History – An Outline of Croatian History
Croats are one of the oldest peoples in Europe. They have
been living for more than thirteen and a half centuries now within the present
borders of Croatia, between the Adriatic Sea in the south and the rivers Drava
and Danube in the north. After settling in a region that was then claimed by two
large countries, Byzantium and Franconia, the Croats initially recognized their
sovereignty. However, they gradually emancipated themselves and established an
independent state. The Croats adopted Christianity quite early on, largely
during the pontificate of Pope Agaton (678 – 681). As a Catholic nation, they
have remained faithful to their religion and to the Vatican to the present day.
The Croats lived in clans and zupas (basic
administrative units) and began to unite in an attempt to found an independent
state. As early as in the last decade of the 8th century they established two
principalities: Primorska Hrvatska on the Adriatic coast and Posavska Hrvatska
in inland Croatia. Croat princes ruled from 791 to 924. The year 925 marks the
beginning of the Croatian kingdom which lasted until 1102, when Croats were
forced to enter into a union with Hungary and to recognize the Hungarian king as
their own. Several hundred years later both Hungary (1526) and Croatia (1527)
formed a state union with Austria for better protection against the Turks. From
that time the Austrian emperors were also crowned as kings of Hungary and
Croatia. This arrangement lasted until 1918.
Having been united first with the Hungarians and then with
the Austrians, Croats were determined to regain their independence. In the 19th
century, the old nation–building aspirations of the Croats were found an
especially strong impetus in the ideology and political activities of the
Croatian Party of Rights.
In 1918, shortly after the collapse of the Austro–Hungarian
monarchy and as a result of a number of unfortunate circumstances, Croatia
formed a union with most of the other South Slavic peoples. In the new state,
initially called The Kingdom of the Serbs, the Croats and the Slovenes and
subsequently the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, ruled by a king of the Serbian Karađorđević
dynasty, the Croats were subjected to Serbian hegemony, exploited and deprived
of their rights. Upon the capitulation of the odious Kingdom of Yugoslavia in
1941, Croats established the Independent State of Croatia, consisting of Croatia
and Bosnia–Hercegovina. That state’s great misfortune was that it had to
recognize the authority of the occupying forces, Germany and Italy. With the
Italian regime on its knees the Independent State of Croatia put all its cards
on Germany and thus collapsed along with it in 1945.
Many Croats took part in the anti–fascist war of 1941 to
1945. During the war they founded the Federal State of Croatia (1944), as a
member state of the second Yugoslavia which had already been proclaimed. Since
the second Yugoslavia, which in the late autumn of 1945 changed its original
name from the Federal Democratic Yugoslavia to the Federal National Republic of
Yugoslavia and eventually in 1963 to The Socialist Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia, became a socialist country with a communist dictatorship, the Croats
were bound to experience all the hardships of the communist one–party idology.
They found it particularly difficult to come to terms with the centralism of the
federal state, the curbing of their ethnic rights, Serb hegemony and the
stifling of human rights.
Početak
Chronology until 1990
about 614 The Avars, aided by the Slavs (Croats), venture
into Dalmatia, destroying the towns of Salona and Epidaurus. This marks the
beginning of Croat settlement on the east coast of the Adriatic.
about 810 Two Croat principalities get new rulers. Prince
Borna (“dux Dalmatiae atque Liburniae”) becomes the ruler of Primorska
Hrvatska and prince Ljudevit Posavski rules Posavska Hrvatska from his
capital Sisak.
852 Duke Trpimir, successor to prince Mislav and founder
of the Trpimirović dynasty, issues a document donating St George’s church
at Putalj to the archbishop of Split. In this Latin document Duke Trpimir
refers to himself as the Duke of Croats (Dux Chroatorum) and to his country
as the state of the Croats (regnum Chroatorum).
887 On 18 September Croats from the Neretva region defeat
Venetians near the town of Makarska, killing the Venetian doge Pietro
Candiano. Venetians start paying prince Branimir, the ruler of Primorska
Hrvatska, an annual tribute for the right to travel and trade in the
Croatian part of the Adriatic.
925 Croatia becomes a kingdom. After uniting Primorska
and Posavska Hrvatska, Prince Tomislav crowns himself a king. King Tomislav
presides over the First Split synod which subordinates the Nin diocese to
the Split archdiocese and bans ordination of Glagolitic monks.
1091 In an attempt to conquer Croatia the Hungarians
launch a military campaign. They invade and capture the Croatian territory
between the Drava river and the Gvozd mountain.
1094 The Hungarian King Ladislav I Arpadović, called
“the Saint”, founds the Zagreb diocese. He appoints the Czech priest Duh
as first bishop.
