YUGOSLAVIA: DEATH OF A NATION: THE GATES OF HELL {EPISODE 4} (TV)
Summary
The fourth part in this five-part series. This documentary series, narrated by Christiane Amanpour, details the dissolution of Yugoslavia. This episode begins in Bosnia, April 1992, in the midst of ethnic cleansing from Serb fighters. The program backtracks to Bihac, Bosnia, in 1990, as Muslims in Bosnia feared domination from neighboring Serbia due to the dissolution of Yugoslavia. Alija Izetbegovic, president of Bosnia and a Muslim, details how he felt that the "gates of hell" had opened. By March of 1992 in Sarejevo, it was time for Bosnia to decide its future, as Izetbegovic called a referendum on independence, which passed. This quickly led to violence between Muslims and Serbs as the Serbs demanded that Bosnia stop seeking international recognition. Eventually, Izetbegovic agreed to meet with Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic. At the meeting, the crisis was seemingly diffused, and war avoided for the moment as the leaders agreed to protect citizens with joint patrols. In the meantime, rumors began circulating that Serb and Croat factions were planning on carving up Bosnia without consulting Bosnian Muslims. Franjo Tudjman, president of Croatia, details how Bosnia was to be partitioned off. Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic "requested" that his paramilitary fighters head to Bijeljina to gain control at the strategic crossroads of northeast Bosnia. Izetbegovic details how the Serb paramilitaries captured Bijeljina, killed civilians, and removed Muslim leaders.
The next day, the citizens of Sarajevo took to the streets to demand peace. Eventually, Serb snipers began firing on the demonstrators, killing six. As Izetbegovic attempted to reassert his authority, Karadzic's team, in the hills of Sarajevo, launched an attack that showed who was truly in control. Thus, a secret meeting had to be arranged to strike a deal over Sarajevo. When nothing was settled, Bosnian Serbs took control of locales where they were the majority, but also attempted to take over predominantly Muslim areas, specifically Zvornik. Soon federal army tanks surrounded Zvornik, launching a large-scale attack. Then, United Nations (U.N.) officials entered the area to examine the violence and its aftermath as Serb forces "ethnically cleansed" 49,000 Muslims from Zvornik. Jose Maria Mendiluce, U.N. refugee agency representative, recalls how corpses were collected and thrown onto trucks amidst an atmosphere that was "absolutely terrfying." Milosevic responds to the charges of genocide against him, denying them. On April 23, 1992, the international community sent a peace envoy, Lord Carrington, to meet with Izetbegovic, proposing a partitioning of Bosnia into ethnic provinces.
Two weeks later, on May 2, 1992, the Serbs finally launched their assault on Sarajevo, coming close to complete military victory and taking The Presidency building. Bosnian forces eventually turned the tables on the Serbs by encircling the federal army's headquarters in the city center and turning General Milutin Kukanjac, federal army commander, and his troops into virtual hostages. Later that day, Izetbegovic attempted to fly into Sarajevo with U.N. protection, but found himself taken prisoner by the Serbian army. Eventually, Sarajevo television got wind of Izetbegovic's capture, as a clip shows a telephone conversation between him, a news anchorman, and Bosnia's stunned Deputy President Ejup Ganic. Izetbegovic details not sleeping "a wink" that night as the Serbs had taken away his daughter, with whom he had been traveling. Ganic discusses his plan for rescuing Izetbegovic. At first light, the Bosnian government and Serb army met at U.N. headquarters to try and strike a deal. After a successful negotiation involving an exchange of Kukanjac for Izetbegovic., U.N. forces attempted to remove Izetbegovic and Kukanjac from their respective areas via a convoy. Soon, however, the convoy was surrounded by Bosnian government forces and split in two as gunfire erupted. Eventually, Izetbegovic -- as well as Kukanjac -- made it home as the Serbs were setting siege to Bosnia. Bosnia now had officially become recognized by the U.N. Nevertheless, the fighting was not over, as Serb forces continued to attack Sarajevo, having been instructed to "shell them till they're on the edge of madness."
Details
- NETWORK: Discovery Channel
- DATE: November 22, 1996 10:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:46:02
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:53704
- GENRE: Public affairs/Documentaries
- SUBJECT HEADING: Public affairs/Documentaries; Talk/Interview; Yugoslavia; Serbia - History
- SERIES RUN: Discovery Channel - TV series, 1996
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Nicholas Fraser … Executive Producer
- Nancy LeBrun … Executive Producer
- Susan Temple … Co-Executive Producer
- Susan Winslow … Supervising Producer
- Angus Macqueen … Producer
- Walter Erdelitsch … Associate Producer
- Kristina E. Larsen … Associate Producer
- Tihomir Loza … Associate Producer
- Michael Simkin … Associate Producer
- Norma Percy … Series Producer
- Paul Mitchell … Director
- Debbie Wiseman … Music by
- Christiane Amanpour … Narrator
- Carrington, Peter (See also: Carrington, Lord)
- Ejup Ganic
- Alija Izetbegovic
- Radovan Karadzic
- Milutin Kukanjac
- Jose Maria Mendiluce
- Slobodan Milosevic
- Franjo Tudjman