Unrecognized proto-state in the Balkans (1993-1995)
The
Autonomous Province of Western Bosnia
(
Serbo-Croatian
:
Autonomna Pokrajina Zapadna Bosna;
APZB
), was a small
unrecognized
proto-state
that existed in the northwest of
Bosnia and Herzegovina
between 1993 and 1995. It consisted mainly of the town of
Velika Kladu?a
, its capital, as well as a few nearby villages and fields. It was proclaimed as a result of secessionist politics by
Fikret Abdi?
against the central government of
Alija Izetbegovi?
during the
Bosnian War
. For a short time in 1995, it was known as the
Republic of Western Bosnia
(
Serbo-Croatian
:
Republika Zapadna Bosna
).
History
[
edit
]
Fikret Abdi?
was the winner of the
popular vote
to head the government of Bosnia in
1990
but surrendered to
Alija Izetbegovi?
under an undisclosed agreement.
[4]
In 1993, according to journalist
Anthony Loyd
, Abdi? decided to try to carve out a little state for himself and succeeded in recruiting enough followers to make his dreams a reality. Abdi? was able to hold power over his mini-state by using cult-like
propaganda techniques
over his followers and Serbian arms and military training.
"Talking to his autonomist followers was much the same as speaking with cult converts anywhere in the world: a wooden dead-end dialogue hallmarked by the absence of individual rationale and logic."
[5]
?
Anthony Loyd
Local residents of Velika Kladu?a were reported as treating Abdi? with excessive reverence and "were ready to do whatever he said."
[6]
The economy of Western Bosnia was largely reliant on the
Agrokomerc
company of Velika Kladu?a.
Little is known about Western Bosnia's political system excluding Abdi? and most officeholders have faded into obscurity. A 2010 document pertaining to the final judgment of the Zlatko Ju?i? and Ibrahim Ju?i? trial held in Croatia, cited the opinion of one witness that the Government of the APZB was "
a farce, an ornament
" and that it was not consulted with as Abdi? himself made decisions regarding key issues.
[7]
[8]
This statement was one of the reasons behind Zlatko Ju?i?'s subsequent acquittal of all war crimes charges.
[9]
APZB also featured a Constituent Assembly, the Vice President of which was Bo?idar Sisel.
[10]
The Autonomous Province cooperated with
Serbia
as well as
Croatia
against the Bosnian government. Abdi?'s role in undermining the rival authority in
Sarajevo
was awarded by the governments of Croatia and the
Republic of Serbia
inside of the
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
. Agrokomerc was granted a custom-free trade zone in the Croatian port of
Rijeka
and free trade with Serbian-controlled territories. Trade between Western Bosnia and Croatia occurred during the
Bosnian War
.
In 1994,
Franjo Tuđman
changed his policies towards Bosnia after diplomatic pressure from the United States and the
UN Security Council
. The
Washington Agreement
was signed in March 1994.
[11]
The situation became very unfavourable to the future of Western Bosnia, as Fikret Abdi? could no longer count on financial or military help by one of his protectors.
It was militarily defeated during
Operation Tiger
in June and August 1994, when the territory of Western Bosnia was seized by the Bosnian government troops. Fikret Abdi? moved to
Zagreb
.
[12]
However, they were expelled later that year with the significant help of the Serbs in
Operation Spider
, and the APZB was re-established.
[13]
[14]
The province declared itself the independent Republic of Western Bosnia on 26 July 1995.
[15]
In August 1995,
Operation Storm
made it serve as the last line of defense of the
Republic of Serbian Krajina
in Croatia. The RZB was wiped out completely during the joint Croatian-Bosnian government army action on 7 August 1995.
[15]
Abdi? was forced to flee to Croatia after the operation.
[16]
Aftermath
[
edit
]
Western Bosnia's territory was incorporated into the
Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
, within the present-day
Una-Sana Canton
. Fikret Abdi?, who maintained friendly relations with Croatian President
Franjo Tuđman
, had acquired Croatian citizenship and lived in Croatia in exile.
