United Serb Republic

Last updated
United Serb Republic

1995–1995
Flag of the United Serb Republic.png
Flag
Coat of arms of the United Serb Republic.png
Coat of arms
Anthem:  Bože Pravde ("God of Justice")
Serbia in the Yugoslav Wars.png
United Serb Republic (Light blue) and FR Yugoslavia (dark) (Serb territories)
Status Unrecognized state
Common languages Serbian
Religion
Serbian Orthodoxy
Government Confederation
President 
Legislature National Assembly
Historical era Yugoslav Wars
• Assembly
May 1995
August 7 1995
Currency Yugoslav dinar
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Flag of Serbian Krajina (1991).svg Republic of Serbian Krajina
Flag of Republika Srpska.svg Republika Srpska
Croatia Flag of Croatia.svg
Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina (1992-1998).svg

The United Serb Republic [a] also known as the West Serbian Federation was a project of unifying into a single independent state, two self-proclaimed Serb states, the Republic of Serbian Krajina (RSK) in Croatia and Republika Srpska (RS) in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), with the intent of it later being annexed by the "mother-state of Serbia". [1]

The Serbs are a nation and South Slavic ethnic group that formed in the Balkans. The majority of Serbs inhabit the nation state of Serbia, as well as the disputed territory of Kosovo, and the neighboring countries of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Montenegro. They form significant minorities in North Macedonia and Slovenia. There is a large Serb diaspora in Western Europe, and outside Europe there are significant communities in North America and Australia.

Republic of Serbian Krajina Former country in Croatia made by Croat Serbs, existing between 1991 and 1995

The Republic of Serbian Krajina or Serb Republic of Krajina, pronounced [rɛpǔblika sr̩̂pskaː krâjina]), known as Serb Krajina or simply Krajina, was a self-proclaimed Serb proto-state, a territory within the newly independent Croatia, which it defied, active during the Croatian War (1991–95). It was not recognized internationally. The name Krajina ("Frontier") was adopted from the historical Military Frontier of the Habsburg Monarchy and Austria-Hungary, which had a substantial Serb population and existed up to the late 19th century. The RSK government waged a war for ethnic Serb independence from Croatia and unification with FR Yugoslavia and Republika Srpska.

Croatia sovereign republic in Southeast Europe

Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, on the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro to the southeast, sharing a maritime border with Italy. Its capital, Zagreb, forms one of the country's primary subdivisions, along with twenty counties. Croatia has an area of 56,594 square kilometres and a population of 4.28 million, most of whom are Roman Catholics.

Contents

History

On 28 February 1991, the Croatian Serbs declared their secession from Croatia [2] and adopted a resolution declaring their desire to unite with Serbs in Serbia, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. [3] On 27 June, the unification of the self-proclaimed Serbian Autonomous Oblasts (SAOs) of Krajina in Croatia and Bosanska Krajina in Bosnia and Herzegovina was declared in response to the "disintegration of Yugoslavia, caused by the secession of Slovenia and Croatia" and on "the principle that all Serbs should live in one state." [4] On 24 October, the SAO Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia joined the united state. [5] The Bosnian Serb Assembly organised a referendum on 10 November 1991, which concluded that the Serb people in Bosnia and Herzegovina would remain in a Yugoslav state with Serbia, Montenegro and the SAO's. [6] [ better source needed ]

Serbia Republic in Southeastern Europe

Serbia, officially the Republic of Serbia, is a country situated at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe in the southern Pannonian Plain and the central Balkans. It borders Hungary to the north, Romania to the northeast, Bulgaria to the southeast, North Macedonia to the south, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina to the west, and Montenegro to the southwest. The country claims a border with Albania through the disputed territory of Kosovo. Serbia's population numbers approximately seven million. Its capital, Belgrade, ranks among the longest inhabited and largest citiеs in southeastern Europe.

Montenegro Republic in Southeastern Europe

Montenegro is a country in Southeast Europe on the Adriatic Sea. It borders Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest; Serbia and Kosovo to the east, Albania to the south and Croatia to the west. Montenegro has an area of 13,812 square kilometres and a population of 620,079. Its capital Podgorica is one of the twenty-three municipalities in the country. Cetinje is designated as the Old Royal Capital.

