Dissolution of Yugoslavia

Yugoslavia was a former country that occupied a strip of land stretching from present-day Central Europe to the Balkans — a region with a history of ethnic conflict. The country was a conglomeration of six regional republics and two autonomous provinces that was roughly divided on ethnic lines and split up in the 1990s into several independent countries. These eight federal units were the six republics: Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and two autonomous provinces within Serbia: Kosovo and Vojvodina. Ethnically mixed Bosnia and Herzegovina had not existed as a state since 1465, and moreover, it did not have a clear ethnic majority with “44% Muslims, 33% Serbs, 18% Croats and minorities.” The geographical distribution of the ethnic groups which composed Yugoslavia was such that each nation had a population living in all six republics. With Bosnia's demographic structure comprising a population of Serbs and Croats making close to 50%, and with ideas on independence resting with the ethnicities rather than the nation on the whole, control of territory once again became open to interpretation, with large sections of Bosnia, Croatia and Serbia under dispute as to its proper ownership. The most important elements which fostered the discord are the formation of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, the civil war and genocide (see Jasenovac concentration camp) by the Independent State of Croatia during the Second World War, the overreaching idea of "Greater Serbia," and the Balkan adaptations of Pan-Slavism.

Timeline of the breakup of Yugoslavia

After the death of Josip Broz Tito

After the death of Tito on 4 May 1980, ethnic tension grew in Yugoslavia. The death of Tito removed what many Yugoslavs and Westerners saw as the country’s main unifying force. The legacy of the Constitution of 1974 was used to throw the system of decision-making into a state of paralysis, all the more hopeless as the conflict of interests had become irreconcilable. The constitutional crisis that followed resulted in rise of nationalism in all republics and provinces: the Albanian majority in Kosovo demanded the status of a republic whilst Serbia sought to regain control of its autonomous provinces. In addition, the administrations of Slovenia and Croatia made demands for looser ties within the federation, in contrast to the Serbian leadership which advocated one-party rule.

1986-1989

In 1986, the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts contributed significantly to the rise of nationalism in Serbia, as it drafted a memorandum addressing some burning issues concerning the position of Serbs as the most numerous people in Yugoslavia. The largest Yugoslav republic in territory and population, Serbia's influence over the provinces of Kosovo and Vojvodina was reduced by the Constitution of 1974, which gave them long demanded autonomy. The government of the Socialist Republic of Serbia was restricted in making and carrying out decisions that would apply to the provinces. The provinces had a vote in the Federal Presidency Council (an eight member council composed of representatives from six republics and two autonomous provinces), which was not always cast in favor of Serbia proper.

Serbian communist leader Slobodan Milošević, who took control of the League of Communists of Serbia in 1987, sought to restore pre-1974 Serbian powers. Other republics, especially Slovenia and Croatia, denounced this move as a revival of Serbian hegemonism (see Great Serbia). Milošević succeeded in reducing the autonomy of Vojvodina and of Kosovo, and could now himself install representatives of the provinces in the Yugoslav Presidency Council. The very instrument that reduced Serbian influence before was now used to increase it: in the eight member Council, Milošević could count on four votes minimum - his own through Serbia, Montenegro (following local events), and now, Vojvodina and Kosovo.

As a result of these events, the ethnic Albanian miners in Kosovo organized strikes, demanding the reinstatement of their autonomy. This contributed to ethnic conflict between the Albanians and the Serb population of the province. At 77% of the population of Kosovo in the 1980s, ethnic-Albanians were the majority. The number of Serbs in Kosovo was falling throughout the entire century as a result of ethnic cleansing by Albanians during the Second World War and subsequent harassment by the Albanian authorities and population. The ever increasing ethnic tensions increased this trend, and by 1999, Serbs formed as little as 10% of the total population.

Meanwhile Slovenia, under the presidency of Milan Kučan, and Croatia, supported the Albanian miners and their struggle for recognition. In front of Kučan and other Yugoslavs that were criticizing Milosevic’s policy of fanning Serbian nationalist marches and sacking of “disloyal” politicians in Serbia, the Serbian leader accused them of “spreading fear of Serbia”. Initial strikes turned into widespread demonstrations calling for Kosovo to be made the seventh republic. This angered Serbia's leadership which proceeded to use police force, and later even the Federal Army was sent to the province by the order of the Serbia-held majority in the Yugoslav Presidency Council.

