The Serbian Autonomous Oblast of Krajina ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Srpska autonomna oblast Krajina, Српска аутономна област Крајина) or SAO Krajina () was a self-proclaimed Serb Autonomous Region (

oblast An oblast ( or ) is a type of administrative division in Bulgaria and several post-Soviet states, including Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. Historically, it was used in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. The term ''oblast'' is often translated i ...

) within modern-day

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

(then a part of

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

). The territory consisted of majority-Serbian municipalities of the Republic of Croatia that declared autonomy in October 1990. It was formed as the SAO Kninska Krajina (САО Книнска Крајина), 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 The Serbian Autonomous Oblast of Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Srpska autonomna oblast Istočna Slavonija, Baranja i Zapadni Srem, Српска аутономна област Источна Славонија, ...

History

In 1990, following Croatian multi-party elections and victory of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), ethnic tensions between

Croats The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...

and

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of Serbia, history, and Serbian lan ...

worsened. On 17 August 1990, an insurrection began in areas of the Republic of Croatia which were populated significantly by ethnic Serbs. The organizers were armed with illegal weapons supplied by Milan Martić. The revolt was explained by Serbs as the result of them being "terrorized y Croatian government and that they wanted to " ight formore cultural, language and education rights". Serbian newspaper "Večernje Novosti" wrote that "2.000.000 Serbs reready to go to Croatia to fight". Western diplomats criticized Serbian media for "inflaming passions" while Croatian President

Franjo Tudjman Franjo is a Croatian masculine given name. The name Franjo is of German origin and has a very long history. Franjo comes from the word "Frank", which means "brave and free man". The name Franjo was initially borne by men from the tribe of the Fran ...

stated that "We knew about the scenario to create confusion in Croatia...". In anticipation of a declaration of Croatian independence, Croatian Serb leaders created an autonomous region around the city of

Knin Knin () is a city in the Šibenik-Knin County of Croatia, located in the Dalmatian hinterland near the source of the river Krka (Croatia), Krka, an important traffic junction on the rail and road routes between Zagreb and Split, Croatia, Split. ...

. The Serbian National Council (SNV) was formed, functioning as a parliament for the region and as the ultimate authority on Croatian Serbs. It organized a successful referendum on autonomy in August. Initially, this region was dubbed the SAO Kninska Krajina in September 1990, but, after joining with the Association of Municipalities of Northern

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it formed part of several historical states, most notably the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Croatia (925 ...

and

Lika Lika () is a traditional region of Croatia proper, roughly bound by the Velebit mountain from the southwest and the Plješevica mountain from the northeast. On the north-west end Lika is bounded by Ogulin-Plaški basin, and on the south-east by t ...

, it was renamed and proclaimed as SAO Krajina in December 1990. By October, the Serb National Council proclaimed it autonomous. It encompassed Krajina as well as three Northern Dalmatian municipalities with an ethnic Serb majority (

Benkovac Benkovac () is a town and municipality in the Zadar County, Croatia. Geography Benkovac is located where the plain of Ravni Kotari and the karstic plateau of Bukovica, Croatia, Bukovica meet, 20 km from the town of Biograd na Moru and 30&n ...

, Knin and Obrovac). On December 21, 1990, the municipalities of

, Vojnić, Obrovac, Gračac, Dvor and Kostajnica all adopted the "Statute of the Serbian Autonomous Region of Krajina". 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. On 1 April 1991, it declared that it would secede from Croatia. 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". Conflict soon began between the Krajina Serbs and Croatian authorities. After

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

and Croatia declared independence, violence escalated as the Serbs expanded the territory they held with the help of the

Yugoslav People's Army The Yugoslav People's Army (JNA/; Macedonian language, Macedonian, Montenegrin language, Montenegrin and sr-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска народна армија, Jugoslovenska narodna armija; Croatian language, Croatian and ; , J ...

(JNA), eventually to include

and SAO Western Slavonia. On 19 December 1991, the two SAOs through the initiative of Milan Babić (president of SAO Krajina) and Goran Hadžić (president of

) were declared as one Serbian state with the name Republic of Serbian Krajina. In February 1992, the authorities declared independence. By that time, Serb-controlled territory included a third of Croatia. This self-proclaimed SAO Krajina was dissolved after August 5, 1995 when Croatian armed forces reintegrated its territories into Croatia.

References

External links

Yugoslav Wars map
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sao Krajina 1990 establishments in Croatia States and territories disestablished in 1991 States and territories established in 1990 Republic of Serbian Krajina Separatism in Croatia Serbian nationalism in Croatia Knin

History

See also

References

External links