Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia (1995–1998)
Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia
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1995–1998 (UN governed territory 1996–1998) | |||||||||||
Anthem: Боже правде Bože pravde (English: "God of Justice") | |||||||||||
Status | Self-proclaimed entity / United Nations governed territory | ||||||||||
Capital | Vukovar | ||||||||||
Government | Republic | ||||||||||
Chairman of the Executive Council | |||||||||||
• 1995–1996 | Borislav Držajić | ||||||||||
• 1996–1997 | Vojislav Stanimirović | ||||||||||
President | |||||||||||
• 1995–1996 | Slavko Dokmanović | ||||||||||
• 1996–1998 | Goran Hadžić | ||||||||||
Historical era | Breakup of Yugoslavia | ||||||||||
August 1995 | |||||||||||
12 November 1995 | |||||||||||
• UNTAES administration | 15 January 1996 | ||||||||||
6 April 1997 | |||||||||||
• Reintegration into Croatia completed | 15 January 1998 | ||||||||||
Area | |||||||||||
• Total | 2,600 km2 (1,000 sq mi)[1] | ||||||||||
Population | |||||||||||
193,513[2] | |||||||||||
Currency | Yugoslav dinar de facto Deutsche Mark de facto Croatian kuna | ||||||||||
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Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia (
river.The entity encompassed the same territory as the
In the period between August 1995 and January 1996, the region functioned as a rump territory of the Republic of Serbian Krajina. The period was marked by increased insecurity and expectation of the Croatian military offensive. A diplomatic solution that avoided the conflict in Eastern Slavonia was reached on 12 November 1995[3] via the signing of the Erdut Agreement with significant support and facilitation from the international community (primarily the United States,[4] the United Nations,[5] and various European actors).[6]
As the result of the fact that the UNTAES became the effective government of the region, from January 1996 onwards local parallel institutions of the Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia started functioning primarily as the
With the abolition of the parallel Serb bodies of the Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia, the local Serb community began to exercise its right to establish regular institutions and bodies of cultural self-government. The main one of them was the Joint Council of Municipalities, an elected consultative sui generis inter-municipal body created to advocate for the interests of the Serb community in the region.[8] This process was consequential for the rest of Croatia as well as it enabled the creation of other statewide bodies such as the Serb National Council. International community remained present in the region primarily in observers capacity via the United Nations Civilian Police Support Group (16 January 1998–15 October 1998) and OSCE Mission to Croatia (1996–2007).
History
Origins
Eastern Slavonia, Baranja, and Western Syrmia was formed out of the only part of the rebel
"There must be a long-term plan for a sustainable solution to the situation in Eastern Slavonia ... based on Croatian sovereignty and the principles outlined in the Z-4 plan."
— Bill Clinton
Croatia in this period hesitated between a diplomatic or military solution, but due to strong pressure from the international community, the possibility of military intervention was rejected.[10] In November 1995, local Serb leaders signed the Erdut Agreement, by which the eventual re-integration of this region into Croatia was agreed-upon.[10] The Erdut agreement was reached as part of negotiations at the Dayton Agreement conference. Nevertheless, the Croatian negotiating team rejected the Z-4 plan proposed by Bill Clinton as a basis for negotiations.[10]
Erdut Agreement and establishment of UNTAES
By the Erdut Agreement, Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia was replaced by the United Nations Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium on 15 January 1996. The goal of the UNTAES mission was the creation of a transitional period during which the UNTAES peacekeepers would oversee a peaceful reintegration of the territory into Croatia. During the 1995–1998 period, the territory was called "Danube Krajina" by Serbs, and "Croatian Danube" or "Croatian Podunavlje" by Croats. Within the framework of reintegration in 1996 and under pressure from the international community, an abolition decision was passed for those who participated in rebellion.[10] One of the main tasks for the new United Nations mission was to create conditions for the return of Croats who were expelled during the war in this region. They wanted to avoid a new wave of emigration of ethnic Serbs community in Serbia that was seen after Operation Storm.
