| Date | Event |
|---|
| 12 February | A committee of Serbian academics demands the creation of a "Serbian Autonomous Oblast" in the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia. |
| 7 April | The Croatian film Život sa stricem, about a communist official's return to Catholicism, is released despite protests by the Croatian SUBNOR.[8] |
| 25 April | The Slovenian Writers' Association and the Slovenian Sociological Association publish a proposal for an alternative Slovenian constitution. Authors of the proposal include several prominent intellectual figures, like Veljko Rus, France Bučar, Dimitrij Rupel, Veno Taufer, Milan Apih, Tine Hribar, Peter Jambrek, Janez Menart, and Tone Pavček. |
| 12 May | The Slovenian Peasant Union is formed in a mass meeting in Ljubljana as the first openly non-Communist political association in Yugoslavia. The event is usually considered as the beginning of the Slovenian Spring. |
| 15 May | SFRY minister of defense Admiral Branko Mamula is fired because of his opposition to Milošević.[9] Veljko Kadijević takes his place as the new minister. |
| 31 May – 4 June | The JNA captures Janez Janša and 3 other persons in Slovenia. Accusations are made about the discovery of a "state secret". The arrests provoke a national outcry in Slovenia.[10] During the so-called Ljubljana trial, a Committee for the Protection of Human Rights is formed, which becomes the central civil society platform in Slovenia. |
| 27 September | Boško Krunić, a representative of League of Communists of Yugoslavia, and Franc Šetinc, a Slovenian member of the Yugoslav Communist Party Politburo, resign due to ethnic conflict between Serbs and Albanians.[11] |
| 4 October | A crowd of people gathers in Bačka Palanka to protest against the provincial government of Vojvodina. |
| 5 October | Under the control of Slobodan Milošević, Mihalj Kertes and 100,000 men from Bačka Palanka and the rest of Serbia enter Novi Sad, the capital of Vojvodina, to support protests against the government of Vojvodina. |
| 6 October | After the JNA refuses to disperse the crowd or protect the parliament building in Novi Sad, the entire parliament of Vojvodina resigns and is replaced with politicians loyal to Milošević.[12] The structure of the Presidency of Yugoslavia changes by effectively giving Serbia 2 votes out of 8. |
| 9 October | Montenegrin police intervene against protesters in Titograd and proclaim a state of emergency.[13] This is seen by Serbia as an act of hostility. |
| 10 October | Raif Dizdarevic, president of SFRY, warns that the crisis in Yugoslavia might lead to "extraordinary conditions". The President declares that the demonstrations against Communist Party leaders in various sections of the country are "negative events" which can lead to "unpredictable consequences".[14] |
| 17 October | A failed attempt by Stipe Šuvar to oust Slobodan Milošević from the Yugoslav Central Committee takes place. |
| November 1988 | The number of Presidency members is reduced to 8; the Presidency position for the president of the Presidium of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia is abolished. |
| 17 November | Resignation of the Kosovo provincial government; politicians loyal to Slobodan Milošević are installed. This event triggers the first of many demonstrations by ethnic Albanians. The structure of the Presidency changes again, Serbia now effectively having 3 votes out of 8. |
| 18 November | A massive rally of almost one million people is held in Belgrade in support of Milošević's policies.[15] |
| 19 November | About 100,000 ethnic Albanians, angered by Serbian removal of provincial leaders, march through the capital of Kosovo.[16] |
| 28 November | 1500 Croats protest the Yugoslav embassy in Sydney, Australia to coincide with its Republic Day. A consulate worker shoots at and wounds a 16-year-old protester.[17] The consulate is subsequently closed the following week. |
| 31 December | Facing a foreign debt reaching 21 billion US dollars, a 15% unemployment rate and a 250% rate of inflation, the Yugoslav government of Branko Mikulić resigns.[18] | |
| Date | Event |
|---|
| 10 January | Over 100,000 protesters gather in Titograd to protest the regional government of Montenegro. Members resign the next day;[19] the new leadership consists of Momir Bulatović, Milo Đukanović and Svetozar Marović, strongly allied with Milošević. The structure of the Yugoslav Presidency now effectively gives Serbia 4 out of 8 votes (the remaining votes belonging to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia and Slovenia). |
| 11 January | The Slovenian Democratic Union is founded. |
| 16 February | The Social Democratic Union of Slovenia is founded. |
| 20 February | Albanian workers in the Trepca mine (near Kosovska Mitrovica) go on strike. |
| 27 February | The Yugoslav Presidency declares a state of emergency in Kosovo due to Albanian protests. |
| 28 February | Franjo Tuđman made a public appearance in the building of the Writer's Association of Croatia, delivering a speech outlining the political programme of what would become the Croatian Democratic Union. |
| 1 March | Arrest of Azem Vllasi. |
| 4 March | The Serbian Writers Association discusses hate towards Serbs in Croatia, Kosovo and Slovenia. At this meeting Vuk Drašković mentions "Serbian western frontiers". |
| 10 March | The Slovene Christian Social Movement is founded. |
| 16 March | Ante Marković is new prime minister of Yugoslavia, after earlier Slobodan Milošević has rejected that position offered to him by Minister of Defence Veljko Kadijević. BBC will call Marković "Washington's best ally in Yugoslavia" [20] |
| 28 March | With the Serbian change of constitution, Yugoslav provinces Vojvodina and Kosovo have autonomy abolished, but retain a seat in the presidency of Yugoslavia. |
| 8 May | Slobodan Milošević becomes president of Serbia. |