1990s

In January 1990, the extraordinary 14th Congress of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia was convened. For most of the time, the Slovenian and Serbian delegations were arguing over the future of the League of Communists and Yugoslavia. The Serbian delegation, led by Milošević, insisted on a policy of "one person, one vote", which would empower the largest population, the Serbs. In turn, the Slovenians, supported by Croatians, sought to reform Yugoslavia by devolving even more power to republics, but were voted down. As a result, the Slovenian and Croatian delegation left the Congress, and the all-Yugoslav Communist party was dissolved.

Following the fall of communism in the rest of Eastern Europe, each of the republics held multi-party elections in 1990. The unresolved issues remained. In particular, Slovenia and Croatia elected governments oriented towards independence, while Serbia and Montenegro elected candidates who favoured Yugoslav unity. In Croatia there was growing advocacy for "Croatian state and historical rights" which resulted in Serbs being stripped of their national and constitutional rights and thus being demoted from a constituent nation of Croatia to a national minority.

In March 1990, during the demonstrations in Split (Croatia), a young Yugoslav Army conscript was strangled on the tank, after driving around demonstrators. Also guns were fired from army bases through Croatia. Elsewhere, tensions were running high.

In the same month, the Yugoslav People's Army (Jugoslovenska Narodna Armija, JNA) met with the Yugoslav federal Presidency in an attempt to convince them to declare a state of emergency which would allow for the army to take control of the country. The representatives of Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo and Metohija, and Vojvodina voted for the proposition, while all other republics, Croatia (Stipe Mesić), Slovenia (Janez Drnovšek), Macedonia (Vasil Tupurkovski) and Bosnia and Hercegovina (Bogić Bogićević), voted against. The tie delayed an escalation of conflicts, but not for long.

During this time, groups of Serbs of Croatia proclaimed the emergence of Serbian Autonomous Areas in the republic, beginning with the SAO Kninska Krajina in August 1990. As tension escalated, the organizers of this entity orchestrated the log revolution (balvan-revolucija), blocking roads around Knin, preventing free passage to tourist destinations in Dalmatia. The Croatian government responded by sending special police teams in helicopters to the scene who were intercepted by the Yugoslav People's Army fighter jets and forced to turn back to Zagreb. SAO Kninska Krajina expanded to become SAO Krajina in October 1990.

Following the first multi-party election results, the republics of Slovenia and Croatia proposed transforming Yugoslavia into a loose federation of six republics in the autumn of 1990, however Milošević rejected all such proposals, arguing that like Slovenians and Croats, the Serbs also had a right to self-determination.

The SAO Krajina was officially declared as a separate entity on December 21, 1990, by the Serbian National Council headed by Milan Babić.

In January 1991, the Kontraobaveštajna služba (KOS, Yugoslav counter-intelligence service) showed a video of a secret meeting that they purported had happened some time in 1990 between the Croatian Defence Minister Martin Špegelj and two other men, in which Špegelj announced that they were at war with the army and gave instructions about arms smuggling as well as methods of dealing with the Yugoslav Army's officers stationed in Croatian cities. The Army subsequently wanted to indict Špegelj for treason and illegal importation of arms, mainly from Hungary.

On March 9, 1991 demonstrations were held against Slobodan Milošević in Belgrade, but the police and the military were deployed in the streets to restore order, killing two people. In late March 1991, the Plitvice Lakes incident was one of the first sparks of open war in Croatia. The Yugoslav People's Army (JNA), whose superior officers were predominantly of Serbian ethnicity, maintained an impression of being neutral, but as time went on, they became more involved in the state politics.

On April 1, 1991, SAO Krajina declared that it would secede from Croatia. The other significant Serb-dominated community in eastern Croatia announced that it too would join SAO Krajina. Zagreb had by this time discontinued submitting tax money to Belgrade, and the Croatian Serb entities in turn halted paying taxes to Zagreb.

On June 25, 1991, Slovenia and Croatia became the first republics to declare independence from Yugoslavia. In Slovenia, Slovenian Territorial Defence (Teritorialna obramba, a paramilitary organization established by the constitution of 1974) seized the Yugoslav border posts with Austria and Italy, taking down the Yugoslav and raising the Slovenian flag.

Immediately after the declaration of independence in Croatia, the Serbs also formed SAO Western Slavonia and SAO of Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Srijem. These two regions would later combine with SAO Krajina into the Republic of Serb Krajina.

