POLITIČKE PRILIKE I RATNI ZLOČINI U BANJA LUCI 1990-1992.
THE POLITICAL CONTEXT AND WAR CRIMES IN BANJA LUKA, 1990–1992
Author(s): Jasmin Medić, Muamer DžananovićSubject(s): Political history, Government/Political systems, Studies in violence and power, Transformation Period (1990 - 2010), Inter-Ethnic Relations, Politics and Identity
Published by: Fondacija za podršku naučnoistraživačkom radu I obrazovanju “Spektrum” Sarajevo
Keywords: Banja Luka; 1990–1992; elections; ARK; JNA; red van; police; army; crimes; terror; camps;
Summary/Abstract: The authors examine the political situation in Banja Luka from 1990 until the end of 1992. This period spans from the first multi-party elections to the phase of an intensified campaign of expulsions and mass crimes in Banja Luka. In addition to an overview of the 1990 election results, the demographic structure of the municipality, based on the 1991 census in Bosnia and Herzegovina, played a crucial role in shaping policies toward numerically smaller ethnic groups. Already in 1991, the repercussions of the Yugoslav People’s Army (JNA) aggression against Croatia were evident in Banja Luka and the wider Bosnian Krajina region, leading to heightened interethnic tensions. With the onset of aggression against the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992, mass crimes were committed against Banja Luka’s Bosniak and Croat civilians by the Army of the Serbian Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (VSrRBiH) / Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) and by members of the police structures within the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MUP) of the Serbian Republic of BiH/RS. Terror, crimes, forced deportations to camps and other detention sites, as well as persecution of members of these two communities, continued after 1992, as documented by relevant archival sources and eyewitness testimonies.
Journal: Specto - Časopis za nauku, kulturu i društvena pitanja.
- Issue Year: 3/2026
- Issue No: 3
- Page Range: 13-35
- Page Count: 23
- Language: Bosnian
