The Death of Yugoslavia
Encyclopedia
The Death of Yugoslavia is a BBC
documentary
series first broadcast in 1995, and is also the name of a book written by Allan Little
and Laura Silber
that accompanies the series. It covers the collapse of the former Yugoslavia
. It is notable in its combination of never-before-seen archive footage interspersed with interviews of most of the main players in the conflict, including Slobodan Milošević
, Radovan Karadžić
, Franjo Tuđman and Alija Izetbegović
.
The six parts were entitled:
The programme has been re-edited in three parts:
It was later broadcast as a feature-length single documentary.
The series was awarded with a BAFTA award in 1996 for Best Factual Series. Because of the series large amount of interviews with prominent leaders and commanders of the conflict, it has been frequently used by ICTY
in war crimes prosecutions.
All the papers relating to the documentary series, including full transcripts of the many valuable interviews conducted with participants, are lodged at the Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives at King's College, University of London. The catalogue can be examined here
During the trial of Milošević before the ICTY, Judge Bonomy
called the nature of much of the commentary "tendentious". This was because there were instances in which an interview in the Serbian language
was subtitled incorrectly and often in a misleading manner (for example, the subtitling translated an interviewee saying that "Milosevic always won the elections on a nationalistic platform and nothing else", rather than "... on a national platform... ").
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
documentary
Television documentary
Documentary television is a genre of television programming that broadcasts documentaries.* Documentary television series, a television series which is made up of documentary episodes....
series first broadcast in 1995, and is also the name of a book written by Allan Little
Allan Little
Allan Little is a Special correspondent with the BBC.He graduated from Edinburgh University, where he read History and Politics. Little then joined BBC Scotland in 1983 as a news and current affairs researcher, following which he transferred to London in 1985 to train as a radio reporter...
and Laura Silber
Laura Silber
Laura Silber is Director of Public Affairs at the Open Society Institute, where she runs the Communications department and works with the Soros foundations network to promote advocacy issues. Since 2007 she has been an adjunct professor at Columbia University's School of International and Public...
that accompanies the series. It covers the collapse of the former Yugoslavia
Former Yugoslavia
The former Yugoslavia is a term used to describe the present day states which succeeded the collapse of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia....
. It is notable in its combination of never-before-seen archive footage interspersed with interviews of most of the main players in the conflict, including Slobodan Milošević
Slobodan Milošević
Slobodan Milošević was President of Serbia and Yugoslavia. He served as the President of Socialist Republic of Serbia and Republic of Serbia from 1989 until 1997 in three terms and as President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1997 to 2000...
, Radovan Karadžić
Radovan Karadžic
Radovan Karadžić is a former Bosnian Serb politician. He is detained in the United Nations Detention Unit of Scheveningen, accused of war crimes committed against Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats during the Siege of Sarajevo, as well as ordering the Srebrenica massacre.Educated as a...
, Franjo Tuđman and Alija Izetbegović
Alija Izetbegovic
Alija Izetbegović was a Bosniak activist, lawyer, author, philosopher and politician, who, in 1990, became the first president of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He served in this role until 1996, when he became a member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, serving until 2000...
.
The six parts were entitled:
- "Enter Nationalism"
- "The Road to War"
- "Wars of Independence"
- "The Gates of Hell"
- "A Safe Area"
- "Pax Americana"
The programme has been re-edited in three parts:
- "Enter Milošević"
- "The CroatsCroatiaCroatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
Strike Back" - "The Struggle for BosniaBosnia and HerzegovinaBosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
"
It was later broadcast as a feature-length single documentary.
The series was awarded with a BAFTA award in 1996 for Best Factual Series. Because of the series large amount of interviews with prominent leaders and commanders of the conflict, it has been frequently used by ICTY
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
The International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991, more commonly referred to as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia or ICTY, is a...
in war crimes prosecutions.
All the papers relating to the documentary series, including full transcripts of the many valuable interviews conducted with participants, are lodged at the Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives at King's College, University of London. The catalogue can be examined here
During the trial of Milošević before the ICTY, Judge Bonomy
Iain Bonomy, Lord Bonomy
The Rt Hon. Iain Bonomy, Lord Bonomy PC, is a Senator of the College of Justice, a judge of the Supreme Courts of Scotland, sitting in the High Court of Justiciary and the Inner House of the Court of Session...
called the nature of much of the commentary "tendentious". This was because there were instances in which an interview in the Serbian language
Serbian language
Serbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries....
was subtitled incorrectly and often in a misleading manner (for example, the subtitling translated an interviewee saying that "Milosevic always won the elections on a nationalistic platform and nothing else", rather than "... on a national platform... ").