The following day (June 26), the Federal Executive Council specifically ordered the army to take control of the internationally recognized borders of SFR Yugoslavia.

The Yugoslav People's Army forces, based in barracks in Slovenia and Croatia, attempted to carry out the task within next 48 hours. However, due to the misinformation given to the their own conscripts, and the fact that the majority of them did not wish to engage in a war on their home soil, the Slovenian Territorial Defence forces retook most of the posts within several days with only minimal loss of life on both sides. There was an incident of a suspected war crime near Holmec, as the Austrian ORF TV station showed footage of three Yugoslav Army soldiers surrendering to the Territorial Defence, before gunfire was heard and the troops were seen falling down. However, none were killed in the incident. Ceasefire was agreed upon.

According to the Brioni Agreement of July 7, 1991, recognized by representatives of all republics, the world governments pressured Slovenia and Croatia to place a three-month moratorium on their independence. During these three months, the Yugoslav Army completed its pull-out from Slovenia.

However, in Croatia, a bloody war broke out in the August 1991. Ethnic Serbs had created their own state Republic of Serbian Krajina in regions mostly populated by Serbs. Croatia in turn refused to recognise these entities, thus was waged between the young Republic of Croatia, and the Croatian Serb dissidents. In some places, the Yugoslav Army acted as a buffer zone, in others it was aiding Serbs in their confrontation with the new Croatian army and their police force.

In September 1991, the Republic of Macedonia also declared independence. Five hundred U.S. soldiers were then deployed under the U.N. banner to monitor Macedonia's northern borders with the Republic of Serbia, Yugoslavia. However, given that Belgrade's authorities had neither intervened to prevent Macedonia's departure, nor protested nor acted against the arrival of the UN troops, the indications were in place that once Belgrade was to form its new country (to be the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from April 1992), it would recognise the Republic of Macedonia and develop diplomatic relations with it. As such, it became the only former republic to gain sovereignty without resistance from the Belgrade-based Yugoslav authorities and Army. In addition, Macedonia's first president, Kiro Gligorov, did indeed maintain good relations with Belgrade as well as the other former republics and there have to date been no problems between Macedonian and Serbian border police despite the fact that small pockets of Kosovo and the Preševo valley complete the northern reaches of the historical region known as Macedonia, which would otherwise have created a border dispute (see also IMORO).

In November 1991, the Arbitration Commission of the Peace Conference on the former Yugoslavia, led by Robert Badinter, concluded at the request of Lord Carrington that the SFR Yugoslavia was in the process of dissolution, that the Serbian population in Croatia and Bosnia does not have a right to self-determination in form of new states, and that the borders between the republics are to be recognized as international borders.

As a result of the conflict, the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted UN Security Council Resolution 721 on November 27, 1991, which paved the way to the establishment of peacekeeping operations in Yugoslavia.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina in November 1991, the Bosnian Serbs held a referendum which resulted in an overwhelming vote in favour of staying in a common state with Serbia and Montenegro. On January 9, 1992 the Bosnian Serb assembly proclaimed a separate "Republic of the Serb people of Bosnia and Herzegovina". The referendum and creation of SARs were proclaimed unconstitutional by the government of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and declared illegal and invalid. However, in February-March 1992 the government held a national referendum on Bosnian independence from Yugoslavia. That referendum was in turn declared contrary to the BiH and Federal constitution by the federal Constitution court and the newly established Bosnian Serb government; it was largely boycotted by the Bosnian Serbs. The turnout was somewhere between 64-67% and 98% of the voters voted for independence. It was unclear what the two-thirds majority requirement actually meant and whether it was satisfied . The republic's government declared its independence on 5 April, and the Serbs immediately declared the independence of Republika Srpska. The war in Bosnia followed shortly thereafter.

The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) was formed on April 28, 1992, and it consisted of the former Socialist Republics of Serbia and Montenegro. Its government claimed continuity to the former country, however, the international community refused to recognize it as such. The stance of the international community was that Yugoslavia had dissolved into its separate states. This question was important for claims on SFRY's international assets, including embassies in many countries. Only in 1996 had FRY abandoned its claim and accepted that the SFRY had dissolved.

The war in the western parts of former Yugoslavia ended in 1995 with U.S.-sponsored peace talks in Dayton, Ohio, which resulted in the so-called Dayton Agreement.

