SUMMARY

In 1992, a few months after the republic of Bosnia had seceded from Yugoslavia, the Bosnian Croats proclaimed independence for the Croatian Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. This was rejected by the Bosnian government and tensions escalated to war in 1993. After considerable international mediation, a peace agreement was signed in March 1994. The agreement stipulated a federal solution and marked the end of the armed conflict.

IN DEPTH

Background to the conflict

Already in the 1980s, a number of factors could be observed which prepared the ground for the dismantling of Yugoslavia and the period of instability that followed. Yugoslavia’s unifying leader, Tito, died in 1980. Around the same time, a period of economic decline began in the region. Growing demands for political independence and nationalistic/ethnic awareness could be noticed in several European countries. As a consequence of the end of the communist rule, free multiparty elections opened up possibilities for nationalistic politicians to compete for power.

In 1992, the republic of Bosnia seceded from Yugoslavia and became an independent state. Violent conflict ensued between the Muslim-dominated government of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Bosnian Serbs. The latter proclaimed a Serb Autonomous Region within Bosnia. Apart from Muslims and Serbs, Croats also populated Bosnia. When conflict between Serbs and Muslims broke out, the Croat community took the side of the Bosnian government. However, after some time, the Bosnian Croats also renounced the new Bosnian government and argued that a partition of Bosnia along ethnic lines was necessary. In July 1992, the Bosnian Croats formed an autonomous area in western Bosnia and proclaimed independence for ‘the Croatian Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Bosnian government immediately declared this entity illegal.

Formation and influx of armed Croatian groups

The army of the ‘Croatian Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina’ (HVO) initially consisted of local Croats originating from Bosnia. Mate Boban was military commander of HVO as well as leader of the Bosnian Croat community. In addition to the Bosnian Croats, independent Croatian militias were also active in Bosnia. These non-local Croats came to Bosnia from Croatia in early 1992, after having been defeated on the battlefield by JNA (Yugoslavian National Army) and Serbian paramilitaries. These more extreme Croat groups initially opposed the partition of Bosnia, as they had an even more far-reaching goal of taking over all Bosnian territories. The most significant of these militias was HOS (Croatian Defence Forces). HOS ambition was to restore the borders of the Ustasa-led fascist Croatia that existed during World War Two. In spring 1993, the Croatian irregular forces were incorporated into the Bosnian Croat army. Even though it followed HVO’s goal and strategies, HOS still kept its own organisation, ideology, commander and armband.

Escalation of violence

Already by May 1992, tensions had occasionally erupted into violence between Bosnian troops and Bosnian Croats. The influx of Croat fighters contributed to an overall destabilisation in Bosnia, however, no further escalation took place at the time. Despite these tensions, the Bosnian Croats decided to cooperate with the Bosnian government troops against Serbian forces. A few months later, after their declaration of independence, the Bosnian Croats started to consolidate their control over western Herzegovina. In October 1992, the tensions between the Bosnian government and the Bosnian Croats deteriorated and fighting erupted between the HVO and the Bosnian army in central Bosnia. Several soldiers were killed in the battle. A period of de-escalation followed, and despite the previous fighting the Bosnian Croats and the Bosnian government remained in cooperation in order to fight the Serbs. At the same time, the mobilisation among Croats was intensified. Croatian President Tudjman and the HVO gradually ensured control over the independent militias that were fighting on the side of the Bosnian government.

By April 1993, the conflict between the Bosnian government and the Bosnia Croats had escalated. An all-out war broke out between the Bosnian Croats and Croat irregulars on the one hand, and the Bosnian government on the other. By the end of the month, hundreds of people had died. In Vitez and Gornji Vakuf area in central Bosnia, several villages were burnt to ground. Ethnic cleansing, with civilians being killed on basis of their ethnic affiliation, was carried out on a large scale. The interethnic killings spurred fighting between the Bosnian army and the Croat forces. During the summer, the fighting for control of Mostar reached an extremely high level. Throughout the year, the Croatian government increased its active support for the Bosnian Croat forces fighting in Bosnia. Thus, Croatian army troops participated in the war in Bosnia as secondary warring parties.

International mediation and the Washington Agreement

The international community became involved in the conflict early on. A permanent forum for talks, the International Conference on the Former Yugoslavia/the Geneva Peace Conference, was set up already in 1992. Cyrus Vance (EU representative), and Lord Owen and Thorvald Stoltenberg (UN representatives), presented a number of peace plans in the forum. The warring parties met in Geneva to discuss these plans, with mediation by the UN and the EU. In August 1993, the warring parties accepted an Owen-Stoltenberg peace proposal as a basis for further negotiations. The peace plan divided Bosnia-Herzegovina into a confederation of three ethnically based states, under a central government with limited powers. International pressure was also put on Croatian President Tudjman to withdraw Croatias regular army from Bosnia and to urge the Bosnian Croats to conclude an agreement with the Bosnian government.

A peace agreement was eventually signed in Washington on 18 March 1994 by the Bosnian Prime Minister Haris Silajdzic, the Bosnian Croat representative Kresimir Zubak and the Croatian Foreign Minister Mate Granic. The agreement stipulated a federation of Bosniaks and Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina and a preliminary confederation between the Federation and Croatia. Furthermore, the armed forces of the disputing parties were to disengage to a safe distance from each other during a transition period. All foreign armed forces were to leave the territory immediately. After the transitional period the entities would form a unified military command for the national defense of the Federation. The signing of the Washington Agreement marked the end of the armed conflict between the government of Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Croatian Republic Bosnia-Herzegovina.