| 8 May | Slovenian opposition parties and the Slovenian Writer's Association issue a joint manifesto, known as the May Declaration, demanding a sovereign and democratic Slovenian nation state. The Declaration is publicly read by the poet Tone Pavček in a mass demonstration on Ljubljana's central Congress Square. |
| 29 May | The Croatian Social Liberal Union is founded. |
| 11 June | The Greens of Slovenia are founded as the first environmentalist party in Yugoslavia. |
| 17 June | Creation of the Croatian Democratic Union in Croatia. |
| 28 June | Addressing perhaps as many as 2,000,000 Serbs, Slobodan Milošević delivers the Gazimestan speech in which he speaks about the possibility of future "armed battles", but also about the fact, that Serbia is a multiethnic country, where every citizen has to be provided with equal rights, no matter the nationality or religion. |
| 1 August | Yugoslavian ambassador to the USA Živorad Kovačević is recalled after Congress votes to condemn human rights abuses in Yugoslavia.[21] |
| 14 September | At a meeting of the Serbian Writers Association in Belgrade, Vuk Drašković appeals for the creation of a Serbian Krajina in Croatia. |
| 17 September | Against federal warnings SR Slovenia amends its constitution in the name of greater autonomy and the right to secede from Yugoslavia.[22] The term "Socialist" is dropped from the republic's official name, and provisions enabling free elections are established. |
| 29 September | Demonstrations take place in Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia and Vojvodina against the Slovenian constitutional amendments. |
| 20 October | The Presidency of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Bosnia and Herzegovina discovers actions of the Serbian Secret Service in Bosnian territory. |
| 30 October | Beginning of court proceedings against Azem Vllasi and other Kosovar politicians. |
| 3 November | Police use force during Albanian demonstrations in Kosovo; some demonstrators are killed. |
| 11 November | The Croatian Peasant Party is reformed in Zagreb. |
| 20 November | Slovenia refuses to allow demonstrations by Serbs and Montenegrins in Ljubljana. In line with this decision, Croatia declares that it will not allow people from Serbia and Montenegro travelling to Slovenia for December 1 demonstrations to cross its territory.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bi0ziA9diw |
| 27 November | The Democratic Opposition of Slovenia is formed as a unitary platform of all major anti-Communist political parties in Slovenia, chaired by the émigré dissident Jože Pučnik.[23] |
| 29 November | In response to the ban on demonstrations, Serbia begins an economic blockade of Slovenia.[24] |
| 1 December | Fewer than 100 people turn up at a protest in front of the Slovenian Assembly in Ljubljana. The local police forces disperse the crowd. |
| 10 December | Secret meeting of Croatian and Slovenian presidents. |
| 13 December | Ivica Račan becomes president of the Croatian Communist Party against the wishes of the Yugoslav Army. |
| 23 December | Democratic League of Kosovo is founded. |
| 31 December | Slobodan Milošević decides to stop sending electrical power to residents of Croatia. Italian foreign minister Gianni de Michelis calls Croats and Slovenes extremist without any chance to enter Europe outside Yugoslavia. | |
| Date | Event |
|---|
| 1 January | Prime Minister Ante Marković's (appointed on 17 March 1989) economic program is launched. |
| 20 January | 14th Congress of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia begins at the Sava Centar in Belgrade. |
| 22 January | Slovenian, Croatian and Macedonian delegates abandon the last Congress of the Communist League of Yugoslavia.[25] The Communist Party of Yugoslavia is dissolved. |
| 25 January | More Albanian protests against emergency rule occur in Kosovo. A crowd of 40,000 people is dispersed with water cannons and tear gas.[26] |
| 26 January | The Yugoslav Defense Minister Veljko Kadijević requests an increase in military personnel stationed in Slovenia. The JNA creates a military plan of action for territories with ethnically mixed populations (Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia). |
| 29 January | General strike in Kosovo. |
| 31 January | The Yugoslav Presidency decides to send the JNA into Kosovo to restore order. |
| 3 February | The Democratic Party is founded in Serbia. |
| 14 February | The Croatian Parliament passes amendments to Croatia's constitution, allowing multi-party elections. |
| 16 February | Zdravko Mustač, chief of the UDBA, states that the HDZ would launch a pogrom of Serbs 48 hours after election victory. |
| 17 February | Formation of the Serb Democratic Party takes place in Knin, Croatia. |
| 4 March | A protest of 50,000 Serbs from Croatia and Serbia takes place on Petrova Gora "against Franjo Tuđman and the Ustaše", demanding the "territorial integrity of Yugoslavia". |
| 10 March | The BBC reports on the deteriorating situation between Croats and Serbs and the tensions arising after Serbian demands on Petrova Gora. |
| 17 March | Duško Čubrilović, of Serb ethnicity, tries to assassinate Franjo Tuđman at an election rally in Benkovac. |
| 21 March | Serbs around Zadar organise nightly checkpoints, controlling vehicles and even buses passing through. |
| 22 March | Kosovo student poisoning occurs. |
| 22 March | The Serbian Parliament adopted Milošević' blueprint for Kosovo: The Programme for Achieving Peace, Freedom, Equality and Prosperity.[27] |
| 23 March | The Slovenian Democratic Opposition issues a proposal for an alternative Slovenian Constitution. The proposal, authored by Peter Jambrek, France Bučar and Tine Hribar, clearly envisions an independent democratic state. |
| 26 March | Serbian leadership meets to assess the situation in Yugoslavia and agrees that war in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina is inevitable. |