In Kosovo, throughout the 1990s, the leadership of the Albanian population had been pursuing tactics of non-violent resistance in order to achieve independence for the province. In 1996, radical Albanians formed the Kosovo Liberation Army which carried out armed actions in the southern Serbian province. The Yugoslav reaction involved the indiscriminate use of force against civilian populations, and caused many ethnic-Albanians to flee their homes. Following the Racak incident and unsuccessful Rambouillet Agreement in the early months of 1999, NATO proceeded to bombard Serbia and Montenegro for more than two months, until the Milošević's government submitted to their demands and withdrew its forces from Kosovo. See Kosovo War for more information. Since June 1999, the province has been governed by peace-keeping forces from NATO and Russia (Russian troops withdrew in July 2003).

21st century

Milošević's rejection of claims of a first-round opposition victory in new elections for the Federal presidency in September 2000 led to mass demonstrations in Belgrade on October 5 and the collapse of the regime's authority. The opposition's candidate, Vojislav Koštunica took office as Yugoslav president on October 6, 2000. On Saturday, March 31, 2001, Milošević surrendered to Yugoslav security forces from his home in Belgrade, following a recent warrant for his arrest on charges of abuse of power and corruption. On June 28 he was driven to the Yugoslav-Bosnian border where shortly after he was placed in the custody of SFOR officials, soon to be extradited to the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. His trial on charges of genocide in Bosnia and war crimes in Croatia and in Kosovo and Metohija began at The Hague on February 12, 2002, and he died there on 11 March, 2006, while his trial was still ongoing. On April 11, 2002, the Yugoslav parliament passed a law allowing extradition of all persons charged with war crimes by the International Criminal Tribunal.

In March 2002, the Governments of Serbia and Montenegro agreed to reform the FRY in favour of a new, much weaker form of cooperation called Serbia and Montenegro. By order of the Yugoslav Federal Parliament on February 4, 2003, Yugoslavia, at least nominally, ceased to exist. A federal government remained in place in Belgrade but assumed largely ceremonial powers. The individual governments of Serbia and of Montenegro conducted their respective affairs almost as though the two republics were independent. Furthermore, customs were established along the traditional border crossings between the two republics.

On May 21, 2006, 86 percent of eligible Montenegrin voters turned out for a special referendum on the independence of Montenegro from the state union with Serbia. They voted 55.5% in favour of independence, recognised as above the 55% threshold set by the European Union for formal recognition of the independence of Montenegro. On June 3, 2006, Montenegro officially declared its independence, with Serbia following suit two days later, effectively dissolving the last vestige of the former Yugoslavia. On February 17, 2008, Kosovo declared independence from Serbia.

New states

The present-day recognized countries (Kosovo is de jure still part of Serbia) created from the former parts of Yugoslavia are:

• Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Croatia
• Montenegro
• Republic of Macedonia
• Serbia
• Slovenia

Reasons for the breakup

Structural problems

Tito’s Yugoslavia was characterised by constant reforms which failed to resolve key national problems. Moreover, the federal system, due to increasing national tensions, and the communist party’s wish to support "national self determination" began to loosen its control. This resulted in the creation of Kosovo, an autonomous region of Serbia, legislated by the 1974 constitution. This constitution broke down powers between the capital and the newly created autonomous regions in Vojvodina (an area of Yugoslavia with a large number of ethnic minorities) and Kosovo (with a large ethnic-Albanian population). This not only exacerbated Serbian fears of a "weak Serbia, for a strong Yugoslavia" but also hit at the heart of Serbian national sentiment. A majority of Serbs see Kosovo as the "cradle of the nation," and would not accept the possibility of losing it to the majority Albanian population.

Kosovo's special significance was due to the defeat of Prince Lazar, the last King of Serbia. It was said that he was betrayed at the Battle of Kosovo Polje against the invading Ottoman Turks. The devastating defeat was the end of the Serbian kingdom and the beginning of about 500 years of subjugation under the Ottomans (1389-1868). However, the first records of the battle weren’t created till 100 years after the battle, and then in the form of a poem. The romantic spin given to this episode of history contributed to the sacred and hallowed nature of the region of Kosovo. The significance of Kosovo in the Serbian mindset was very strong.