Bosnia and Herzegovina Republic in Southeast Europe

Bosnia and Herzegovina, abbreviated BiH or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeastern Europe, located within the Balkan Peninsula. Sarajevo is the capital and largest city.

On 26 December 1991, Serbia, Montenegro, and the Serb rebel-held territories in Croatia agreed that they would form a new "third Yugoslavia". [7] Efforts were also made in 1991 to include SR Bosnia and Herzegovina within the federation, with negotiations between Milošević, Bosnia's Serbian Democratic Party, and the Bosniak proponent of union – Bosnia's Vice-President Adil Zulfikarpašić taking place on this matter. [8] Zulfikarpašić believed that Bosnia could benefit from a union with Serbia, Montenegro, and Krajina, thus he supported a union which would secure the unity of Serbs and Bosniaks. [8] Milošević continued negotiations with Zulfikarpašić to include Bosnia within a new Yugoslavia, however efforts to include the whole of Bosnia within a new Yugoslavia were effectively terminated by late 1991 as Alija Izetbegović planned to hold a referendum on independence while Bosnian Serbs and Bosnian Croats formed autonomous territories. [8] The independence referendum was organised unconstitutionally and it failed to attain the constitutionally required two-third majority voter turnout. The total turn out of voters was 63.4% of which 99.7% voted for the independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina. On 3 March, Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Alija Izetbegović declared the independent Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the parliament ratified the action. On 6 April, the United States and the European Economic Community recognized Bosnia and Herzegovina as an independent state and on 22 May it was admitted into the United Nations.

Adil Zulfikarpašić Vice President of Bosnia

Adil Zulfikarpašić was a prominent Bosniak intellectual and politician who was the Vice President of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, during the Bosnian War of the 1990s, under Bosnia's first President Alija Izetbegović. After the war he retired from politics and opened the Bosniak Institute, a museum in Sarajevo focused on the Bosniak culture.

In June 1991, representatives of Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Serbs met to discuss the future status of SR Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Yugoslav crisis. On behalf of SDA president Alija Izetbegović, Adil Zulfikarpašić and Muhamed Filipović met with SDS president Radovan Karadžić, Nikola Koljević and Momčilo Krajišnik. The two sides reached an agreement that BiH was to be sovereign and undivided, remaining in a Yugoslav confederation with Serbia and Montenegro. The Muslim-inhabited area of Sandžak in SR Serbia was to become autonomous, while SAO Krajina and SAO Bosanska Krajina was to abandon their unification plan. Zulfikarpašić received the consent of Serbian President Slobodan Milošević, who also promised 60% of Sandžak to BiH. Izetbegović, who initially supported it, abandoned the agreement.

Alija Izetbegović Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Alija Izetbegović was a Bosnian politician, activist, lawyer, author, and philosopher who in 1992 became the first President of the Presidency of the newly-independent Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He served in this role until 1996, when he became a member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, serving until 2000. He was also the author of several books, most notably Islam Between East and West and the Islamic Declaration.

On 30 May 1993, an agreement on cooperation was reached between the Republic of Serbian Krajina and Republika Srpska. [9] On 20 June 1993, the Republic of Serbian Krajina held a referendum asking Serb voters if they supported unification with Republika Srpska asking: "Are you for the sovereignty of RSK, unification with RS and at a later date with the rest of the Serbian territories?". [9] It passed with "clear endorsement" [10] having 98.6 percent of voters who voted in favor. [9] Prior to this, Serb generals in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in Croatia formed a military alliance in the event that "Western Serbia" was attacked. [9] During 1994, further plans for the unification and creation of a "new republic of Western Serbia" were developed. [11] In late May 1995, the Parliament of the Republic of Serbian Krajina made the decision to unite with Republika Srpska. [12]

See also

Annotations

  1. ^ In English, it is known as "United Serb Republic" [13] or "United Serbian Republic" [12]

Related Research Articles

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Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia former proto-state

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Football Association of Republika Srpska

The Football Association of Republika Srpska is the official football association of the Republika Srpska entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It organizes the national cup, the domestic league which forms one of the two second tier divisions below the national top division. The FSRS also has a national team that represents Republika Srpska in mostly friendlies. The association was founded in 1992 and supervises over 300 football clubs throughout Republika Srpska, that includes a staff of 600 coaches, and a referee association with 1,200 members. The association also has a youth system, with financial support to youth teams and building new football schools. Its structure is identical with other national football associations, but currently acts as a subdivision within Bosnia's FA.