| 30 March | Meeting of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia without members from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia and Macedonia. |
| 3 April | Members of the Croatian police are withdrawn from Kosovo. |
| 8 April | The DEMOS coalition wins the first multiparty elections in Slovenia. Milan Kučan of the former Communist Party is elected President of the Republic, while the Christian Democrat Lojze Peterle becomes Prime Minister. |
| 22 April | First multiparty elections in Croatia. The winner is the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) which takes 193 out of 365 parliament places.[28] The Serb Democratic Party won the majority in towns such as Benkovac, Korenica, Knin and others.[29] |
| 26 April | Meeting between Borisav Jović, future president of the Presidency, and minister of defence Veljko Kadijević, who reports that the JNA is ready to engage in Slovenia and Croatia. |
| 13 May | A large riot breaks out at the Dinamo Zagreb–Red Star Belgrade match at Dinamo's Maksimir stadium. |
| 17 May | The JNA begins to disarm territorial defense of Slovenia and Croatia, but Slovenian refusal prevents disarming in Slovenia. |
| 26 May | Creation of the SDA in Bosnia and Herzegovina. |
| 30 May | The Croatian parliament elects Franjo Tuđman as president and Stipe Mesić as prime minister. The Serb Democratic Party of Jovan Rašković breaks off all relations with the Croatian parliament. |
| 30 May | In the newspaper Svet, Vojislav Šešelj says: "The border of our Serbia is not Drina. Drina is a Serbian river which runs through the middle of Serbia".[30] |
| 3 June | The Yugoslav anthem and national team are booed at Zagreb's Maksimir stadium during an international exhibition match against the Netherlands. |
| 6 June | The Parliament of the city of Knin proposes creating an Association of the municipalities of Northern Dalmatia and Lika. |
| 8 June | The JNA creates new brigades in the regions of Zagreb, Knin, Banja Luka and Herzegovina. |
| 27 June | Creation of the Association of the municipalities of Northern Dalmatia and Lika in Knin. |
| 28 June | Slobodan Milošević tells the Yugoslav president of the Presidency Borisav Jović that he thinks that: "the breakup of Croatia needs to be done in such a way that the Association of the municipalities of Northern Dalmatia and Lika stay on our side of the border". |
| 29 June | In Croatia, the term "Socialist" is dropped from the republic's official name and a temporary new flag and coat of arms are adopted. |
| 30 June | Vladimir Šeks, vice president of Croatian parliament, says that SFRY needs to become a confederation. |
| 1 July | Milan Babić speaks in the village Kosovo near Knin (Croatia) about the future creation of SAO Krajina. |
| 1 July | The Parliament of Slovenia votes to declare independence (but independence is not proclaimed). |
| 2 July | The Parliament of Kosovo declares Kosovo republic with rights and powers identical to other 6 republics. In response the declaration, the Parliament of Serbia abolishes the Parliament of Kosovo.[31] |
| 20 July | The Parliament of Serbia changes its election laws to allow first multiparty elections. |
| 25 July | The Parliament of Croatia votes for a series of constitutional changes. References to communism are removed from government institutions and symbols, and the country's official name becomes the Republic of Croatia.[32] Vladimir Šeks speaks about the confederation on 30 June. |
| 25 July | Representatives of political and national organizations of Serbian people in Croatia met in Srb, forming the "Serbian Assembly" and creating its executive body, the Serbian National Council, also proclaiming the Declaration of Sovereignty and Autonomy of Serbs in Croatia. Declaration stated that Serbs in Croatia have the right to hold a referendum on the autonomy. |
| 26 July | The Croatian News Agency is established. |
| 30 July | Members of HDZ are attacked in Berak near Vukovar. |
| 31 July | At the first meeting of the Serbian National Council in Croatia, a decision is made that a referendum is needed on Serbian autonomy in Croatia, and its date was set for August 19, 1990. After receiving this news, the Croatian government bans such a referendum.[33] Milan Babić is elected president of the council.[34] [35] |
| 31 July | The Parliament of Bosnia and Herzegovina changes its constitution to officially become the home of Bosniaks, Serbs and Croats. |
| 5 August | Creation of the Serbian Democratic Party in Bosnia and Herzegovina. |
| 13 August | A delegation of Serbs from Knin under the presidency of Milan Babić comes to Belgrade, meeting with the Yugoslav president of the Presidency Borisav Jović and with the Yugoslav minister of interior Petar Gračanin. Borisav Jović declares that municipalities will decide if they will stay in Yugoslavia or not. |
| 17 August | Serbs of "Krajina", accusing Croatian authorities of discrimination, raise barricades on key roads around Knin, beginning the Log Revolution.[36] In Benkovac, the Police of the Republic of Croatia prevented the Serbian direct vote of separation. The Serbs raised barricades in incident known as the Log Revolution. The revolt is explained by the Serbs with words that they are "terrorized [by Croatian government] and [fight for] more cultural, language and education rights". Serbian newspaper "Večernje Novosti" writes that "2.000.000 Serbs [are] ready to go to Croatia to fight". On the other side the Western diplomats are saying that The Serbian media is inflaming passions and Croatian government is saying "We knew about the scenario to create confusion in Croatia..." |
| 18 August | Creation of the Croatian Democratic Union in Bosnia and Herzegovina. |
| 19 August | The Serb referendum in Croatia sees 97.7% people of the regions they held it in voting in favour of Serb autonomy in Croatia. |
| 20 August | The Yugoslav government and the JNA demand that Croatia not take action against Serbs rebels in so-called Krajina.
