The Agenda with Steve Paikin (Audio)The Collapse of Yugoslavia and the End of Peacekeeeping?
After the Second World War Yugoslavia and its six republics were unified under the communist rule of Josip Broz Tito. But by the early 1990s it all came undone. More than 100,000 people were killed in the Yugoslav wars for independence, many through deliberate campaigns of ethnic cleansing.
What happened? Why did Serbs, Bosnian Muslims, and Croats descend into civil war? And what role exactly did UN peacekeepers have to play during an on-going war?
Episode four of "Forgotten War" explores the history of the Yugoslav wars for independence along with guest Sandra Perron. She was Canada's first female infantry officer and deployed to both Bosnia and Croatia. Perron explains the difficulty of being a peacekeeper "when there is no peace to keep," the ethnic tensions that exploded throughout the region, and the personal battle she had within a military that wasn't ready to accept women in combat roles.
This video was made in partnership with Canada Company.