1097 The last Croatian king, Petar (traditionally called
by his last name Svačić), whose seat was in Knin, is killed in a battle
with Hungarians on Mount Gvozd. The mountain is later named Petrova gora
(Peter’s mountain) in his honour.
about 1100 Baščanska ploča – a stone tablet which
represents the oldest document written in the Croatian language using the
Glagolitic script – dates back to this time. The monument was named after
the village of Baška on the island of Krk.
1102 The Croats enter into a union (Pacta Conventa) with
Hungary. The document grants the Croats possession of their tribal land and
exemption from tax or tribute. Croat tribes agree to send ten armed horsemen
to war, as far as the Drava river at their own expense, and beyond that at
the king’s expense. Hungarian King Koloman crowns himself the king of
Croatia in the town of Biograd na Moru.
1189 The Bosnian Ban (Governor) Kulin issues a document
granting the people of Dubrovnik free passage and exemption from tribute
throughout Bosnia.
1204 The 4th Crusade captures Constantinople, bringing an
end to the Byzantine Empire. From this time Dubrovnik is free from Byzantine
rule.
1205 Dubrovnik recognizes Venetian sovereignty, which
will last until the Zadar peace treaty of 1358. During this period Dubrovnik
pays the Venetians an annual tribute. In addition it has to accept a
Venetian as the town’s prince and archbishop.
1242 On 16 November King Bela IV of Hungary and Croatia
issues a special document, named the Golden Bull after the golden seal it
bears. The document proclaims the burg of Gradec ( present–day Zagreb) a
Royal Borough.
1288 A commission consisting of 42 delegates from nine
municipalities of the Vinodol region (Novi Grad, Bribir, Ledenica, Grižani,
Drivenik, Hreljin, Bakar, Grobnik and Trsat) passes the Vinodol Codex, the
oldest legislation written in the Croatian language and the Glagolitic
script.
1358 Having become a free city–state, Dubrovnik seeks
protection from the king of Hungary and Croatia. In return it pays an annual
tribute of 500 ducats, sings a quarterly mass in the king’s honour at the
town cathedral and displays the flag and shield of the Kingdom of Hungary
and Croatia. (This agreement continues until 1526).
1409 Having realized he will not be able to last as the
king of Hungary and Croatia, King Ladislav of Anjou, the son of Karlo of
Durres, decides to sell Dalmatia to the Venetians for 100,000 ducats. (Thus
ceded to Venice, Dalmatia remains under its rule until the fall of the
Venetian Republic in 1797).
1493 About 8,000 Turk soldiers under the command of the
Bosnian Sandžak–beg foray into Styria through Croatia. Their main intent
is to pillage. On their return from Styria they ransack and plunder their
way across Croatia. On 9 September the Croatian army commanded by Ban Emerik
Derenčin intercepts them on Krbavsko Polje field and fierce fighting ensues
in which the Turks prevail. Many Croatian soldiers and noblemen are killed.
A number of Croatian soldiers and noblemen including Ban Derenčin are
captured by the Turks and taken away for ransom.
1527 On 1 January at the town of Cetingrad in the region
of Kordun Croatian noblemen choose Ferdinand I of the Habsburg dynasty as
their king. (One year earlier, after the battle of Mohacz, the Czechs and
Hungarians also chose Ferdinand I as their king).
1593 The Bosnian Beglerbey Hasan–pasha Predojević
tries unsuccessfully to recapture the fortified city of Sisak. He is
defeated on 22 June after fierce fighting. For the first time in the hundred
years since the battle at Krbavsko Polje the Croats establish a balance of
power at their border with the Turkish Empire.
1671 The Habsburgs’ centralism and Germanic chauvinism
provoke resistance amongst the Croatian and Hungarian nobility. The most
vocal Croatian dissenters are Petar Zrinski and Fran Krsto Frankopan. When
they realize that their pleas for help from France, Poland and Turkey have
gone unheeded, the two noblemen start preparing an armed rebellion in
Croatia. Learning of their plans, Emperor Leopold I orders them to be
arrested and put on trial. They are sentenced to death and executed at
Wiener Neustadt on 30 April.
1779 By order of the Austrian emperor, the Hungarian
government assumes authority over both Hungary and Croatia. That arrangement
will last until 1848.
1790 Croatian representatives in the joint
Hungarian–Croatian parliament in Budapest energetically oppose the
Hungarian request that Hungarian be made the official language of Croatia.