At the finals of the FIBA World Championship, Vlade Divac took a Croatian flag from a spectator and stamped on it. |
| 24 August | Croatian president Franjo Tuđman asks for a meeting with Serbian president Slobodan Milošević. |
| 27 August | Registration of new political parties in Serbia permitted.[37] |
| 30 August | Croatian constitutional court abolishes (de jure) the "Association of municipalities from northern Dalmatia and Lika", declaring it unconstitutional. |
| September | Albanian members of the dissolved Kosovo parliament meet clandestinely and adopt an alternative constitution.[38] |
| 3 September | Albanians begin general strike in Kosovo.[39] |
| 3 September | Ivan Zvonimir Čičak and Marinko Božić create the Croatian Patriotic Organization in Herzegovina. Because the black uniforms of the members of the organization appear similar to those of Croatian Quisling forces during World War II, the Serbian Press calls them Ustaše. |
| 7 September | Josip Boljkovac, Croatian minister of internal affairs, presents an ultimatum to rebels from the Krajina region to stop all actions against the constitution of Croatia and to relinquish their arms to the government of Croatia by noon on 12 September. |
| 9 September | The Serb Democratic Party demands protection of the Yugoslav Presidency. |
| 12 September | Serbian radio in Knin asks citizens to stop returning arms to the government of Croatia. |
| 13 September | Massacre in Polat (village in Kosovo) committed by Serbian forces.[40] |
| 18 September | Failed "coup" among Bosniaks Party of Democratic Action. |
| 19 September | The Parliament of Bosnia and Herzegovina votes to stay within the SFRY. |
| 26 September | Serbs from Pakrac, Petrinja and Sisak (in Croatia) begin to block road traffic. |
| 28 September | The Constitution of Serbia is revised: the autonomy of Vojvodina and Kosovo is revoked but their members in the Presidency of Yugoslavia retain their positions. The word "Socialist" is removed from the Republic of Serbia. |
| 30 September | Serbian National Council in Croatia proclaimed positive results of the previously held referendum (which has been declared illegal by Croatia) for Serbian autonomy inside Croatia, which was still within Yugoslavia. |
| 1 October | The Serbian National Council in Croatia formally proclaims the creation of Serbian political autonomy in Croatia, within Yugoslavia. |
| 1 October | George H. W. Bush, in a meeting with the Yugoslav president of the Presidency, gives full support to Yugoslavia. |
| 2 October | Croatian Serbs declare their autonomy on vaguely worded referendum on Serbian autonomy conducted throughout Yugoslavia. Croatia's government has repeatedly said that the Serbs' referendum is illegal.[41] |
| 3 October | Croatia and Slovenia make an offer to the Yugoslav Presidency for the creation of a Yugoslav confederation. |
| 4 October | The Slovenian Parliament abolishes 27 Yugoslav laws on Slovenian territory. |
| 11 October | The Vojvodina oil company Naftagas takes control of Croatian oil company propriety in the self-proclaimed Serbian Autonomous Oblast of Krajina.
In Zagreb the statue of Josip Jelačić is returned to Republic Square and its name is restored to Ban Jelačić Square. |
| 13 October | Representatives of main political and national organizations and institutions of Serbian people in Bosnia and Herzegovina met in Banja Luka and created Serbian National Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina.[42] |
| 16 October | In a Yugoslav Presidency meeting Croatia and Slovenia again demand the creation of a Yugoslav confederation. Representatives from all other republics vote against the proposition. |
| 17 October | Croatia played the United States in its first international football match. |
| 23 October | Serbian parliament votes for taxes on goods from Croatia and Slovenia. |
| 26 October | Slobodan Milošević asks for military actions only against Croatia and "only" in territory where there are Serbs. |
| 18 November | First multiparty election in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Party of Democratic Action (SDA) (party of Bosnian Muslims) receives 86 seats (35%), the Serbian Democratic Party (SDP) 72 (29%), and the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) 44 (18%). In the Bosnia and Herzegovina Presidency the SDA receives 3 seats and the SDP 2. |
| 22 November | Meeting between Croatian and Slovenian presidents about future independence. |
| 25 November | VMRO–DPMNE wins the first multiparty elections in the Republic of Macedonia with 37 seats in parliament. Communists receive only 31 seats. |
| 28 November | Janez Drnovšek (the Slovenian president of the Yugoslav Presidency until May 1990) and the president of the Yugoslav Presidency Borisav Jović hold a meeting in which Slovenia is given a green light for leaving Yugoslavia. |
| 29 November | Arkan of paramilitary Serb Volunteer Guard is arrested in Croatia, but is soon released. |
| 3 December | Strongly divided between priests which support or oppose Slobodan Milošević, the Serbian Orthodox Church chooses Pavle, Bishop of Raška and Prizren in Kosovo as its new Patriarch. |
| 7 December | The Yugoslav minister of defense Veljko Kadijević, speaking on Belgrade television, attacks the current Croatian leadership for recreating fascism and for genocide against Serbs. |
| 9 December | Slobodan Milošević of the Socialist Party of Serbia wins the first Serbian multiparty election for president with 65.35% of the vote.[43] |
| 9 December | The League of Communists of Montenegro wins the first Montenegro multiparty elections. |
| 21 December | In Knin, the Serbian National Council proclaims the creation of Serbian Autonomous Oblast of Krajina, covering municipalities in the regions of Northern Dalmatia and Lika, in south-western Croatia, within Yugoslavia. The same month, Babić became the President of the Temporary Executive Council of the SAO Krajina. |
| 22 December | The Croatian Parliament votes for a new constitution according to which Croatia is defined as a "national state of the Croatian nation and a state of members of other nations or minorities who are citizens". Removing the Serbs' name from the constitution creates an outcry among the Serb minority in Croatia. Parliament visitors during vote include Milan Kučan president of Slovenia and Alija Izetbegović president of Bosnia and Herzegovina. |
| 23 December | The Socialist Party of Serbia receives 192 out of 250 seats in the Serbian Parliament. |
| 23 December | Momir Bulatović, having received his position after the January coup, is elected president of Montenegro with 76.9% of the vote. |
| 23 December | In the Slovenian independence referendum, 88.5% of the overall electorate (94.8% of votes), with the turnout of 93.3%, supported independence of the country.[44] [45] |
