Yugoslav Spiral of Violence: March 1991.
Rarely is the fate of a society made in a month, but March 1991 certainly felt that way in Yugoslavia.
Amid the general erosion of security (1), this month began with a serious armed incident in Pakrac (2), and continued with mass demonstrations in Belgrade (3). As the events were unfolding at lightning speed, military-civilian relations were disrupted to the brink of a coup (4). The tension was not reduced either by secret talks in Karađorđevo (5) or public negotiations in Split (6) between key political protagonists. By the end of the month, they resorted to weapons again in Plitvice (7), while the country oscillated between war and peace.
This documentary reconstruction of a turning point in our recent past aims at opening some questions. Was the point of no return reached in March 1991 for the dissolution of Yugoslavia? Or was it the end point of a longer process? Was it possible to stop the spiral of violence before it escalated into a war?
Zagreb
Weapons come to Croatia
(25. Jan 1991 - 25. Jan 1991)Yugoslavia entered 1991 in the context of serious tensions, both between the federal authorities and leaders of its republics, and among the national leaders themselves. While the federal government accused the Serbian leadership of appropriating Yugoslav hard currency reserves, the military was attempting to curb Croatia from arming. Croatian authorities justified their armament with growing […]
Split
Continuation of talks on the future of the country
(28. Mar 1991 - 28. Mar 1991)The first meeting of the presidents of the six Yugoslav republics occurred on March 28 in Villa Dalmatia in Split. There was not much agreement among the leaders, apart from the decision to continue their meetings at other locations. As their lack of readiness to deescalate became apparent, the public recognized the futility of such […]
Plitvice
Conflict in Plitvice
(31. Mar 1991 - 01. Apr 1991)Special forces of the Croatian police intervened on March 31 to regain control over Plitvice National Park. Following the decision of the Yugoslav Presidency, the Yugoslav People’s Army also descended into Plitivce to separate the belligerents. Here again, the Pakrac situation of early March repeated in Plitvice at the very end of this month, however […]
- Plitvice 1991, Croatian TV material
- Plitvice 1991, Serbian TV material
- Plitvice 1991, YUTEL material
- Illustrations
- Document: Analysis of the Croatian Ministry of Interior activity in the Plitvice region
- More in: Darjan Godić, Civilno-vojni odnosi JNA i pobunjenih Srba u Lici
- Aleksandar Miladinović, Raspad Jugoslavije: Kako živi mir na mestu gde je počeo rat
Karađorđevo
Secret meetings of national leaders
(19. Mar 1991 - 25. Mar 1991)As the military did not act in a created constitutional vacuum, Serbian representatives returned to the Yugoslav Presidency, which on March 21 agreed to change format of discussions on Yugoslavia’s political future. The responsibility for this debate was to be shifted to direct and public talks among leaders of all six republics. However, Serbian and […]
- Minutes of the Presidency meeting, 21.mart 1991.
- Testimonials on the talks between Tuđman and Milošević
- Testimony of the Yugoslav government head Ante Ante Marković at the ICTY on the Karađorđevo meeting
- Statement of Hrvoje Šarinić to the ICTY on the Karađorđevo talks
- Illustrations
- More in: Ivo Lucić, Karađorđevo: politički mit ili dogovor?
Pakrac
Clash in Pakrac
(01. Mar 1991 - 02. Mar 1991)In the town of Pakrac in Croatia, local policemen of Serbian origin took control over the police station and other governmental buildings on March 1. The next day, special units of Croatian police regained the control over the city. Fire was exchanged, wounds inflicted, with no fatalities. On the decision of the Yugoslav Presidency, the […]
- Serbian TV on the Pakrac clash
- Croatian TV on the Pakrac clash
- Photos
- Document:: Minutes from the Yugoslav Presidency meeting, 2.3.1991.
- Document: Serbian War Crimes Prosecution analysis on warmongering in the media reporting from Pakrac
- More in Kosta Nikolić, Vladimir Petrović, Od mira do rata, Beograd 2010, 39-42
- More in Ivica Miškulin, Srpska pobuna u općini Pakrac, Scrinia Slavonica 11 (2011), 355-392.
Belgrade – Republic Square
Belgrade Protests
(09. Mar 1991 - 12. Mar 1991)Protests convened in Belgrade on March 9, organized by the Serbian Renewal Movement against the biased reporting of state television, which accused the leadership of that party for betrayal of Serbian national interests. Under the leadership of Vuk Drašković, these protests evolved into massive demonstrations, during which a protester Branivoj Milinović and policeman Nedeljko Kosović […]
- Serbian state television coverage of March 9 protests
- Opposition television Studio B coverage of March 9 protests
- Student protest on Terazije square
- Dušan Kosanović, Hronologija devetomartovskih događaja
- Documents: Srpska reč, 18.mart 1991
- More in: Kosta Nikolic, Deveti mart, u Od mira do rata, Beograd 2010, 42-50
Belgrade – Topčider
An attempt to impose a state of emergency
(12. Mar 1991 - 17. Mar 1991)An emergency session of the Yugoslav Presidency was convened in the Belgrade military compound in Topčider on March 12. For three full days, the Yugoslav nominal commanders-in-chief conferred with the military leadership, which demanded the move to code red and an introduction to a state of emergency. Federal minister of defense Veljko Kadiejvić travelled clandestinely […]
- March sessions of of the Yugoslav Presidency as the Military High Command
- Fragments of the video recording of the session (from 3.24)
- A clash between Borisav Jović and Stjepan Mesić at the Presidency Session
- Borisav Jović resigns to the chairmanship of the Yugoslav Presidency
- Slobodan Milošević addresses the audience regarding the paralysis of the Yugoslav Presidency
- Illustrations
- More in Mile Bjelajac, Pokušaj rešavanja jugoslovenske krize vojnim udarom