They believe that keeping Latin as the official language will protect the
Croats from both Germanization and Hungarization. The most prominent
Croatian delegates are Maksimilijan Vrhovec, the bishop of Zagreb, Nikola
Skrelecz, the župan of Zagreb, and Ivan Erdody, the Croatian Ban. In
defense of Croatia’s autonomy and equality with Hungarians, Ban Erdody
said in the joint parliament in Budim: “Regnum regno non praescribit
leges” (One Kingdom does not prescribe laws to another).
1797 After the abolition of the Venetian Republic, a
movement arises in Dalmatia for Dalmatia’s integration with Croatia. (The
matter is pressed again in 1848 and in 1861).
1808 By his order of 31 January the French Marshal
Marmont proclaims the abolition of the Republic of Dubrovnik.
1809 France establishes the Illyrian Provinces,
comprising Croatian and the Slovak lands under its authority. The Illyrian
Provinces, as an administrative unit of the French Empire, exist until 1813.
1835 The Croatian National Revival begins, led by
Ljudevit Gaj. The movement will go down in history as the Illyrian Movement.
1848 Several important developments occur in Croatia:
Josip Jelačić is nominated Croatian Ban, feudalism is abolished, the
Croatian Parliament becomes a representative body rather than an assembly of
the privileged feudal classes, Croatia gets an independent government (The
Ban’s Council).
1867 As a result of an agreement between Hungarians and
Austrian Germans, the Austrian Empire is restructured as a dualistic state
called the Austro– Hungarian Monarchy. Dualism further reduced the chances
for the unification of Croat lands. Dalmatia and Istria belong to the
Austrian part of the Monarchy and Croatia proper to the Hungarian part. This
arrangement will remain in place until the disintegration of the Monarchy in
1918.
1871 In an attempt to win independence for Croatia, Eugen
Kvaternik tries to foment an armed insurrection. His “Rakovačka buna”
rebellion is stopped dead in its tracks. Kvaternik and two other leaders are
killed in an ambush in Rakovica. An Austrian court martial sentences another
ten insurgents to death.
1918 On 29 October, shortly before the end of First World
War, the Croatian Parliament proclaims all Croatia’s administrative
relations with Austria and Hungary void. On the same day South Slavic
peoples from the former Austro–Hungarian empire proclaim the state of the
Slovenes, the Croats and the Serbs, with the seat in Zagreb. On 1 December
the state unites with the Kingdom of Serbia, forming the Kingdom of the
Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.
1920 The Croatian People’s Peasants’ Party, lead by
Stjepan Radić, refuses to acknowledge the monarchy. On 7 December it calls
itself the Croatian Republican Peasants’ Party. The party leads the
struggle for the ethnic and political emancipation of the Croatian people.
1928 Croatian MPs Pavle Radić and Đuro Basariček are
killed in an assassination attempt in the Parliament in Belgrade on June 20
and Stjepan Radić, Ivan Prenar and Ivan Granđa are wounded. Sjepan Radić
dies from the wounds on August 8. The new leader of the Croatian Peasants’
Party (which got that name in 1925) is Vladko Maček.
1932 Croats most persistently and adamantly resist Serb
hegemony in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes – the Kingdom of
Yugoslavia. Their resistance leads to the Zagreb uprising of 7 November
denouncing Serb hegemony in Yugoslavia and calling for constitutional
changes that would guarantee equality of all of its regions and peoples.
1939 Pursuant to an agreement between Cvetković and Maček,
on 26 August a Croatian Banovina is declared with a large degree of
autonomy.
1941 Germany, Italy and their European allies attack and
occupy the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (6–18 April). During the disintegration
of the Kingdom the Independent State of Croatia is proclaimed (10. April).
1944 A large number of Croats take part in an armed
antifascist resistance movement. During the war they found a high–level
representative body called the Regional Antifascist Council for the
Liberation of the People of Croatia. On 9 May in the village of Topusko the
Council proclaims the Federal State of Croatia as a member of the Democratic
Federation of Yugoslavia.
1945 The Independent State of Croatia lasts until 8 May.
Its armed forces and a large number of civilians retreat towards Austria in
an attempt to surrender to the Allies. On 15 May they are stopped by British
troops at the Austrian village of Bleiburg and handed over to Tito’s
partisans. After the handover many POWs are killed. An even larger number
are murdered on a forced march from camp to camp through Yugoslavia, from
the Austrian border to Romania and Bulgaria. Tens of thousands of Croats die
from the atrocities committed by the Partisan communists.
1946 In accordance with the Constitution of the Federal
People’s Republic of Yugoslavia of 31 January, the Federal State of
Croatia changes its name to the People’s Republic of Croatia on 26
February. On 18 October Alojzije Stepinac, the archbishop of Zagreb, is
sentenced to 16 years hard labour. The trial and the harsh sentence were
motivated by political rather than judicial reasons. The communist regime
wanted to get the reputable archbishop out of the way, for he was known for
his anti–communist views,. At the end of the staged trial the archbishop
said:” ... I don’t need mercy, my conscience is clear”.