| 26 December | Serbia takes 1.8 billion US dollars (2.5 billion Deutsche Mark) in local currency (Yugoslav dinar) from the Yugoslav Central Bank.[46] Under pressure from the other republics and the World Bank 1.5 billion Deutsche Mark are later returned.[47] |
| 31 December | The Constitutional court of Croatia declares that SAO Krajina does not exist in a legal sense. |
| 31 December | Yugoslav industrial output falls 18.2% in 1990.[48] | |
| Date | Event |
|---|
| 4 January | The Croatian government creates a defense council. |
| 4 January | Creation of Krajina police forces. |
| 4 January | Veljko Kadijević, Yugoslav minister of defense, demands from Yugoslav president of presidency Borisav Jović that nations and not republics vote for staying in or leaving Yugoslavia. |
| 7 January | A group of political leaders of local Serbs from eastern regions of Croatia decided to create a regional political body, the Serbian National Council of Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia. |
| 9 January | Yugoslav president of the Presidency Borisav Jović demands that the Presidency vote for use of the JNA against Croatia and Slovenia. All 3 Presidency members under Serbian control (Kosovo, Serbia and Vojvodina) and the member from Montenegro vote for the use of force, but members of the Presidency from the other republics (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia and Slovenia) vote against the use of force. |
| 10 January | After a meeting of the Yugoslav Presidency with the JNA, the army is authorized to take weapons from "paramilitary forces". |
| 10 January | Because of his vote on 9 January, Radovan Karadžić demands the resignation of Bogić Bogićević, a Bosnian Serb elected in a 25 June 1989 referendum to represent Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Yugoslav Presidency.[49] |
| 15 January | Veljko Kadijević declares that the Serbs of Croatia are relinquishing their weapons, but Croats are not. |
| January | The SAO Krajina established the "Regional Secretariat for Internal Affairs" in Knin, and Milan Martić was appointed Secretary of Internal Affairs. The government of Croatia was informed that the Croatian police would no longer be considered as having authority within SAO Krajina. |
| 24 January | The Croatian constitution declares that the Yugoslav Presidency decision of 10 January is illegal and that Croatia must protect itself and its citizens.[50] |
| February | Council of Europe has voted that, to join Europe Yugoslavia would have to resolve its crisis peacefully and hold elections for the Federal Parliament.[51] |
| 21 February | The Slovenian parliament approves legislation to take over banking and defense from the Yugoslav central government.[52] |
| 21 February | After receiving news of the Slovenian parliament's decision to start legal actions for independence and for the possible creation of new union of independent states, the Croatian parliament makes a similar decision.[53] |
| 22 February | The Parliament of Pakrac municipality, with a relative majority of Serbs, votes to enter Krajina. |
| 22 February | "Armed Serbs in Pakrac took control of the police station and disarmed 16 Croatian policemen".[54] |
| 26 February | The Serbian national council of Baranja, Western Syrmia and Slavonia votes that if Croatia leaves Yugoslavia, then the territory under council control will separate from Croatia. |
| 28 February | The Serbian national council of SAO Krajina votes that Krajina will stay in Yugoslavia and expresses the wish for a peaceful separation of Croatia and SAO Krajina. http://www.phrkkz.hr/Kronologija/1991-1.php |
| 1 March | Pakrac clash – Pakrac police station was regained by the Croatian police because of a counterattack.[55] The first shots of the Yugoslav wars were fired in Pakrac on this day.[56] |
| 3 March | Pakrac clash – The Yugoslav army is deployed to stop fighting between Serbian villagers (who have seized control of a police station in Pakrac) and a Croatian police unit which has restored control of the police station and town. Although no one is killed during the fighting this event marks the beginning of the Croatian War of Independence. |
| 9 March | Beginning of large student demonstrations in Belgrade. The Presidency authorizes the JNA to protect important buildings but on this pretext the JNA also attacks demonstrators.[57] |
| 12 March | Meeting of Yugoslav presidency in JNA Headquarters during demonstrations. The JNA demands that a war situation be declared. The vote replicates that of 9 January, with presidency members under Milošević control voting for war and others against (4:4). After the vote important members of the Yugoslav army go on "diplomatic" missions to France, the UK and the USSR. |
| 15 March | Speaking on Serbian State Television, Slobodan Milošević declares: "Yugoslavia does not exist any more". |
| 17 March | After the Serbian resolution is defeated in a Yugoslav Presidency vote, Slobodan Milošević orders the mobilization of Serbian special forces and declares "Serbia will not recognize any decisions by the Presidency of Yugoslavia".[58] |
| 20 March | 200 Serbian writers, film makers and actors sign a petition against Slobodan Milošević because he has "opted for a policy of war".[59] |
| 29 March | Plitvice Lakes incident – Serb Krajina police under Mile Martić take control of the Plitvice Lakes National Park. |
| 31 March | Plitvice Lakes incident – On Easter Sunday, Croatian police forces move in and are ambushed by Serbian rebels. During the firefight a Croatian policeman Josip Jović becomes the first victim of the Croatian War of Independence.[60] |
| 1 April | Croatian police forces retake the Plitvice lakes, and 15 minutes of gunfire ensue.[61] |
| 2 April | Yugoslav People's Army commands the Croatian police to evacuate Plitvice, to which they comply. |
| 2 April | In Titova Korenica, President of "Krajina" Milan Babic proclaims the union of this Croatian region under control of rebel Serbs with Serbia.[62] |
| 2 April | Beginning of a Zagreb military court hearing against Croatian minister of defence Martin Špegelj for the Croatian rebellion against the Yugoslavia army. The strongest evidence comes from the Špegelj Tapes. Under Croatian popular pressure the trial is postponed [63] and Špegelj escapes to Austria. |
| April | Future Croatian defense minister Gojko Šušak organized and participated in firing three shoulder-launched Armbrust missiles into Borovo Selo in an attempt to fan the flames of the war.[64] |
| 1 May | Borovo Selo killings – Four Croatian policemen entered Borovo Selo and tried to replace the Yugoslav flag in the village with a Croatian one. The police were killed or taken hostage by the local Serbs and later mutilated by having their eyes and ears cut. |