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The Graz agreement was a proposed agreement made between the Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadžić and the Bosnian Croat leader Mate Boban on 6 May 1992 in the city of Graz, Austria. The agreement publicly declared the territorial division between Republika Srpska and the Croatian Community of Herzeg-Bosnia and called for an end of conflicts between Serbs and Croats. The largest group in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Bosniaks, did not take part in the agreement and were not invited to the negotiations.

Republic of Serbia (1992–2006) federal unit of Yugoslavia/Serbia & Montenegro between 1992 and 2006

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Serbia in the Yugoslav Wars

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An independence referendum was held in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 29 February and 1 March 1992, following the first free elections of 1990 and the rise of ethnic tensions that led to the breakup of Yugoslavia. Independence was strongly favored by Bosniak and Bosnian Croat voters while Bosnian Serbs boycotted the referendum or were prevented from participating by Bosnian Serb authorities. The total turnout of voters was 63.4%, 99.7% of whom voted for independence. On 3 March, Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Alija Izetbegović declared the independence of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the parliament ratified the action. On 6 April, the United States and the European Economic Community recognized Bosnia and Herzegovina as an independent state and on 22 May it was admitted into the United Nations.

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A referendum on remaining in Yugoslavia was held in the parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina with a significant Serb population on 10 November 1991. The referendum was organised by the Bosnian Serb Assembly and asked two questions; to Serbs it asked:

Do you agree with the decision of Assembly of the Serbian people in Bosnia and Herzegovina of October 24, 1991, that the Serbian people should remain in a common Yugoslav state with Serbia, Montenegro, the SAO Krajina, SAO Slavonija, Baranja and Western Srem, and with others who have come out for remaining?

The Agreement on Friendship and Cooperation between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia was signed by Alija Izetbegović, President of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Franjo Tuđman, President of the Republic of Croatia, in Zagreb on 21 July 1992 during the Bosnian and Croatian wars for independence from Yugoslavia. It established cooperation, albeit inharmonious, between the two and served as a basis for joint defense against Serb forces. It also placed the Croatian Defence Council (HVO) under the command of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH).

Proposed secession of Republika Srpska

The Dayton Agreement ended the Bosnian War and created the federal republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), which consists of the Bosniak and Croat-inhabited Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) and the Serb-inhabited Republika Srpska (RS). Although the Bosnian Serbs were viewed as "anti-Dayton" during the first years after the war, since 2000 they have been staunch supporters of the Dayton Agreement and the preservation of RS. Bosniaks generally view RS as illegitimate, and an independence referendum from BiH has been proposed in RS. The 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum and Kosovo's 2008 declaration of independence have raised the possibility of a referendum and unification with Serbia. In 2015, after a judicial and police crisis, the governing Alliance of Independent Social Democrats said that it would hold an independence referendum in 2018 if RS's autonomy was not preserved.

References

  1. ↑ Međimorec 2002, pp. 29-30.
  2. ↑ Ramet 2006, p. 383.
  3. ↑ Bethlehem & Weller 1997, p. xxvi.
  4. ↑ Bethlehem & Weller 1997, p. xxvii.
  5. ↑ Bethlehem & Weller 1997, p. xxxi.
  6. ↑ Bosnien-Herzegowina, serbischer Teil, 10. November 1991 : Unabhängige Serbische Republik in Bosnien-Herzegowina Direct Democracy
  7. ↑ Lukić 2005, pp. 55–56.
  8. 1 2 3 Burg & Shoup 1999, pp. 72–73.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Međimorec 2002, p. 171.
  10. ↑ Caspersen 2011, p. 117.
  11. ↑ Thomas 1999, p. 205.
  12. 1 2 Barić 2008, p. 97.
  13. ↑ Daily Report: East Europe. 200–210. FBIS. 1995. p. 28. [Karadžić] We hoped that the United Serb Republic would have two seas:

Sources

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