Replies

Here's one that I can leave you with:

"The human suffering during the course of the war (in Bosnia) and the atrocities committed were terrible; yet this real suffering was exploited and manipulated for political ends to demonize the Serbian community. Successful attempts were made by Izetbegovic's regime - which employed a US-based PR firm - to give the impression that atrocities were conducted only by the Serbs, whereas all sides were responsible. The scale of atrocities was also massively inflated for political effect during the course of the war. While estmates as high as 200,000 to 300,000 by Izetbegovic's government, most informed estimates now suggest an upper limit of 35,000. Izetbegovic government also suggested that up to 30,000 women had been raped, which rightly caused intense international outcry and condemnation. The Serbs were accused of being primarily responsible for these appalling crimes and of having a systematic policy of mass rape, organizing 'rape camps' for that purpose. Evidence does not seem to bear this out, however. A UN report concluded that a total of approximately 2,400 rapes had taken place, committed by all sides in the conflict."

By: Kate Hudson, Principal Lecturer in Russian and Eastern European Politics at South Bank University.