How to win peace: Croatian non-war experience

When people in Ukraine start "studying the experience of Croatia," they always focus on the successful conduct of war. The standard answer to the question "How did Croatia succeed?" involves analyzing the successes of the Croatian army on the battlefield and the achievements of Croatian diplomats in signing agreements that helped to return part of the territory peacefully.

And there is indeed something to learn here.

On these days, 28 years ago, in early May 1995, the Croatian army conducted the offensive Operation Lightning, during which, after 4 years of Serbian occupation, Western Slavonia, a region in northern Croatia, was liberated.

Four months later, on August 4, Operation Storm began, which became the main military operation in Croatia's war for independence. In 84 hours, the Croatian army and special forces liberated almost a fifth of the country, putting an end to the separatist entity "Republika Srpska Krajina".

The territory that remained occupied (the Croatian Danube region, including Vukovar) was returned to Zagreb's control in two years, from 1996 to 1998, through peaceful reintegration under the UN program.

“The Croats won, fully regained their territory, and did not even have to grant any separatist enclaves special status. But Croatia won not only the war, but also the peace, as is now commonly said in Ukraine”

The Croats won, fully regained their territory, and did not even have to grant any separatist enclaves special status. But Croatia won not only the war, but also the peace, as is now commonly said in Ukraine.

The postwar period brought new challenges: the transformation of the postwar former Yugoslavia, in fact a Soviet republic, into a developed democratic European state.

But even here, Croatia has made progress. In 1995, the fighting ended on the country's territory, 8 years later, in 2003, Croatia applied for membership in the European Union, and 10 years later, on July 1, 2013, the country joined the EU.

This case, which also deserves the title "How Croatia succeeded," is left out of this article. The Croatian path from war to peace, from the "powder magazine of Europe" to full membership in the European community, was not easy, but successful and instructive.

After winning the war, Croatia was immediately faced with the need to immediately return to the "normalcy" of the old Europe. The Europeans were not going to make an exception for a country that had just overcome an aggressor and demanded that the potential EU member comply with common European standards.

The set of requirements was extensive and complicated. One of the most important was to build a sustainable democracy.

“The Croats agreed on the need for post-war democratic reforms, and to eradicate even hints of authoritarianism, the Croatian parliament amended the Constitution, turning a presidential republic into a de facto parliamentary one”

It was natural that authoritarian tendencies would develop in a country that had lived under martial law and general mobilization for several years. The Croats agreed on the need for post-war democratic reforms, and to eradicate even hints of authoritarianism, the Croatian parliament amended the Constitution, turning a presidential republic into a de facto parliamentary one.

The fight against corruption was also very important.

After the war, not only "crook" politicians were involved in corruption schemes, but also military leaders and diplomats... Fraud with land and real estate, dubious privatization deals, "making money" on public tenders, manipulation of bank loans - you name it!

It is clear that ordinary citizens did not like all this, and they were in favor of bringing the "crooks" to justice. However, the political establishment did not stand up for its right to "plunder" but agreed with the European demand to eradicate this "contagion" because strengthening the fight against corruption was a tough and unambiguous requirement of the EU for a potential candidate.

In December 2001, the Office for Combating Corruption and Organized Crime (Ured za suzbijanje korupcije i organiziranog kriminaliteta, USKOK) was opened in Croatia, a specialized unit of the State Prosecutor's Office. It still works today, and is said to be quite effective.

The most ambiguous and difficult to fulfill was another condition for joining the EU - the investigation of all possible cases of violations of international humanitarian law during the war and the punishment of the perpetrators. No exemptions were provided for members of the Croatian armed forces; arguments that Croatia was waging a defensive war and resisting the aggressor were not taken into account.

Under pressure from Western partners, Europeans and Americans alike, in the spring of 2000, the parliamentary majority adopted a Declaration of Cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

The public did not understand such a step.

“The 12 generals who led Croatian forces during the war wrote an open letter calling on the government, civil society, and the media to stop criminalizing the Croatian War of Independence”

The 12 generals who led Croatian forces during the war wrote an open letter calling on the government, civil society, and the media to stop criminalizing the Croatian War of Independence.

In February 2001, the Hague Tribunal issued an arrest warrant for war hero General Mirko Norac, who was accused of killing Serb civilians, and the Croatian Ministry of the Interior agreed to comply with the decision. In response, tens of thousands of people took to the streets to protest the detention of the war hero.

The government managed to calm the situation by concluding an agreement with the Hague Tribunal that the general would be prosecuted at home in Croatia.

As a result, Mirko Norac was sentenced to 12 years in prison by a court in Rijeka.

The case against another war hero caused even more opposition.

In July 2001, charges were brought in The Hague against General Ante Gotovina, the commander of Operation Storm.

In the case of the symbol of Croatian victory, not only ordinary citizens, but also the government began to resent it. The then Croatian prime minister did not agree to let the matter go forward, as he believed that the document gave an incorrect assessment of events and was biased against the Croatian war of independence.

However, the EU clearly made the start of EU membership negotiations contingent on the prosecution of the Croatian general.

In February 2003, Croatia submitted an official application to join the EU, but its progress on the European integration path was put on hold and resumed only after General Gotovina was detained in the Canary Islands in 2005.

In 2011, the first instance of the Hague Tribunal found Ante Gotovina guilty and sentenced him to 24 years in prison for crimes against the residents of the so-called "Republika Srpska Krajina" - a separatist entity on the territory of Croatia.

The result was a collapse of European integration sentiment among Croats. Support for the country's membership in the EU fell to a record low of 23%. "Croatia will not sold for Gotovina," read posters plastered all over Croatia (the general's name translates to "cash").

The country was facing a referendum on joining the EU, and it seemed that the country's European integration would be put on hold.

But Ante Gotovina himself saved the day.

The general, in an address broadcast from prison in The Hague, asked his countrymen to vote in favor of joining the EU.

In the referendum, which took place on January 22, 2012, two-thirds of those who came to the polls spoke in favor of Croatia's membership in the European Union.

10 months later, in November 2012, the Appeals Chamber of the Hague Tribunal reversed the original ruling. General Gotovina was fully acquitted.

Less than a year later, on July 1, 2013, Croatia became a full member of the European Union.

Conclusions from the Croatian experience of peacebuilding will be very brief.

2. Democracy is important.

3. Corruption has to be eliminated.

4. We must fight for heroes.

But the first point sounds like this:

1. We have to win the war.

Exclusively for Espreso TV.

About the author. Natalia Ishchenko, editor of the Balkan Observer project.

The editorial staff do not always share the opinions expressed by the blog authors.