representing a decrease of 350,000 since 1991). According to the 1991 census, Bosnia and Herzegovina had a population of 4,354,911. Ethnically, 43.7% were Muslims (now almost all them declare as Bosniaks), 31.3% Serbs, and 17.3% Croats, with 5.5% declaring themselves Yugoslavs. There is a strong correlation between ethnic identity and religion: 88% of Croats are Roman Catholics, 90% of Bosniaks practice Islam, and 93% of Serbs are Orthodox Christians. According to 2000 data from the CIA World Factbook, Bosnia and Herzegovina is ethnically 48% Bosniak, 37.1% Serb, 14.3% Croat, 0.6% other. AAbkhazia - Republic of Abkhazia (de facto independent state inside Georgia) Afghanistan - Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Akrotiri - Akrotiri Sovereign Base Area (overseas territory of the United Kingdom) Åland - Åland Islands (autonomous province of Finland recognized by international treaty) Albania - Republic of Albania Algeria - People's Democratic Republic of Algeria American Samoa - Territory of American Samoa (unincorporated unorganized territory of the United States) Andorra - Principality of Andorra (co-principality with the President of the French Republic and the Bishop of Urgell, Spain as ex officio heads of state) Angola - Republic of Angola Anguilla (overseas territory of the United Kingdom) Antigua and Barbuda (Commonwealth Realm) Argentina - Argentine Republic (federal state, also named Argentine Nation for purposes of legislation) Armenia - Republic of Armenia Aruba (overseas country in the Kingdom of the Netherlands) Ascension Island (dependency of Saint Helena, an overseas territory of the United Kingdom) Australia - Commonwealth of Australia (federal state, Commonwealth Realm) Austria - Republic of Austria (federal state) Azerbaijan - Republic of Azerbaijan (see also Nagorno-Karabakh) B Bahamas, The - Commonwealth of The Bahamas (Commonwealth Realm) Bahrain - Kingdom of Bahrain Bangladesh - People's Republic of Bangladesh Barbados (Commonwealth Realm) Belarus - Republic of Belarus Belgium - Kingdom of Belgium (federal state) Belize (Commonwealth Realm) Benin - Republic of Benin Bermuda (overseas territory of the United Kingdom) Bhutan - Kingdom of Bhutan Bolivia - Republic of Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina (federal state) Botswana - Republic of Botswana Brazil - Federative Republic of Brazil (federal state) Brunei - Negara Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria - Republic of Bulgaria Burkina Faso See Myanmar for Burma Burundi - Republic of Burundi C Cambodia - Kingdom of Cambodia Cameroon - Republic of Cameroon Canada (federal state, Commonwealth Realm, officially also (but infrequently) referred to as Dominion of Canada) Cape Verde - Republic of Cape Verde Cayman Islands (overseas territory of the United Kingdom) Central African Republic (sometimes also rendered as Central Africa) Chad - Republic of Chad Chile - Republic of Chile China (PRC) - People's Republic of China See Taiwan (ROC) for the Republic of China (see also One-China policy and dispute over UN representation between PRC and ROC) Christmas Island - Territory of Christmas Island (overseas territory of Australia) Cocos (Keeling) Islands - Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands (overseas territory of Australia) Colombia - Republic of Colombia Comoros - Union of the Comoros (federal state) Congo (Brazzaville) - Republic of the Congo Congo (Kinshasa) - Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly and popularly known as Zaire) Cook Islands (self-governing state in free association with New Zealand) Costa Rica - Republic of Costa Rica Côte d'Ivoire - Republic of Côte d'Ivoire (formerly and popularly known as Ivory Coast) Croatia - Republic of Croatia Cuba - Republic of Cuba Cyprus - Republic of Cyprus (see also Northern Cyprus) Czech Republic (sometimes also rendered as Czechia) D Denmark - Kingdom of Denmark Dhekelia - Dhekelia Sovereign Base Area (overseas territory of the United Kingdom) Djibouti - Republic of Djibouti Dominica - Commonwealth of Dominica Dominican Republic (sometimes also rendered as The Dominican) E See Timor -Leste for East Timor
|
|
||||||