1949 The leader of the anti–fascist resistance in
Croatia (1941–1944), Croatian patriot and minister in the governments of
the Democratic Federal Yugoslavia and the Federal People’s Republic of
Yugoslavia, Andrija Hebrang, is killed in the Belgrade prison of Glavnjača
(11 June ?). It is still a mystery how he died and where he was buried. His
only “guilt” was that he advocated Croatia’s statehood and the
interests of the Croatian people over the dogmatic politics of the Yugoslav
communist leadership.
1963 The constitution of 7 April renames the Federal
People’s Republic of Yugoslavia the Socialist Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia (SFRJ). The change is reflected in the names of the republics, so
that the People’s Republic of Croatia becomes the Socialist Republic of
Croatia which passes its new constitution on 9 April.
1967 On 17 March Matica Hrvatska (the central Croatian
cultural and publishing society), the Croatian Writers’ Guild and 16 other
Croatian cultural and scientific institutions proclaim the Declaration of
the Name and the State of the Standard Croatian Language. This was an
attempt to fend off Serbian efforts to Serbicize the Croatian language.
1970 On 21 June the blessed Nikola Tavelić is canonized
a saint.
1971 The Croatian independence movement later called the
Croatian Spring gains momentum. The movement calls for more autonomy for the
republics, full ethnic emancipation and economic equality for the peoples
forming the Yugoslav Federation. On December 1 to 2 the Yugoslav communist
leadership crushes the Croatian spring in a political coup at the village of
Karađorđevo in Vojvodina.
1972 Communists retaliate severely against those who
participated in the Croatian Spring movement. Many Croats are demoted or
fired and many others arrested and sentenced to jail. Economic and political
emigration picks up.
1974 The new constitution of the SFRY (21 February) is
passed, and contains some confederal elements. The Socialist Republic of
Croatia also passes a new constitution (22 February), legalizing the
Croatian anthem “Lijepa naša domovino” (Our Beautiful Homeland).
1980 Josip Broz Tito, longtime communist leader and
president of Yugoslavia, dies. Born in the Croatian Zagorje, he was brought
up in a Croatian Catholic family. As president he built himself a
considerable reputation worldwide, mostly through his role as leader of the
anti–fascist resistance in occupied Yugoslavia (1941 – 1945). At a
personal level and as a leader he had many faults; he was very
authoritarian, he had some of his opponents killed and incarcerated, he
supported national Unitarianism, opposed plans for Croatia’s independence,
favoured atheism, hindered the development of democracy, and contributed to
the creation of the cult of personality.
1983 On 16 October Leopold Mandić is canonized a saint.
1989 The first clandestine non–communist political
parties begin to be established in Croatia.
1990 On 11 January the Croatian Parliament amends the
constitution of the Socialist Republic of Croatia to allow for legalization
of the multi–party system. The League of Communists is no longer
considered the leading political party (13 February). The amendments also
create a legal framework for direct democratic elections at the municipal
and parliamentary level (14 February). For the first time since the Second
World War Croats vote in democratic local and parliamentary elections. In
the two–tier elections held on 22 April and 6 May the non–communist
Croatian Democratic Union party wins. On 30 May Croatia constitutes its
first multi–party parliament. On 25 July the constitution of the Socialist
Republic of Croatia is amended again: the word “socialist” is dropped
from the name of the country and the red star is removed from the
country’s national flag. The socialist coat–of–arms is replaced by
Croatia’s historical coat–of–arms. On 22 December Croatia passes a new
constitution. Article 140 stipulates that Croatia will remain within the
framework of the SFRJ pending a new agreement between the Yugoslav republics
or a contrary decision by the Croatian Parliament.
Početak
The Creation of the Independent and Sovereign Republic of Croatia
Chronological Outline 1991 – 1998
The second, socialist Yugoslavia, was also doomed to perish;
it was bound to fall apart both because of its nonviable socialist political
system and because of a lack of national equality among its nations.
Furthermore, Yugoslavia consisted of two quite incompatible worlds, differing in
religious, cultural and civilizational terms: the Orthodox one east of the Drina
river with Serbia as its main exponent, and which for centuries had been
orientated towards the Orthodox eastern Europe; and the Catholic one west of the
Drina, represented primarily by Croatia, which for centuries had been orientated
towards the Catholic west.
