SAO Krajina
Serbian Autonomous Oblast of Krajina | ||||||||||
Srpska autonomna oblast Krajina Српска аутономна област Крајина | ||||||||||
Unrecognized entity seeking unification with Serbia[1] | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
SAO Krajina (eastern purple area) within SR Croatia (red). | ||||||||||
Capital | Knin | |||||||||
Government | Provisional government | |||||||||
Historical era | Breakup of Yugoslavia | |||||||||
• | Proclaimed autonomy from the government of Croatia | 1 August 1991 | ||||||||
• | Declared itself the Republic of Serbian Krajina | 19 December 1991 | ||||||||
| ||||||||||
The Serbian Autonomous Oblast of Krajina (Serbo-Croatian: Srpska autonomna oblast Krajina, Српска аутономна област Крајина) or SAO Krajina (САО Крајина) was a self-proclaimed Serbian autonomous region (oblast) within modern-day Croatia (then Yugoslavia). The territory consisted of majority-Serbian municipalities of the Republic of Croatia that declared autonomy in August 1990. It was formed as the SAO Kninska Krajina, but, upon inclusion of additional Serb-populated areas, changed its name simply to SAO Krajina. In 1991 the SAO Krajina declared itself the Republic of Serbian Krajina, and subsequently included the other two Serbian SAOs in Croatia, the SAO Western Slavonia and the SAO Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia.
History
After the Croatian multi-party elections in 1990, ethnic tensions within Croatia increased. The Croatian President Franjo Tuđman was planning Croatia secession from Yugoslavia, so, in anticipation, Serb leaders created an autonomous region around the city of Knin. Initially, this was dubbed the SAO Kninska Krajina, but, after joining with the Association of Municipalities of Northern Dalmatia and Lika, it was renamed SAO Krajina in October 1990.
In October 1990, the SAO Kninska Krajina encompassed the Community of Municipalities of Northern Dalmatia and Lika. It merged with the Association of Autonomous Serb Municipalities and soon started making its own government institutions, including the Serbian National Council, a parliament for the region. Originally it was expected that Franjo Tuđman wanted Croatia to be a nation state within Yugoslavia after democratic and decentralizing reforms. When this turned out to be unlikely, they wanted it to be independent of Croatia but remain within the mini-Yugoslavia proposed under the Belgrade Initiative. On February 28, 1991 the SAO Krajina was officially declared. It announced that it planned to separate from Croatia if it moved for independence from Yugoslavia.
The Serb National Council on March 16, 1991 declared Krajina to be independent of Croatia. On May 12, 1991 a referendum was held with over 99 percent of the vote supporting unification with Serbia.[1] Afterwards the Krajina assembly declared that "the territory of the SAO Krajina is a constitutive part of the unified territory of the Republic of Serbia".[1]
Conflict soon began between the Krajina Serbs and Croatian authorities. After Slovenia and Croatia declared independence, violence escalated as the Serbs expanded the territory they held with the help of the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA), eventually to include SAO of Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Srijem and SAO Western Slavonia. The Serb-controlled territory included a third of Croatia at this point of the Croatian War of Independence.
On 19 December 1991, the two SAOs through the initiative of Milan Babić (president of SAO Krajina) and Goran Hadžić (president of SAO Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Srijem) were declared as one Serbian state with the name Republic of Serbian Krajina. In February 1992, the authorities declared independence.
This self-proclaimed country was dissolved after August 5, 1995 when Croatian armed forces reintegrated its territories into Croatia.
See also
- Croatian War of Independence
- Breakup of Yugoslavia
- Republic of Serbian Krajina
- Serbian Autonomous Oblasts
- Kninska Krajina
- SAO Western Slavonia
- SAO Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia
- Socialist Republic of Croatia
References
- 1 2 3 Prosecutor v. Milan Martić Judgement. p. 46. International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Accessed 13 September 2009. (On 16 March 1991 another referendum was held which asked "Are you in favour of the SAO Krajina joining the Republic of Serbia and staying in Yugoslavia with Serbia, Montenegro and others who wish to preserve Yugoslavia?". With 99.8% voting in favour, the referendum was approved and the Krajina assembly declared that "the territory of the SAO Krajina is a constitutive part of the unified state territory of the Republic of Serbia".)
External links
Timeline of Yugoslav statehood | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pre-1918 | 1918–1929 | 1929–1945 | 1941–1945 | 1945–1946 | 1946–1963 | 1963–1992 | 1991/1992–2003 | 2003–2006 | 2006–2008 | 2008– | |
Slovenia | See also Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia 1868–1918 Kingdom of Dalmatia 1815–1918 Condominium of Bosnia and Herzegovina 1878–1918 |
See also Banat, Bačka and Baranja 1918–1919 Italian province of Zadar 1920–1947 |
Annexed bya Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany |
Democratic Federal Yugoslavia 1945–1946 Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia 1946–1963 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 1963–1992 Consisted of the Socialist Republics of |
Republic of Slovenia Ten-Day War | ||||||
Dalmatia | Independent State of Croatia 1941–1945 Puppet state of Nazi Germany. Parts annexed by Fascist Italy. Međimurje and Baranja annexed by Hungary. |
Republic of Croatiab Croatian War of Independence | |||||||||
Slavonia | |||||||||||
Croatia | |||||||||||
Bosnia | Bosnia and Herzegovinac Bosnian War Consists of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (1995–present), Republika Srpska (1995–present) and Brčko District (2000–present). | ||||||||||
Herzegovina | |||||||||||
Vojvodina | Part of the Délvidék region of Hungary | Autonomous Banatd (part of the German Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia) |
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia | State Union of Serbia and Montenegro | Republic of Serbia | Republic of Serbia Includes the autonomous province of Vojvodina | |||||
Serbia | Kingdom of Serbia 1882–1918 |
Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia 1941–1944 e | |||||||||
Kosovo | Part of the Kingdom of Serbia 1912–1918 |
Mostly annexed by Albania 1941–1944 along with western Macedonia and south-eastern Montenegro |
Republic of Kosovog | ||||||||
Metohija | Kingdom of Montenegro 1910–1918 Metohija controlled by Austria-Hungary 1915–1918 | ||||||||||
Montenegro | Protectorate of Montenegrof 1941–1944 |
Montenegro | |||||||||
Macedonia | Part of the Kingdom of Serbia 1912–1918 |
Annexed by the Kingdom of Bulgaria 1941–1944 |
Republic of Macedoniah | ||||||||
|
|
Coordinates: 44°02′00″N 16°11′00″E / 44.0333°N 16.1833°E