In 1996, all the towns and municipalities in the region were designated Areas of Special State Concern by the Croatian government. In 1998, the UNTAES mission was complete and the territory was formally returned to Croatia. It was sometimes called Podunavska Krajina by Serbs or Hrvatsko Podunavlje by Croats. The name often used for it between 1995 and 1998 was Syrmia-Baranja Oblast. Sometimes, the shortened name Eastern Slavonia was also used as a designation for this region.[10]
Local authorities until the end of reintegration
After Operation Flash, representatives of Republika Srpska and Republic of Serbian Krajina announced that they would implement unification of these two entities.[11] In response to this, local Serb leaders in Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia founded a body called the Coordinating Committee that opposed unification, arguing that it would just deepen the crisis and damage Belgrade's intentions to achieve peace in Bosnia.[11] Authorities of the RSK in Knin declared the goal of the Coordinating Committee to be the secession of Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia from Republic of Serbian Krajina, claiming that there is now no power in Knin, but instead in Belgrade.[11] This statement became a reality once Operation Storm was completed because western parts of Republic of Serbian Krajina no longer existed. During the Croatian military actions Flash and Storm on western parts of Krajina, the army in Eastern Slavonia did not act against the Croatian Army.[11] However, local Serbs representatives strongly condemned the actions of the Croatian Army. After these events, and institution was established that was called the National Council Syrmia-Baranja Oblast and the region's name was changed to Syrmia-Baranja Oblast.[11] Since the region was keen to maintain continuity with the Republic of Serbian Krajina for future negotiations, the region also established the National Council of Republic of Serbian Krajina of Syrmia-Baranja Oblast.[11] In 1996 in Ilok, there was a proposal to abolish the District Assembly because there were no conditions for its work, but this proposal was rejected.[11] The District Assembly was a body with 50 members elected in elections. In 1997 in Vukovar, the Independent Democratic Serb Party was established.[12] That same year, the Joint Council of Municipalities was founded, and by the end of reintegration, all the other entities were abolished and replaced by Croatian institutions.[8]
Local Serb population and Serbs from other parts of Croatia
The local Serb population did not regard the plans to reunite the region with Croatia with approval. At the end of June 1996, NGOs in the region organized a petition that asked that the region remain a special area with independent executive, legislative and judiciary. The petition was signed by 50,000 residents of Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia.
Croats from the region
The majority of ethnic Croats from Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia were expelled from the region in conflicts in the early nineties. The persecution of 150 locals of
Events after the completion of reintegration
Upon the completion of the reintegration of the region and UNTAES departure the new
Geography
The territory of former Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia is part of the Central European
Other boundaries were not natural boundaries: the border with
Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia on its territory had 124 settlements, and with its 193,510 inhabitants, it was the largest
Traffic over the Brotherhood and Unity Highway (today the A3) was interrupted with the formation of the ESBWS. The water transport over the Danube river continued unobstructed. The Drava river was not navigated at the time. The railway line between Zagreb and Belgrade and the transport between Budapest and Sarajevo were also closed.
Government
Presidents of the Coordinating Committee
- Slavko Dokmanović (7 August 1995 – 22 April 1996)
- Goran Hadžić (23 April 1996[11]– 15 January 1998)
Chairmen of the Executive Committee
- Borislav Držajić (7 August 1995 – 1996)
- Vojislav Stanimirović (23 April 1996[11]– 29 May 1997[11])
See also
- United Nations protectorate
- Ontological security
References
- ^ .
- ^ a b Živić, D. (2003). "Prognano stanovništvo iz hrvatskog Podunavlja i problemi njegovog povratka (1991. – 2001.)". Croatian Geographical Bulletin. 65 (1).
- ISBN 0-521-86042-3.
- ^ "Former U.S. Ambassadors to Croatia - Embassy of the United States". Zagreb, Croatia. 28 June 1993. Archived from the original on 17 June 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
- ^ Agreement has four signatures: Šarinić, Milanović, Galbraith, and Stoltenberg
- ISBN 2763780199.
- ISBN 978-953-355-408-2.
- ^ a b "Erdutski sporazum – Wikizvor" (in Croatian). Hr.wikisource.org.
- ISBN 978-0-521-67773-8.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Bing, Albert (2007). "Put do Erduta-Položaj Hrvatske u međunarodnoj zajednici 1994.-1995. i reintegracija hrvatskog Podunavlja". Scrinia Slavonica. 7. Zagreb: Hrvatski institut za povijest: 371–404.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Barić, Nikica (2011). "Srpska oblast Istočna Slavonija, Baranja i Zapadni Srijem – od "Oluje" do dovršetka mirne reintegracije hrvatskog Podunavlja (prvi dio)". Scrinia Slavonica. 11. Zagreb: Hrvatski institut za povijest: 393–451. Archived from the original on 10 June 2022. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
- ^ "Desničarenje je usmjereno na aktualnu vlast, a Srbi su samo povod". portalnovosti.com (in Serbian). 13 March 2015. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
- ISBN 1-85743-186-3.
- ^ Oleh Zwadiuk (9 April 1997). "Croatia: U.S. Urges Participation In Elections". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Archived from the original on 22 January 2021. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
- JSTOR 27800508.
- United Nations Department of Public Information. Archivedfrom the original on 18 August 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
- OSCE& Umeå University. Archived from the original(PDF) on 27 April 2017. Retrieved 26 April 2017.