This loosened version of the federation essentially made Yugoslavia a de facto confederacy, placing pressure upon the legitimacy of the regime and engendered resentment in the richer republics. Slovenia and Croatia, the most developed republics were continually frustrated by their inability to further lift their standard of living as they had to subsidize the development of the poor republics in what they described as an "economic black hole." It highlighted the vast differences in the quality of life in the different republics. Tito’s death created further problems; in an effort to ensure his legacy, Tito’s 1974 constitution established a system of year-long presidencies, on a rotation basis out of the eight leaders of the republics. Such short terms were highly ineffective. Essentially it left a power vacuum which was left open for most of the 1980s, with only Slobodan Milošević taking the reins in 1989.

Economic factors

Along with internal structural problems, Yugoslavia was further undermined by economic factors. Yugoslavia’s non-aligned stance had resulted in access to loans from both superpower blocs. This contact with the West opened up Yugoslavia’s markets sooner than the rest of Central and Eastern Europe. The 1973 oil crisis coupled with Western trade barriers, dramatically hindered her thirty years of breakneck economic growth. In order to maintain this, Yugoslavia took on a number of International Monetary Fund (IMF) loans and subsequently fell into heavy IMF debt. As a condition of receiving loans, the IMF demands certain "liberalisation" of a country’s market place. During this time Yugoslavia incurred $19.9 billion in foreign debt by 1981. This problem was compounded by the general "unproductiveness of the South," which not only added to Yugoslavia’s economic woes, but also irritated Slovenia and Croatia further. However of real concern was the unemployment rate, at 1 million by 1980. The recession lowered the number of consumer products available, which had always been higher in Yugoslavia than in other socialist states. It illustrated to the general public the incompetence of the communist party to run the system. A decade of tightening belts resulted in growing frustration and resentment against the both Serbian ‘ruling class,’ and the minorities who were seen to benefit from government legislation.

Kosovo and Metohija, one of the powder kegs in the breakup of Yugoslavia, is also the richest part of Yugoslavia and one of the richest parts of Europe and world, in terms of mineral reserves. It was a major provider of coal needed for the greater part of Yugoslav industry and production of electrical energy. More than 80% of electricity produced in old Yugoslavia was generated in thermal power stations that used coal from Kosovo and Metohija .

The international climate

Yugoslavia was a unique state, straddling both the East and West. Moreover, Tito was fundamental maker of the third world or "group of 77" which acted as an alternative to the superpowers. More importantly, Yugoslavia acted as a buffer state between the West and the Soviet Union and also prevented the Soviets from getting a toehold on the Mediterranean Sea. However, with the rise of Gorbachev, perestroika and glasnost, the West felt secure enough in the USSR’s intentions that Yugoslavia was no longer of strategic importance. The external status quo, which the Communist Party had depended upon to remain viable was beginning to disappear. Furthermore, the failure of socialism all over Central and Eastern Europe once again brought Yugoslavia’s inner contradictions, inefficiencies and ethno-religious tensions to the surface.

Nationalism

In 1989, the 600th anniversary of Serbia’s historic defeat at Kosovo Polje, Slobodan Milošević gave a speech to one million Serbs, which made reference to the nation's great historic past. Milošević’s answer to the incompetence of the federal system was to centralize the government. Considering Slovenia and Croatia were looking farther ahead to independence, this was considered unacceptable.

At the Yugoslav conference in late 1989 talks broke down. The leaders could not come to an agreement on how to deal with the rotating presidency. Moreover many members were no longer willing to rescue what they saw as a sunken ship. War soon broke out in Slovenia in 1991. After a week, the Slovenes were victorious and the break up of Yugoslavia had begun.

References

• Almond, Mark, Europe’s Backyard War, William Heinemann Ltd, Great Britain, 1994
• et al. Duncan, W. Raymond and Holman, G. Paul, Ethnic Nationalism and Regional Conflict: The Former Soviet Union and Yugoslavia, Westview Press Inc, USA, 1994. ISBN 0-8133-8813-9
• Dragosavljevic, Angelija, Slobodan Milosevic: A Study In Charismatic Leadership And Its Distortions 1987-1992, Australian National University Press, Canberra, 1993
• Magas, Branka, The Destruction of Yugoslavia: Tracking the Break-up 1980–1992, Verso, Great Britain, 1993. ISBN 0-86091-593-X
• Mojzes, Paul, Yugoslavian Inferno: in the Balkans, The Continuum Publishing company, USA, 1994
• Radan, Peter, Break-up of Yugoslavia and International Law, Routledge, Great Britain, 2002
• Woodward, Susan, L. Balkan Tragedy: Chaos & Dissolution after the Cold War, the Brookings Institution Press, Virginia, USA, 1995