Original scientific paper
THE CHRONICLE OF GRUBIŠNO POLJE 1990-1991 (Part I)
Petar Bašić
Ivica Miškulin
Abstract
Based on available archival materials, newspaper archives and relevant literature, the authors analyze the events that took place in the Municipality of Grubišno polje in 1990. After the multi-party election, in spite of the fact that the communists won, the members of two principal and most numerous ethnic groups in the municipality – the Croats and the Serbs – homogenized around the political platforms of their respective national parties, Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) and Serbian Democratic Party (SDS). The activities of the latter, especially the illegal survey about Serbian autonomy they conducted and alleged Serbian inequality they constantly highlighted, were going to result in a general deterioration of Croatian-Serbian relations.
Everything that is stated in the paper leads to the conclusion that Croatian-Serbian relations in the Municipality of Grubišno polje were notably disrupted at the end of 1990. The activities of local SDS – firstly an illegal survey about Serbian autonomy, conducted in spite of the fact that the Serbs were not the even the relative majority of the population in the municipality, and secondly constant public declaration of statements about the alleged inequality of the Serbian population in the municipality – were the factors that contributed the most to such a situation. The position of the local communist authorities, who continued to pursue a policy of “not getting involved and not incurring displeasure” in spite of the very perceptible homogenization of the two most numerous ethnic groups – Croats and Serbs – (which had its consequences in the communist ranks as well) did not do much to pacify the situation. Croatian resistance to growing Serbian aggressive aspirations was thus forced to action that for the most part had to be shrouded in a veil of illegality. All of this was, naturally, not a positive sign for the further development of events.
Keywords
Grubišno Polje; multi-party system; parliamentary election in 1990; national homogenization; Croatian Democratic Union; Serbian Democratic Party
Hrčak ID:
27077
URI
Publication date:
20.9.2007.
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