Zbornik Janković, Vol. VIII No. 10, 2025.
Izvorni znanstveni članak
https://doi.org/10.47325/zj.8.10.12
FAILURE OF NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE REBEL SERBS OF WESTERN SLAVONIA (1992-1995)
Leo Žukina
; Zavičajni muzej Daruvar
Sažetak
After the first multi-party elections and the start of Croatia’s move toward independence, part of the Serbian population refused to accept the new government and, with the support of the Yugoslav People’s Army (JNA), launched an armed rebellion. In western Slavonia, this culminated in the proclamation of the Serb Autonomous Region of Western Slavonia in August 1991 and the start of open aggression against the Republic of Croatia. After defending major towns and capturing JNA barracks, Croatian forces by the end of 1991 pushed the rebels back to a small, isolated territory around Okučani and east of Pakrac. The signing of the Sarajevo ceasefire and the arrival of UNPROFOR in 1992 brought a lull in fighting, but Serbian forces retained large amounts of weaponry outside international supervision and continued to carry out incidents. In 1993, the local rebel leadership signed the Daruvar Agreement, intended to ensure freedom of movement, infrastructure restoration, and the return of displaced persons, but the top leadership of the Republic of Serbian Krajina (RSK) soon dismissed and arrested its signatories. The 1994 Zagreb Agreement established a new ceasefire and created conditions for the Economic Agreement, which opened the Zagreb–Belgrade highway. However,
the highway soon became the main route for large-scale smuggling, involving members of both the RSK army and police. The Economic Agreement, meant to regulate traffic, resource use, and economic cooperation, met open resistance from the Serbian Radical Party and part of the local leadership. The inability of the RSK leadership to curb smuggling, combined with open conflict between President Milan Martić—who rejected further negotiations—and Prime Minister Borislav Mikelić, led to the breakdown of all agreed processes. In late April 1995, Martić closed the highway, halted the implementation of agreements, and ignored warnings of a possible Croatian offensive. This gave Croatia grounds to launch Operation „Flash” (Bljesak) on May 1, 1995, which, within just 36 hours, resulted in the complete collapse of the defense of western Slavonia, exposing deep internal divisions, weaknesses, and the unpreparedness of the rebel Serb forces.
Ključne riječi
Western Slavonia, rebel Serbs, Republic of Serbian Krajina, UNPROFOR, Daruvar Agreement, Flash
Hrčak ID:
344504
URI
Datum izdavanja:
11.2.2026.
Posjeta: 502 *