The film" No Man's Land " was shot by Danis Tanovic in 2001. The Film was highly
acclaimed and received many awards internationally. Bosnian Tchiki and Tsera find
themselves in an empty trench on enemy lines due to fog. With Nino the Serb coming to the
trench for control, events begin to develop. But the soldiers who come for control place mines
under Tsera, which they think is dead. Tchiki, hiding inside, opens fire on Serbian soldiers.
The soldier who planted the mine dies and Nino is wounded. Thus, the trio must cooperate in
order to get out of the ceasefire line. For the stuck soldiers, the peacekeepers go to the area
despite the opposition of their superiors. With the involvement of the press, the situation
reaches a different dimension.
The Film clearly contains an UNPROFOR critique. The incompetence of peacekeepers has
been rendered in many ways. Some of the criticisms are that the chain of command is quite
long, the lack of sufficient information and the inability to make quick decisions. The United
Nations sets new rules for each situation and has no fixed rules. These decisions, therefore
implemented as ad-hock, delay interventions. Accordingly, soldiers cannot move without
orders, and most operations end in failure. The goal of peacekeepers is to ensure peace as
soon as possible. The areas of movement to use force are not flexible at all, they can only use
weapons when self-defense is required. Therefore, the effects remain insufficient. In the film,
we can see the criticism of this by the soldiers calling the peacekeepers "Smurfs." This is not
the only failed operation of the peacekeepers. We also see criticism of their lack of
insufficient power in the film "Rwanda Hotel" or the crisis in Yugoslavia. Captain Dubois,
who orders the soldiers to stay in place, comes across as not giving enough importance to the
people. The captain says he can't risk his own soldiers for other soldiers. This is an
unacceptable order for a peacemaker. We are also witnessing the importance of the role of the

media in the film. The British reporter listening to the military radio understands that
peacekeepers are not telling the truth and follows an idealistic attitude to reflect the truth to
the public.
Last but not least, we see the passivity shown by the UN forces in the past years in the
Bosnian war. Here we can conclude that the causes of the glitches should be examined. The
United Nations must find a solution to the conflict between the principle of non-interference
in internal affairs and the protection of human rights. The final scene of Tsera lying
motionless on the mine is a reference to the uncertainty of the future.

This article written by Elif Su Yatkın