Form of ethnic segregation
Travnik
's gymnasium is a classic example of the "Two schools under one roof" system. The right side of the building hosts the Croatian-curriculum high school (Catholic School Centre Petar Barbaric) and was renovated with funds from the Republic of Croatia. The left side of the building hosts the Bosnian-curriculum high school and is dilapidated. Until July 2019, the courtyard was separated in two by a fence.
[1]
Two schools under one roof
[a]
is a term for
schools
in
Bosnia and Herzegovina
based on the
ethnic segregation
of
children
on the pretext of speaking different languages.
[2]
Children from two ethnic groups,
Bosniaks
and
Croats
, attend classes in the same building, but physically separated from each other and taught separate curricula.
[3]
Children from one ethnic group enter the school through one door, while children from other ethnic group through another. In the
Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
, 57 schools operated in this way in the year 2010.
[4]
Students have been protesting against the segregation for years, warning that it increases inter-ethnic hatred.
[2]
By 2018, 56 such schools remained.
[5]
This phenomenon of ethnic separation is attributed to the
Croat?Bosniak War
(1992?1994) and the creation of
Herzeg-Bosnia
on the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Croatia continues to finance the system of separate Croatian-curriculum public schools in BiH.
[5]
Background
[
edit
]
On 18 November 1991, the extreme elements of Croatian leadership in Bosnia and Herzegovina, led by
Mate Boban
and
Dario Kordi?
(who was later convicted by
ICTY
of
war crimes
), proclaimed the existence of the Croatian Community of Herzeg-Bosnia, as a separate "political, cultural, economic and territorial whole," on the territory of
Bosnia and Herzegovina
.
[6]
Following Herzeg-Bosnia's establishment in November 1991, and especially from May 1992 forward, the Herzeg-Bosnia leadership engaged in continuing and coordinated efforts to dominate and "Croatise" (or ethnically cleanse) the municipalities which they claimed were part of Herzeg-Bosnia (mostly in
Herzegovina
and
Central Bosnia
), with increasing persecution and discrimination directed against the
Bosniak
population.
[7]
The
Croatian Defence Council
(HVO), the military formation of Croats, took control of many municipal governments and services, removing or marginalising local Bosniak leaders. Many Bosniaks were removed from positions in government and private business; and Bosniaks in general were increasingly harassed. Many of them were deported to
concentration camps
:
Heliodrom
,
Dretelj
,
Gabela
,
Vojno
, and ?unje.
[7]
[8]
Herzeg-Bosnia authorities and Croat military forces took control of the media and imposed Croatian
ideas
and
propaganda
.
[7]
Croatian
symbols
and
currency
were introduced, and Croatian
curricula
and the
Croatian language
were introduced in schools.
[7]
In June 1992 the focus switched to the towns in Central Bosnia,
Novi Travnik
and
Gornji Vakuf
, where the Croat Defence Council (HVO) efforts to gain control were resisted. On June 18, 1992 the Bosnian Territorial Defence in Novi Travnik received an
ultimatum
from the HVO which included demands to abolish existing Bosnia and Herzegovina institutions, establish the authority of the Croatian Community of Herzeg-Bosnia and pledge allegiance to it, subordinate the Territorial Defense to the HVO and expel Muslim refugees, all within 24 hours. Bosniaks rejected the ultimatum which resulted in the attack by Croatian forces on June 19. The Croat?Bosniak War was officially triggered.
[8]
In March 1994 a peace agreement mediated by the United States between the warring Croats (represented by
Republic of Croatia
) and
Bosnia and Herzegovina
was signed in
Washington
and
Vienna
which is known as the
Washington Agreement
. Under the agreement, the combined territory held by the Herzeg-Bosnia and Bosnian government was divided into ten autonomous cantons, terminating Herzeg-Bosnia and establishing the
Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
.
Despite the establishment of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the
education system
resulted in over 50 schools being divided by among ethnic lines, primarily in central Bosnia and Herzegovina.
[9]
The
OSCE
highlighted the
Central Bosnia Canton
and the
Herzegovina-Neretva Canton
as areas where local authorities remain particularly reluctant to merge schools.
[9]
The
Office of the High Representative
(OHR), a body meant to implement peace agreements in Bosnia and Herzegovina, made certain efforts to unify the educational system in related areas, but with little success. Some Croats oppose unification of the schools claiming they would lose their ethnic identity in schools with mixed ethnicities. Some Bosniaks support unification claiming that segregated schools would cause hatred among ethnicities which could destroy Bosnia and Herzegovina. On 12 June 2003, the
Peace Implementation Council
(PIC) invited the Federal Ministry of Education to implement unification of 'two schools under one roof' before the next school year. A 2003 law on primary and secondary education was supposed to act as an administrative and legal unifier of schools, it has been difficult to implement in Bosnia's complex education system.