At the time of Tito’s death Yugoslavia was experiencing a
serious economic and political crisis. One of the effects of the crisis was a
large–scale economic and political emigration, especially from Croatia. Both
in Yugoslavia and abroad there were people who believed that the Yugoslav crisis
could be solved by economic and political reforms. It was in that spirit that
Ante Marković, the last Prime Minister of the Yugoslav federal government,
tried to reform the country. However, as it turned out, the days of the Yugoslav
Federation were numbered and it could be neither reformed nor repaired.
As the process of disintegration was progressing, each of the
six republics was making plans for the future. The most anachronistic and
unacceptable, and the least viable ideas for the future of the Yugoslav state
came from Serbia. Serbian communist politicians were committed to the
preservation of Yugoslavia so that “all Serbs could live within the same
state”. In order to achieve that goal they advocated the principle of “one
person – one vote”. Used to having hegemony both in the first (royal) and in
the second (communist) Yugoslavia, the Serbs did not want to relinquish their
privileged position. Knowing that they were the single most populous Yugoslav
nation they cunningly used the “one person – one vote” model as a trick
that was meant to secure their supremacy. Obviously, other Yugoslav republics
could not accept Serbia’s proposal. Realizing that their plans might be
thwarted, the Serbs threatened the use of force, building their threat on a
strong position in the Yugoslav federal army in which Serbs occupied most of the
commanding posts.
Serbian expansionism was instilled into Serbs in Serbia and
those living in other republics by Serbian propaganda which was orchestrated
from Belgrade. After the 1990 democratic elections in Croatia Serbian propaganda
began instigating a rebellion amongst Croatian Serbs against the new,
non–communist Croatian government. From the beginning of their rebellion the
Serbs were armed and aided by the Serbicized Yugoslav army. Since it was still a
constituent element of the SFRY, Croatia could not establish an army of its own.
Hence, it beefed up its police force, which was within its legal right, in order
to protect law and order and improve security. Soon afterwards, the Croatian
government took advantage of its legal right to found the Zbor narodne garde
(Croatia’s national guard) as a form of territorial defense. Throughout that
time Croatia was under threat of attack by the Yugoslav army.
Shortly after Croatia proclaimed its independence and
sovereignty in 1991, Croatian Serb rebels, along with infiltrated volunteer
units from Serbia and the Yugoslav army, supposedly the Yugoslav People’s
Army, as its name read, openly attacked Croatia, perpetrating the most atrocious
crimes, including genocide. The Croats, helped by their diaspora, organized a
defensive patriotic war and prevented the Serb expansionist aggressor from
realizing its ultimate goals.
In 1992 Croatia was internationally recognized as an
independent and sovereign state. That year the UN sent its peacekeeping mission
to the Croatian territory that had been occupied by the Serb aggressor. Neither
the Croatian government nor the displaced persons were satisfied with the
peacekeepers’ efficiency. On top of providing for its own displaced persons,
Croatia was heavily burdened with refugees from neighbouring Bosnia and
Hercegovina, which also came under Serbian attack in 1992. Since the peace talks
sponsored by the international community with the Serbian expansionist agressor
failed to produce either a stable truce, a reintegration of the occupied
Croatian territory or the return of Croatian displaced persons, the Croatian
Army was forced to take several liberating actions in spite of reprimands by the
UN Security Council. Thus, in 1992 the Croatian army broke the siege of
Dubrovnik and liberated the village of Miljevci. In 1993 it liberated the Zadar
hinterland from Zemunik to Maslenica, the area around the Peruča power plant
and the Medak pocket. In 1995 it liberated the occupied areas of western
Slavonia, northern Dalmatia, Lika, Kordun and Banija. The Washington Agreement
(1994) and the Dayton Peace Accord (1995) were largely made possible thanks to
Croatia’s contribution to the peace process. Committed to peace, Croatia
agreed to wait for a peaceful reintegration of the territory that was still
under the occupation of the Serb expansionists, i.e. eastern Slavonia, western
Srijem and Baranja.
Following are the most notable events that marked the
creation and international affirmation of the independent and sovereign Republic
of Croatia.
January 1991
9. Irritated by a debate that preceded the vote on the
disarmament of illegally armed units in Croatia, Stipe Mesić, Croatian
representative in the federal presidency, demonstratively walks out of the
session. By simple majority the presidency orders the reserve units of the
Croatian police to hand over their arms to the Yugoslav People’s Army (the
JNA).
This order prompts a session of the Croatian Council for the
People’s Defense and Protection in Zagreb. Under the chairmanship of the
President of the Republic, Franjo Tuđman, the Council concludes that illegally
armed groups in Croatia can be disarmed only by the Croatian Ministry of the
Interior and that the JNA should under no circumstances be transformed into a
police force lest it be used to topple the democratically elected government.
