Izvorni znanstveni članak
https://doi.org/10.22586/ss.22.1.9
The Serb Rebellion in the Villages of the Municipality of Vukovar 1990-1991
Vladimir Filipović
; Libertas međunarodno sveučilište, Trg J. F. Kennedya 6b, HR-10000 Zagreb
Sažetak
In this paper the focus has been placed on the events in villages with a Serb majority in the former municipality of Vukovar, in particular of the north-western part (the villages of Bršadin, Bobota, Trpinja and Borovo). The time period covered starts with the first indications of the villagers inclined to the political platform of Slobodan Milošević in 1989/1990 until summer 1991 when these villages became part of the Serb region and war broke out in the wider region of Eastern Slavonia. On the basis of accessible sources an overview of the main political events in the villages, of the organization of the rebellion and the mobilization of the Serbian nationalist policy is provided. Special attention has been paid to the involvement of political actors from Serbia in the organization and leadership of the rebellion.
The villages of the Vukovar municipality with Serb populations were significant places for the ethnic mobilization during the first phases of the Serbian rebellion and were important bases for later attacks on the town of Vukovar. While some of the Serbs in towns such as Vukovar during the political changes in 1990 still leaned towards the Yugoslav option promoted by the SKH-SDP (League of Communists of Croatia-Social Democratic Party), the villages were mobilized for the nationalistic policy. Thus, in the villages of the Vukovar area with Serb populations the ideas of the Serbian nationalist scene and Milošević’s political platform had already in the early stages been unreservedly accepted. During the escalation phase, the villages became the central settings of incidents and additional ethnic mobilization. When the war eventually started, the villages became the main logistic bases and strongholds in combat operations.
Although there is no doubt that the majority of the local people accepted the nationalist policy and the mobilization, this paper shows that the rebellion, regardless of this “authenticity”, was significantly “inauthentic”. The villages of the municipality of Vukovar with Serb populations did not have the social, political, economic and intellectual capacities of their own to be able to establish an insurgent policy or to mobilize the population. The key initiatives in all phases of the rebellion originated in nearby Serbia and were in support of the Serbian political leadership. In the initial phase the support was mainly cultural, political and came through the media. In the second phase support was provided by intelligence work and the political organisation of rebels and their limited actions such as setting up barricades. Eventually, in the third phase the rebels gained predominantly military support. The above villages were just a means to an end and a base for such a policy but were certainly not coherent political actors. The Serbian rebellion in the villages of the municipality of Vukovar must be seen in this context.
Ključne riječi
Serbian rebellion; Vukovar; Borovo; Bobota; Trpinja; Bršadin; “Serb region of Eastern Slavonia, Baranya and Western Syrmia”
Hrčak ID:
285889
URI
Datum izdavanja:
17.11.2022.
Posjeta: 2.617 *