[9]
The
Croatian Democratic Union
(HDZ), the main Croatian party, stopped the implementation of unification laws in the cantons they had significant influence, especially in Central Bosnia Canton. As a result, High Representative
Paddy Ashdown
imposed a fine of 20,000 euros ($21,980) on the Croatian Democratic Union party.
[10]
On 8 July 2005, Paddy Ashdown removed Nikola Lovrinovi? from the position of the Minister of Education in Central Bosnia Canton for failing to implement laws designed to integrate schools.
[11]
[12]
Developments since the late 2000s
[
edit
]
The removal of the Croatian Democratic Union minister in the Central Bosnia Canton in 2005 by the OHR hasn't resulted in any progress related to the termination of segregation in schools yet. Greta Kuna replaced Lovrinovi?'s position and continued the obstruction supported by Croatian Democratic Union. In 2007, her statement shocked the public when answering the question about 'two schools under one roof': "
The ‘Two Schools Under One Roof’ project will not be suspended because you can't mix apples and pears. Apples with apples and pears with pears.
" - replied minister Kuna.
[13]
On 16 February 2010, the parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina adopted a resolution establishing multiethnic school departments in the 57 schools in southern and central parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
[14]
According to media in
Sarajevo
changes were unlikely to be enacted, even by the next year.
[4]
In 2017, numerous prominent writers, scientists, journalists, activists and other public figures from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia signed the
Declaration on the Common Language
,
[15]
[16]
[17]
[18]
which calls for “abolishing all forms of linguistic segregation and discrimination in educational and public institutions“.
Notes
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Samir Beharic
, twitter
- ^
a
b
Kordi?, Snje?ana
(2024).
"Ideology Against Language: The Current Situation in South Slavic Countries"
(PDF)
. In
Nomachi, Motoki
;
Kamusella, Tomasz
(eds.).
Languages and Nationalism Instead of Empires
. Routledge Histories of Central and Eastern Europe. London:
Routledge
. p. 171.
doi
:
10.4324/9781003034025-11
.
ISBN
978-0-367-47191-0
.
OCLC
1390118985
.
S2CID
259576119
.
SSRN
4680766
.
COBISS
171014403
.
(
COBISS.RS
125229577
)
.
Archived
from the original on 2024-01-10
. Retrieved
2024-01-15
.
- ^
Lowen, Mark (1 April 2010).
"Balkan divisions survive in Bosnian schools"
.
BBC
.
- ^
a
b
"Bosnia: No End to 'Two Schools Under One Roof'
"
.
Balkan Insight
. 18 February 2010.
- ^
a
b
OSCE 2018
- ^
"VIEW FROM THE HAGUE"
(PDF)
. The Hague. 7 April 2004.
- ^
a
b
c
d
"Prosecutor v. Tihomir Bla?ki? Judgement"
(PDF)
. International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
- ^
a
b
"Prosecutor v. Mario Kordi? and Mario ?erkez Judgement"
(PDF)
. International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
- ^
a
b
c
Skrbic, Mirna (28 February 2007).
"The World Under One Roof"
.
TOL
.
- ^
"Doing Away with Segregation"
.
TOL
. 1 September 2003.
- ^
"Odluka kojom se smjenjuje Nikola Lovrinovi? sa polo?aja ministra obrazovanja Srednjebosanskog kantona"
. OHR. 8 July 2005. Archived from
the original
on 6 June 2011.
- ^
"Chronology of events July - September 2005"
. Bosnian Institute.
- ^
Alic, Anes (3 June 2008).
"Bosnia and Herzegovina: Two Schools Under One Roof"
.
TOL Chalkboard
.
- ^
"Bosnia Press Review - February 17"
.
Balkan Insight
. 17 February 2010.
- ^
Nosovitz, Dan (11 February 2019).
"What Language Do People Speak in the Balkans, Anyway?"
.
Atlas Obscura
.
Archived
from the original on 11 February 2019
. Retrieved
8 April
2019
.
- ^
J., T. (10 April 2017).
"Is Serbo-Croatian a Language?"
. London:
The Economist
.
ISSN
0013-0613
.
Archived
from the original on 10 April 2017
. Retrieved
2 March
2018
.
Alt URL
- ^
Mileki?, Sven (30 March 2017).
"Post-Yugoslav 'Common Language' Declaration Challenges Nationalism"
. London:
Balkan Insight
.
Archived
from the original on 27 April 2017
. Retrieved
1 June
2017
.
- ^
Trudgill, Peter
(30 November 2017).
"Time to Make Four Into One"
.
The New European
. p. 46
. Retrieved
6 July
2019
.
External links
[
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]