Hence, Croatia will use all available resources to prevent interference by the
JNA in the affairs of the Croatian Ministry of the Interior. The Council also
concludes that there are no illegally armed groups in Croatia other than those
in Knin and some other municipalities under the influence of the Chetnik leaders
from Knin. The Croatian Ministry of the Interior, the Council points out, would
be able to disarm those terrorist Chetnik groups were it not for opposition by
some influential individuals from the Serbian and federal governments and, of
course, the JNA. / 25. In a prime time slot the Croatian TV, inter alia,
airs the film “The Truth About the Armament of the Croatian Democratic Union
in Croatia” shot at the instructions of the JNA Intelligence and Control
Service. The film, largely forged, was meant to be used as a pretext for armed
intervention by the JNA in Croatia. / 26. People from all over Croatia
and Croatian expatriates send telegrammes of support to the Croatian leadership
pledging determination and readiness to defend the Croatian homeland in case of
an attack. On the same day a rally of support in Zagreb’s Ban Jelačić square
attracts 100,000 people.
February 1991
21. The Croatian Parliament amends the constitutional law
to the effect that as long as Croatia remains a member of the SFRJ it will
recognize only those federal laws and provisions of the federal constitution
that do not run contrary to the laws and Constitution of the Republic of
Croatia.
March 1991
16. Several hundred Croats from Kijevo, Kruševo, Lovinac
and other places arrive in Zagreb to complain to the Croatian leadership about
worsening harassment at the hands of Serb rebel bandits. / 31. Catholic
Easter. A special unit of the Croatian Ministry of the Interior arrives in
Plitvice to restore law and order disrupted by a Serb terrorist attack. Serb
terrorists, armed by weapons from a JNA storage facility, ambush the Croatian
policemen, killing Josip Jović, the first Croatian policeman to die in the
defense of the constitutional order of the Republic of Croatia.
April 1991
6. Belgrade TV programmes openly discuss Serbian
expansionist plans for the creation of a Greater Serbia. The topic is broached
in an evening propaganda programme by Vojislav Šešelj, a Chetnik leader and
president of the Serbian Radical Party. He describes the rationale of his party
as the creation of a Greater Serbia whose western border would run along the
line Virovitica–Karlovac–Karlobag. / 11. Once again, the presidents
of the six Yugoslav republics fail to reach an agreement on how to arrange their
future relations. The Serbian president, backed only by the Montenegrin
president, advocates a federation based on the “one person – one vote”
model. The Croatian and Slovene presidents propose a confederation. The other
two presidents of Bosnia–Hercegovina and Macedonia want a union with elements
of both federation and confederation. On 6 April they conclude that by the end
of May they will call a referendum on the options that have been tabled – the
one proposed by Croatia and Slovenia (a union of sovereign states) and the one
proposed by Serbia and Montenegro (preservation of the federation).
May 1991
19. A referendum is held in Croatia. The turnout is
83.56%, with 94.17% voting for Croatia as a sovereign and independent state that
can form a union of sovereign states with other Yugoslav republics. / 28.
At a parade at the stadium of the Zagreb soccer club in Zagreb the Zbor
narodne garde (Croatian national guard) takes an oath of allegiance.
June 1991
25. Acting in accordance with the popular vote manifested
by the referendum of 19 June, the Croatian Parliament passes both a declaration
proclaiming the Republic of Croatia a sovereign and independent state and a
constitutional act that makes that sovereignty and independence effective. (The
Republic of Slovenia also declares sovereignty and independence). / 27.
The JNA flexes its muscle. Its tanks roll over four cars in the city of Osijek,
opening fire on the citizens. In Ormož, Slovenia, the JNA clashes with the
Slovene territorial defense. The clash flares into a full–blown war.
July 1991
1. Stipe Mesić, Croatia’s representative in the SFRJ
collective presidency, is finally elected president. His term would have started
already on 15 May had it not been opposed by Serb representatives. / 7.
The SFRJ presidency meets on the islands of Brijuni. Also present are the
federal prime minister, the president of the Republic of Croatia, the president
of the Republic of Slovenia and three representatives of the European Council of
Ministers. (Also invited was the president of the Republic of Serbia but he
turned down the invitation). The conference ends with the Brijuni Declaration
calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities in Slovenia, a
three–month–long moratorium on Slovenia’s and Croatia’s sovereignty and
independence, a negotiated resolution of the Yugoslav crisis and the sending of
a EU monitoring mission to Slovenia and possibly to Croatia./ 10. Serb
terrorists burst into the eastern Slavonian village of Ćelije. Houses are
pillaged and burned and the villagers are forced to flee. JNA jets attack a Zbor
narodne garde barracks in Ilok.
