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Lessons of war
Bosnian ethnic separation continues -- in classrooms
October 16, 1997
Web posted at: 9:46 p.m. EDT (0146 GMT)From Correspondent Christiane Amanpour
TESANJKA, Bosnia-Herzegovina (CNN) -- Human rights groups and officials from the World Bank are looking into the latest threat to Bosnia's peace -- a threat that comes from inside the classroom.
In some Bosnian schools, children are being segregated into different classes according to ethnicity. For example, in one classroom, Bosnia Croat children are taught math, while down the hall Bosnian Muslim children get a religious lesson.
But this is the Muslim-Croat Federation, where one would expect a single curriculum.
"Croat parents prefer lessons in Croatian, for their children. We are forced to accept it," says federal Education Minister Fahruddin Rizvanbegovic.
But human rights groups warn that the segregation flies in the face of the Dayton peace accords, which were designed to promote tolerance and reunification.
CNN's Christiane Amanpour reports
"Separating kids along ethnic lines is just continuing a policy that led to the war, which is identifying people by their nationalities," says human rights lawyer Sandra Mitchell.
Teachers here say the politicians force the policy on them, and they don't like it.
"The consequences could be enormous," says the deputy school director, who is a Croat. His boss, the director, is a Muslim. "The consequences for future coexistence are obvious."
Only half a dozen schools are segregated. Political leaders insist the situation is temporary. But unless it stops now, many others fear the segregation will spread in a climate where several multiethnic schools already have been bombed.
The Bosnian Muslims appear to be giving into pressure for partition, only they are more subtle about it. They talk about multiethnicity, but there is discrimination against non-Muslims in jobs, the judiciary and real estate.
In Sarajevo, Serbs who left -- and even those who stayed during the war -- are having a hard time hanging onto their property.
One woman's house was declared abandoned, according to a document from Muslim authorities, and it was confiscated. Muslim refugees and others moving from parts of Yugoslavia are filling up Serb homes.
Serbs who stayed are under pressure to sell and move out, but some are resisting.
"No," says Illia, "I'm a Serb. I live here and I don't harm anyone."
And at the segregated school, the Muslim director says, "Politicians should listen to the people, instead of imposing their rules."
Related stories:
- NATO considering cuts in Bosnian force - October 1, 1997
- Peacekeepers may seek out Bosnian war-crime suspects - September 24, 1997
- Next test for Bosnia: Enforcing election results - September 15, 1997
- Heavy turnout, few problems in Bosnia balloting - September 13, 1997
- NATO: Coup attempt against Bosnian leader thwarted - September 9, 1997
Related sites:
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- NATO - official site
- Operations IFOR & SFOR provides information relating to NATO's role in bringing peace in the Former Yugoslavia
- OSCE: Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina - providing information about the OSCE's activities, particularly as they relate to the elections scheduled for September 14, and to assist refugees to vote
- Croatia/Bosnia-Herzegovina - from CARE
- BosniaLINK - the official Department of Defense information system about U.S. military activities in Operation JOINT GUARD, the NATO peacekeeping mission in Bosnia
External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.
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