| 2 May | Borovo Selo killings – A bus load of Croatian policemen (150) seeking to reassert control ran headlong into an ambush, leaving 15 dead (12 Croats and 3 Serbs) and over 20 wounded. The Yugoslav army arrives and ends the combat, creating a border line between territory under Croatian and rebel control.[65] |
| 6 May | Large anti-Yugoslav demonstration in Split ends in violence. The tanks of Yugoslav Army with soldiers of mostly non-Croatian and non-Serbian nationality were sent on the streets. Sašo Gešovski, the soldier of Macedonian origin, was shot dead.[66] |
| 12 May | Serbs from Croatian territory under the control of Serbs vote on a referendum for union with Serbia.[67] |
| 16 May | Acting against the Yugoslav constitution, Serbian representative Borisav Jović demands a vote to prevent Stjepan Mesić from becoming the president of the Yugoslav presidency. Because of 3 Serbian votes and 1 of Montenegro Mesić does not become president.[68] |
| 19 May | Referendum held for independence in Croatia. With 86% of all Croatian voters turning out, 94.17% vote in favor of independence. |
| 25 June | Croatia makes a constitutional decision about independence. |
| 25 June | Slovenia declares independence. |
| 26 June | Last day of Croatian and Slovenian deadline for new inter-republic agreements about Yugoslavia.[69] |
| 27 June | Start of Ten-Day War in Slovenia, which lasts until 6 July 1991. |
| 30 June | At the demand of western officials Serbia stops its block on Stjepan Mesić's election as the Yugoslav president of Presidency.[70] |
| 7 July | The Brioni Agreement ceases hostilities in Slovenia. Slovenia and Croatia agree to freeze their independence for a three-month period. The Yugoslav People's Army agrees to withdraw from Slovenia. |
| 28 July | Concert Yutel for Peace held in Sarajevo. |
| 31 July | Milan Babic, president of insurgent Serbs in Krajina, rejects peace proposal by the ministers of the European Community.[71] |
| 21–22 August | The Government of Macedonia executes a secret plan for confiscation of all federal documents about Yugoslav Army recruits on Macedonian territory.[72] |
| 25 August | Beginning of the Siege of Vukovar. |
| 27 August | The European Economic Community sets up the Badinter Commission to consider and hand down legal opinions on fifteen questions concerning the conflict in Yugoslavia. |
| 29 August | The Women's organization Bedem ljubavi starts protests around Yugoslav People's Army barracks calling for Croats and other ethnic groups to be released from conscription.[73] |
| 8 September | Macedonia votes for independence. The turnout of the voters was 75%, and 95% of them voted for independence. Today this day is celebrated as independence day.[74] |
| 15 September | Supreme Command Headquarters of the Yugoslav armed forces calls for partial mobilization, in violation of the Yugoslav constitution. |
| September | Houses belonging to Croats were torched in Hrvatska Dubica and the neighbouring village of Cerovljani, and widespread looting was committed by the TO, the Milicija Krajine, the JNA as well as by local Serbs. Local Croats were detained and subjected to mistreatment and were also used as live shields by the Serb forces. Serbs moved into the houses which the fleeing Croats had left. |
| 19 September | Serbian RAM Plan for war in Bosnia and Herzegovina is discovered and discussed in the Parliament of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Yugoslav prime minister Ante Marković confirms that Slobodan Milošević has ordered the Yugoslav army to give weapons to the territorial defense of Bosanska Krajina, which is under the control of Radovan Karadžić. |
| 25 September | Macedonia declares independence. |
| 26 September | The Serbian parliament is informed that the response to the partial mobilization is very poor because only 50% of those called have shown up. |
| 30 September | Referendum held for independence in Kosovo. A majority is in favor of independence. Serbia does not accept it. |
| 7 October | Banski dvori are attacked by rockets of the Yugoslav People's Army. |
| 7 October | The Croatian Parliament declares independence from Yugoslavia. |
| 8 October | Croatia declares independence from Yugoslavia. |
| 13 October | Radovan Karadžić tells Momčilo Mandić: "In just a couple of days, Sarajevo will be gone and there will be five hundred thousand dead, in one month Muslims will be annihilated in Bosnia and Herzegovina."[75] |
| 15 October | Radovan Karadžić tells Miodrag Davidović and Luka Karadžić: "In the first place no one of their leadership (Bosniaks) would stay alive, in three, four hours they'd all be killed. They wouldn't have a chance to survive at all". |
| 16, 18 October | Croat individuals killed 100–120 civilian Serb residents of Gospić. The incident became known as the "Gospić massacre".[76] [77] |
| 20 October | 40 local civilians, almost exclusively Croat, were killed. |
| 21 October | Serbian paramilitary forces in Croatia commit the Baćin massacre. |
| 26 October | Last Yugoslav Army troops leave Slovenia, departing from the port of Koper. |
| 31 October | The "Convoy of Peace", carrying delegates including Yugoslavian President Stipe Mesić and Croatian Premier Franjo Gregurić, arrives in Dubrovnik amid a siege of the city by the Yugoslav People's Army. |
| 10 November | Bosnian Serbs vote on a referendum to stay in the common state with Serbia.[78] |
| 18–21 November | Vukovar massacre at Ovčara. |
| 2 December | President of Macedonia sends an official letter to the presidents of the foreign governments asking for recognition of the independence of Macedonia. Immediately after that Greece starts military provocations on the Macedonian-Greece border.[79] |
| 9 December | The Badinter Commission publishes its first opinion, deciding that the SFRY "is in the process of dissolution." |
| 11 December | Ukraine recognizes Croatia. |
| 12–13 December | Serbian paramilitary forces in Croatia commit Voćin massacre. |
| 16 December | Resignation of Dragutin Zelenovic, Serbian prime minister and former member of the Yugoslav Presidency from Vojvodina. |
| 17 December | Yugoslav prime minister Ante Marković resigns, refusing to accept a federal budget in which the Yugoslav army will receive 86% of all funds. |
| 19 December | Iceland recognizes Croatia; Germany announces that it will recognize Croatia on January 15, 1992, with or without the rest of the European Community. |
| 23 December | Germany becomes the first major power to recognize Croatia and Slovenia as independent states. |
| 23 December | The Croatian government launches a transitional currency under the name Croatian dinar.[80] |
| 24 December | The Yugoslav central bank launches a new Yugoslav dinar. | |
| Date | Event |
|---|
| 3–6 January | Sarajevo Agreement a ceasefire agreement between Croatia on one side and Serbia and Serbian rebels on the other side – holds. Around 10,000 UN soldiers are to arrive shortly to prevent future warfare in Croatian territory.