Throughout western Srijem, Slavonia, Baranja, Banija, Kordun, Lika and northern
Dalmatia Serb terrorists and the Serbicized “JNA” openly collaborate. / 19.
War rages in Croatia. The Serbian expansionist aggressor attacks not only
Croatian police stations and Zbor narodne garde barracks but also
Croatian villages and towns. / Non–Serbs flee from the ranks of the “JNA”,
which has become an aggressor in the service of Serb expansionism. 85 conscripts
and officers in Osijek flee from the local JNA barracks.
August 1991
18. The Serbian expansionist aggressor seizes the town of
Okučani. / 27. The President of the Republic of Croatia, Franjo Tuđman,
orders municipal crisis management committees to be founded and a state crisis
management headquarters to be set up. / 28.
The Croatian leadership decides to pool all human and material resources for the
defense of the homeland. It declares an all–out mobilization. / The government
of Croatia founds an office for displaced persons. The office is authorized to
found regional diplaced persons offices if and when the need arises.
September 1991
4. The Serbian expansionist aggressor stages fierce
attacks on Vukovar. Croats heroically defend the town. The aggressor suffers
severe losses. / 7. The Peace conference on Yugoslavia opens in The
Hague. The Ministerial Council of the EU appoints the former British Foreign
Minister Lord Carrington to be coordinator of the Conference. / 10. EU
monitors witness the devastating effects of the most recent shelling of the town
of Osijek. / 14. Pursuant to a decision by the President of the Republic,
Croats start besieging all “JNA” barracks and institutions in Croatia. The
operation proves to be a great success. Many barracks surrender. The Croatian
Army seizes a large quantity of arms of all kinds.
The Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Croatia appeals to
all conscripts and officers to leave the aggressor’s army and to join the
Croatian one. / 17. The JNA air force fires rockets at the Croatian TV
transmitter on Mount Medvednica in order to prevent the transmission of
information to the general public. / 18. The aggression of Serbian
expansionists against Croatia intensifies. Vukovar, Osijek, Vinkovci, Gospić,
Šibenik, Zadar and many other towns are shelled.
October 1991
1. Serbs and Montenegrins launch an attack on the
Dubrovnik region. / 3. The aggressor’s jets attack a bridge on the
island of Pag and an airport on the island of Krk. / 5. The president of
the Republic of Croatia, Franjo Tuđman, addresses all Croatian citizens during
a prime–time TV news programme. He ends his appeal for the defence of the
homeland with these words: “Let us unite in the struggle for the freedom of
our Croatian homeland, of our sea and of the sky above our only and immortal
Croatia.” / 7. “JNA” jets attack Banski dvori, the
presidential palace in Zagreb. / 8. The three–month–long moratorium
on the constitutional decision on the sovereignty and independence of the
Republic of Croatia expires. The truce has not been holding. The Serbian
expansionists have stepped up their attacks on Croatia.
The Parliament of the Republic of Croatia decides to put into
effect its decision on the sovereignty and independence of the Republic of
Croatia and to sever all constitutional relations with the SFRJ.
November 1991
18. The Serbian expansionist aggressor razes Vukovar to
the ground. The town is now defenceless. Members of the attacking force take
away a large number of Croats found in the town, including wounded defenders and
other patients from the Vukovar hospital, and kill many of them.
December 1991
6. An unprecedentedly ferocious attack by the Serbian
aggressor on Dubrovnik.
January 1992
2. In Sarajevo representatives of the “JNA” and the
Republic of Croatia sign an agreement on cessation of all hostilities in
Croatia. The agreement is sponsored by Cyrus Vance, a special envoy of the UN
Secretary General. / 13. The Holy See recognizes Croatia as an
independent and sovereign state. / 15. Members of the EU recognize
Croatia as an independent and sovereign state. Many countries throughout the
world follow suit.
February 1992
21. The UN Security Council passes a resolution
announcing the deployment of a peacekeeping mission in Croatia (short:
UNPROFOR). According to a plan drafted by Vance, the mission will be stationed
in four different sectors.
May 1992
22. The Republic of Croatia is admitted to the UN.
December 1992
31. As a result of the Serbian expansionist agression
against Bosnia–Hercegovina which started in April 1992, more and more refugees
pour into Croatia. By now Croatia has accommodated 260,705 displaced persons
from its occupied areas and 402,768 refugees. The refugees arrive primarily from
Bosnia–Hercegovina, but also from Serbia and Montenegro, where ethnic Croats
face harassment and persecution.