After the death of Tuđman in December 1999 and the defeat of the
Croatian Democratic Union
in the
Croatian elections of 2000
, Abdi? was eventually arrested and convicted for
war crimes
against civilian Bosniaks loyal to the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The trial took place in Croatia, where Abdi? was condemned to 20 years in prison in 2002. On 9 March 2012, he was released after he had served two thirds of his reduced sentence.
[17]
In 2016, the citizens of Velika Kladu?a elected Abdi? mayor.
[18]
In June 2020 he was arrested by Bosnia's federal police as part of a corruption investigation which included a number of municipal officials.
[19]
He was put in pre-trial detention, but was released in late October after his lawyers petitioned the court to allow him to take part in the re-election campaign for the
2020 Bosnian municipal elections
in November that year, which he narrowly won with 44.1% of the vote.
[20]
In March 2021 prosecutors formally indicted Abdi? and six other municipal officials on charges of graft related to procurement tenders.
[21]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Istina o Autonomnoj Pokrajini Zapadna Bosna 1993 - 1995. Predgovor"
.
Research Gate
. Retrieved
18 January
2020
.
- ^
"1994/01/23 19:33 if You Can't Beat Them - Join Them"
.
- ^
"1994/01/23 19:33 if You Can't Beat Them - Join Them"
.
- ^
Dawisha, Karen; Parrott, Bruce (1997-06-13).
Politics, Power and the Struggle for Democracy in South-East Europe
. Cambridge University Press. pp. 132?137.
ISBN
9780521597333
.
- ^
Loyd, Anthony (1 February 2001).
My War Gone By, I Miss It So
. Penguin.
ISBN
0-14-029854-1
.
- ^
Lischer, Sarah (2007).
"Militarized Refugee Populations: Humanitarian Challenges in the Former Yugoslavia"
.
MIT
. Retrieved
11 September
2007
.
[
dead link
]
- ^
"War Crimes Verdicts"
. Retrieved
2023-02-13
.
- ^
Text of the final judgement (in Croatian)
- ^
"Ibrahimu Ju?i?u sedam godina zatvora"
.
tportal.hr
. Retrieved
2023-02-13
.
- ^
"IF YOU CAN'T BEAT THEM - JOIN THEM"
.
aimpress.ch
. 23 January 1994.
- ^
Bethlehem, Daniel L.; Weller, Marc (1997).
The 'Yugoslav' Crisis in International Law
. Cambridge International Documents Series. Vol. 5. Cambridge University Press. p. liiv.
ISBN
978-0-521-46304-1
.
- ^
"Republika Zapadna Bosna: hronologija jedne izdaje"
. historija.info. 5 August 2017. Archived from
the original
on 27 August 2020
. Retrieved
7 May
2016
.
- ^
"Covert Operations: Unravelling Serbian Officials' Links To Paramilitaries - Analysis"
.
Eurasiareview
. 30 June 2021. p. 4.
- ^
Stojanovic, Milica (29 June 2021).
"Covert Operations: Unravelling Serbian Officials' Links to Paramilitaries"
.
Balkan Insight
. p. 4.
- ^
a
b
Radan, Peter (2002).
The break-up of Yugoslavia and international law
. Routledge. p.
192
.
ISBN
978-0-415-25352-9
.
)
- ^
Welle (www.dw.com), Deutsche.
"Bosnian war criminal released from Croatian prison | DW | 09.03.2012"
.
DW.COM
. Retrieved
2022-08-22
.
- ^
"Bosnian Warlord Freed From Croatian Jail After Serving War-Crimes Sentence"
.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
. 9 March 2012.
- ^
"War's legacy and looming elections shape Bosnia's response to migrants"
.
www.irishtimes.com
. Retrieved
2019-01-24
.
- ^
"Pripadnici federalne policije uhapsili na?elnika Velike Kladu?e Fikreta Abdi?a"
.
Klix.ba
. Retrieved
27 September
2021
.
- ^
"Sve izvjesnije da ?e Fikret Abdi? ostati na?elnik Velike Kladu?e"
.
Klix.ba
.
- ^
"Potvrđena optu?nica protiv Fikreta Abdi?a zbog zloupotrebe polo?aja i ovlasti"
.
Klix.ba
. Retrieved
27 September
2021
.