|
| 7 January | A Yugoslav Mig aircraft attacks and destroys 1 of 2 EC monitoring mission helicopters with 5 crew members on board.[81] Soon afterward the Yugoslav defence minister resigns.[82] |
| 9 January | Bosnian Serbs declare the establishment of their own republic, effective from the date of international recognition of Bosnia. Territory of the new republic includes wherever Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina are in the majority "and all other regions where the Serbian people represent a minority due to the Second World War genocide". |
| 15 January | The European Community recognizes Slovenia and Croatia. |
| 20 January | Mr. Koljević, a leader of the Bosnian Serbs, talks with a newspaper about his discussion with Croatian president Franjo Tuđman about a Bosnia and Herzegovina "transformation". |
| 27 January | The Montenegro Parliament votes for a referendum to see if citizens still support the Yugoslav federation. |
| 8–23 February | Croatia and Slovenia compete at the 1992 Winter Olympics. Rump Yugoslavia also participates. |
| 22 February | The Macedonian newspaper Nova Makedonija published the Agreement between Macedonian Government and the Yugoslav Army for the ongoing peaceful withdrawal of the Yugoslav Army from the territory of Republic of Macedonia. According to this Agreement the last Yugoslav soldier should leave Macedonian territory on 15 April 1992.[83] The withdrawal of the Yugoslav Army from Macedonia started with the beginning of the winter of 1991/92. |
| 21 February | United Nations Security Council Resolution 743 sets up a Protection Force (UNPROFOR) mandated to create three IJN Protected Areas (UNPAs) in Croatia. |
| 29 February | A referendum on independence is held in Bosnia. A majority of Muslims and Croats vote in favor, but a majority of Serbs boycott the vote. |
| 1 March | On the first day after the referendum a wedding groom's father, Nikola Gardovic, an ethnic Serb, is killed by Ramiz Delalic, an ethnic Bosniak, at a Serbian wedding. Gardovic is considered by many Serbs as the first casualty of the Bosnian war.[84] |
| 2 March | Kiro Gligorov, the president of Macedonia, speaks publicly about the agreement between the Republic of Macedonia and the Yugoslav army for its peaceful withdrawal from Macedonia.[85] |
| 3 March | Bosnia and Herzegovina declare independence. |
| 17 March | The last Yugoslav soldier left Macedonian territory. |
| 23 March | Vienna agreement between Croatia and Serbia.[86] |
| 1 April | The Serbian Volunteer Guard, commanded by gangster Željko Ražnatović Arkan, takes Bijeljina.[87] |
| 3 April | Yugoslav army and Serbian paramilitary forces battle against Bosniak and Croat forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina around Bosanski Brod and Kupres. |
| 5 April | Bosnia and Herzegovina president Alija Izetbegović orders mobilization of the national guard and police reserve.[88] |
| 7 April | The EC and the United States recognize Bosnia.[89] An "Assembly of the Serbian Nation of Bosnia-Hercegovina" proclaims an independent Bosnian Serb Republic, later named the "Republika Srpska". |
| 10 April | The Serbian Volunteer Guard takes Zvornik in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Yugoslav army refuses to protect the local Muslim population against Serb guerrilla attacks until they surrender their weapons.[90] |
| 16 April | The government of Yugoslavia under Serbian control is warned by the United States to stop its assault on Bosnia and Herzegovina or be suspended from international organizations.[91] |
| 27 April | Formal end of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia with the proclamation of new Constitution approved by "Federal assembly" for the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY), consisting of Serbia and Montenegro. At the time of this vote 10,000 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia soldiers still remain in Bosnia and Herzegovina.[92] | |
| Date | Event |
|---|
| 21 January | Milan Martić stated that he would "speed up the process of unification" and "pass on the baton to our all-Serbian leader Slobodan Milošević". |
| 5 February | Bosnian Serb mortar attack on Sarajevo marketplace resulted in numerous civilian deaths and casualties. |
| 7 February | EU Foreign Ministers backed use of NATO airpower if necessary to lift Bosnian Serb siege of Sarajevo. |
| 9 February | At UN request, NATO agreed to authorise air strikes, declared 20 km total exclusion zone around Sarajevo and required Bosnian Serbs to withdraw heavy weapons from zone or place them under UN control within 10 days; also called on Bosnian Government to place heavy weapons in Sarajevo under UN control. Agreement between 'RS' and Bosnian Government to a ceasefire in Sarajevo, negotiated by Lieutenant-General Sir Michael Rose, then Commander of UN forces in Bosnia. |
| 17 February | Russian initiative secured Bosnian Serb cooperation in withdrawing heavy weapons from Sarajevo. |
| 1 March | In Washington, Silajdzic, Croatian Foreign Minister Mate Granic and Bosnian Croat leader, Kresimir Zubak, signed framework Federation agreement between Bosnian Muslims ('Bosniacs') and Bosnian Croats, as well as a preliminary agreement on a confederation between that Federation and the Republic of Croatia. |
| 24 March | 'RS' Assembly rejected joining Muslim-Croat Federation and demanded that sanctions against Serbs should be lifted. |
| 29 March | Agreement on ceasefire in Krajina signed at Russian Embassy in Zagreb by Croatian Government and Krajina Serbs. |
| 31 March | An agreement was signed in Zagreb between the Serb rebels and the Republic of Croatia on a cease-fire at the line of contact of the Krajina and the Croatian forces. The agreement came into effect on April 4, 1994. |
