ABSTRACT
The 1992-1995 Bosnian War was a conflict that shocked the world and galvanized high levels of passionate public polemic. The destruction of cultural heritage in Bosnia-Herzegovina during the conflict was felt to be of such significance that it was directly addressed in the peace settlement. The Commission to Preserve National Monuments was to be run under the aegis of UNESCO for its first five years, then pass to the control of the state of Bosnia-Herzegovina. The reconstruction of destroyed historic structures frequently met with determined, often violent, resistance and active obstruction from local authorities, many of whose officials had been active participants in ethnic cleansing. The case of the Resulbegovi House in Trebinje, Republika Srpska, shows how the restoration of a war-damaged secular structure strongly associated with Bosniak/Muslim identity became a focal point for continuing contention long after the end of the war. Trebinje was the scene of the vicious ethnic cleansing of its Muslim population.
