![]() ![]() The Serb community in Croatia dropped from 581,663 or 12.16% in 1991 to 186,633 or 4.36% in 2011 with a tendency of further decline. The Serbs’ demographic and legal situation Since then, Serbs have no longer been such a politically relevant factor as before. As agreed in the 1995 Erdut Agreement, Eastern Slavonia, the last region controlled by Serb rebels, was reintegrated peacefully via transitional administration by the United Nations by 1998. In May and August 1995, frustrated by protracted and futile diplomatic efforts at negotiating a comprehensive peace agreement, Croatia’s government initiated two military operations which led to its military victory and the expulsion of over 200,000 Serbs. The situation stabilized at the beginning of 1992, when a ceasefire came into force- and United Nations blue helmets were deployed.Ĭroatia gained international recognition but a large part of its territory remained under control of the Republic of Serbian Krajina. Croatia’s efforts at seceding from Yugoslavia led to conflicts with its Serb population and the creation of the self-proclaimed Republic of Serbian Krajina which was supported by the Yugoslav People’s Army. Various groups’ ethno-nationalisms reinforced one another, led to intra-state security dilemmas and resulted in the violent disintegration of Yugoslavia. Yugoslavia consisted of six republics, one of them Croatia, and two autonomous provinces. Croatia therefore fails to respect the highest internationally recognized minority rights to which it repeatedly committed itself in the early days of its independence and during the EU integrations process. At the same time, they use the Serbs as the perfect “enemy” in order to preserve the dominant status of ethno-nationalism. Croatian nationalists target them as an inconvenient reminder that their exclusive narrative is just a myth. Serbs face intolerance, economic obstacles and discrimination. Almost 25 years after the end of the war and six years since its European Union membership Croatia is still unable to re-integrate its declining Serb population.
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