After the Violence: Croatia (1990 – 2000) Background After the death of Tito, the Serb-dominated federation which was Yugoslavia struggled to contain anarchic forces arising from ethnic and nationalist tensions.
In 1990 the ruling communist party (LCY) collapsed and so did the country. Slovenia and Croatia declared independence in 1991 then Bosnia-Herzegovina and Macedonia in 1992. Croatia had a 12% Serb population but the Yugoslav army was dominated by Serbians. They armed the Croatian Serb militias and the situation escalated into civil war. The fighting was heaviest in eastern Croatia but this ended after 10months in 1991 when Croatia surrendered 30% of its territory to the Serbs. A peace agreement between Croatia and the Federal Government of Yugoslavia staved off full scale civil war, yet the fighting in Bosnia-Hertzegovina destabilized the whole area. Croatia officially regained its territory in 1995 with the UN helping the re-integration process. Although peace had returned to the area the Croats and the Serbs each continued to consider that the others were war criminals.
Involvement The Centre for Peace, Non-Violence and Human Rights was set up in Osijek, one of the main cities in eastern Croatia. This was initiated by two individuals in the midst of the war. The work of the center has ranged from human rights advocacy, peace education and legal advice to community development, and post-conflict reconciliation.
In 1998 the center launched a new project entitled ‘Building a Democratic Society Based on the Culture of Non-Violence’. It did this in conjunction with a Swedish organization called the ‘Life and Peace Institute’. They created multi-ethnic ‘Peace Teams’ made up of local men and women who had been war victims. The teams worked at the promotion of community based and generated activities that would cultivate non-violence and reconciliation.
One of the many projects of the organization was the ‘Listening Project’. The aim is, by ‘active listening’ to encourage people to express their feelings, release their anger, and articulate their problems so that they could look at problems in a new way. The interviewers worked in multi-ethnic pairs and were trained in skills such as facilitation, giving encouraging feedback, managing difficult and emotional situations and articulating appropriate questions and responses.
Outcome Over time Serbs and Croats started to communicate with each other through the peace teams and people started to take part in other community activities. The project was very successful in placing peace teams in the most volatile communities. ‘Active listening’ helped people to come to terms with the trauma of war and ethnic conflict.
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