March 1993
22. The Parliament of the Republic of Croatia constitutes
the House of Counties (the upper chamber). Thus, pursuant to the Constitution of
the Republic of Croatia, the Parliament becomes a bicameral legislative body.
May 1993
30. By now the sovereign and independent Croatia has been
recognized by 102 countries, 78 of which have established diplomatic relations
with it.
March 1994
1. The Washington Agreement is signed calling for the
establishment of a Bosnian–Croat federation in Bosnia–Herzegovina. The
federation will cooperate with the Republic of Croatia. / 29. Serbian
expansionists occupying some areas of Croatia repeatedly violate the 1992
Sarajevo ceasefire agreement by shelling Šibenik, Zadar, Osijek, Vinkovci,
Sisak and Gospić. They first proclaim the occupied areas “Serbian autonomous
districts”, then proceed to establish links between them, eventually declaring
an independent state, the so-called Republika Srpska Krajina, with the
seat in Knin. The international community considers the occupied areas to be
legitimate Croatian territory and insists that they should be peacefully
reintegrated with the rest of Croatia. The Croatian Government and Serbs from
the occupied areas sign a ceasefire agreement in Zagreb together with an
agreement on the separation of forces. This agreement will also be frequently
violated by the Serbs.
September 1994
10. and 11. Pope John Paul II visits Croatia.
December 1995
2. The Croatian Government and Serbs from the occupied
areas sign an international–community–brokered economic agreement on the
reopening of the motorway, railways, and pipeline, and on continuing water and
power supply. The agreement is signed separately in Zagreb and in Knin.
May 1995
1. and 2. In violation of the ceasefire and
economic agreements, Serbs from Okučani cause a number of incidents, including
robbing and killing motorists travelling on the Zagreb–Lipovac motorway. This
provokes an operation by the Croatian police and the Army. Within two days
Operation Flash liberates the occupied areas of western Slavonia.
July 1995
2. In Split the highest–ranking officials of the
Republic of Croatia and of Bosnia–Hercegovina sign a declaration of a joint
defense against Serbian aggression. Pursuant to the declaration, Croatia
intervenes militarily against the Serbian aggressor in Bosnia, to the great
benefit of the Croatian Defense Council and the BH Army.
Marko Križevčanin is canonized a saint.
August 1995
3. Following the recomendations of the international
community, the Croatian government and the Serbs from the occupied areas meet in
Geneva to try to reach a settlement on the third stage of the peaceful
reintegration of the occupied areas. The Serbian delegation turns down all
Croatian proposals, insisting that “Republika Srpska Krajina” is a state
that wants to be united “only with other Serb lands”. It is evident that
they want to secede from Croatia and become a part of a Greater Serbia. / 4
– 7 After all attempts to convince the Serbs to accept a settlement
proposed by Croatia and supported by the international community fail, the
Croatian Army and the police launch Operation Storm. Within four days the
occupied areas of Dalmatia, Lika, Kordun and Banija are liberated.
November 1995
12. An agreement is signed separately in Zagreb and in
Erdut (eastern Slavonia) by the Croatian Government and the Serbs from the
remaining occupied areas, stipulating that western Srijem, eastern Slavonia and
Baranja will be gradually and peacefully reintegrated with the rest of Croatia
under the monitoring of the international community. / 21. Under the
auspices of the USA, the highest–ranking officials of Croatia,
Bosnia–Hercegovina and Serbia sign in Dayton a peace agreement for the
territories of Croatia and Bosnia–Hercegovina.
The agreement is signed at a ceremony held in Paris on 14
December.
January 1996
15. The UN Security Council establishes the United
Nations Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia (UNTAES), based in
Vukovar.
August 1996
26. Relations between the Republic of Croatia and the FR
Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) are normalized. By agreeing to normalize
relations Serbia has virtually acknowledged the failure of its expansionist
plans.
November 1996
6. The Republic of Croatia becomes the 40th member of the
Council of Europe. / 21. About 100,000 people rally in Zagreb’s Ban
Jelačić Square to protest the decision by the Telecommunications Council not
to renew Radio 101’s operating license.
January 1997
13. Croatia submits to the UN Security Council a
"Letter of Intent Concerning the Completion of the Peaceful Reintegration
of the Croatian Danubian Area".
April 1997
13. Elections for the House of Counties and local
government and self-government bodies are held.
June 1997
15. and 22. In presidential elections Franjo
Tudjman wins 64 percent of the vote, defeating two other candidates.
December 1997
12. The House of Representatives adopts amendments to the
Constitution.
January 1998
15. The reintegration of the Croatian Danubian area into
the Croatian constitutional and legal system is completed.
(Croatian Almanac 1998/99)
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