| 11 April | NATO planes bombed Bosnian Serb armoured vehicles in response to resumption of shelling of Gorazde. |
| 22 April | NATO authorised use of air strikes against Bosnian Serb heavy weapons within 20 km exclusion zone around Gorazde unless: there was an immediate ceasefire; Bosnian Serb forces pulled back 3 km from Gorazde centre; humanitarian convoys and medical evacuations were permitted. NATO also authorised immediate use of air strikes against Bosnian Serbs in the event of attacks against any UN safe area, or if Bosnian Serb heavy weapons come within 20 km exclusion zones around these areas. |
| 22–23 April | Akashi held talks with President Milosevic and Bosnian Serb leadership in Belgrade. Reached six-point ceasefire agreement on Gorazde, with Bosnian Serbs agreeing to immediate ceasefire; Deployment of UNPROFOR in 3 km radius of centre and on both sides of the River Drina; safe medical evacuation; freedom of movement for UNPROFOR and humanitarian organisations. |
| 26 April | First meeting of 'Contact Group', comprising representatives of Britain, Russia, US, France and Germany, held in London. The Group was set up as a forum to present a united front to the warring parties and concentrated on securing agreement on a territorial allocation as the first step in a political settlement. It produced a map for the parties to consider. British Embassy opened in Sarajevo. |
| 11 May | Vienna Agreement between Bosniacs and Croats set Bosniac/Croat Federation at 58 per cent of Bosnian territory; divided Federation into eight cantons; and determined composition of interim federal government. |
| 13 May | Foreign Ministers of France, Russia, Britain, US and EU Troika, plus Vice- President of European Commission, met in Geneva. They called for four-month cessation of hostilities and requested negotiations within two weeks, under aegis of Contact Group, on the basis of territorial division of 51 per cent for the Bosnian Federation and 49 per cent for the Bosnian Serbs. |
| 31 May | Bosnian Assembly elected Zubak (Bosnian Croat) and Ejup Ganic (Bosnian Muslim) as president and vice-president of Federation until federal elections, scheduled after six months. Assembly also endorsed Washington and Vienna Agreements (see 1 March and 11 May). |
| 10 June | Draft Memorandum of Understanding on the EU administration of Mostar initialled ad referendum by enlarged EU Troika and Bosnian and Bosnian Croat sides. |
| 8 July | Justice Richard Goldstone of South Africa approved as Chief Prosecutor for International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. |
| 20 July | Bosnian Serb Declaration handed to Contact Group in Geneva. Stated that: they could not take position on Contact Group peace plan because constitutional arrangements for Bosnia were not fully elaborated, and further work was required on map. But it could serve as basis for further negotiations. |
| 23 July | Hans Koschnick from Germany inaugurated as EU administrator of Mostar. |
| 3 August | 'RS' Assembly rejected Contact Group peace plan. |
| 4 August | President Milosevic announced decision to sever political and economic ties with Bosnian Serbs because of their rejection of the peace plan. |
| 20 August | 'RS President' Karadzic and 'RSK President' Milan Martić signed a proposal for the unification of 'RS' and 'RSK'. |
| 11 November | US announced it would stop enforcing arms embargo on Bosnian Government and Bosniac/Croat Federation. |
| 21 November | NATO bombed Udbina airport in 'RSK' following air attacks by Krajina- based Serbian aircraft on the Bihac region. Intense diplomatic and military activity ensued, including UN Security Council Presidential statements, attempts to broker a ceasefire, continued Krajina Serbian attacks on Bihac, NATO close air support and Bosnian Serb detention of UNPROFOR personnel. |
| 2 December | Croatian Government and 'RSK' authorities signed an economic agreement. |
| 31 December | Bosnian and 'RS' Governments signed a four-month Cessation of Hostilities Agreement. | |
| Date | Event |
|---|
| 12 January | Croatia said she would not renew UNPROFOR mandate after 31 March. UNPROFOR would then have three months to withdraw. |
| 30 January | Zagreb-4 plan presented to Croatian Government and Knin-based 'RSK' leadership. Drawn up by EU, UN, US and Russian representatives, the plan aimed to bring a political settlement to the conflict in Croatia. 'RSK' refused to consider it until guarantees were received of UNPROFOR's presence beyond 31 March. President Milosevic refused to receive Z4 ambassadors. |
| 5 February | US convened a meeting in Munich in support of the Bosniac/Croat Federation. A nine-point aid plan was announced and Muslim and Croat officials agreed to the appointment of an arbiter for Muslim/Croat disputes. |
| 8 February | 'RSK' Assembly suspended all economic and political negotiations with Croatia until she reversed her decision on terminating the UNPROFOR mandate. |
| 13 February | International Criminal Tribunal indicted 21 Serbs for genocide. 'RS' President refused to allow extradition of anyone. 'FRY' ruled that alleged 'FRY' war criminals must be tried there. |
| 20 February | 'RS' and 'RSK' announced a Joint Defence Council. |
| 6 March | EU adopted negotiating mandate for Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the EU and Croatia, but made start of the negotiations dependent on continued UN presence in Croatia. |
| 8–10 March | Zubak and Ganic, in Bonn, signed the Petersburg Agreement on the implementation of the Bosniac/Croat Federation. |
| 12 March | President Tudjman announced that a reconfigured UN force could remain on Croatian soil. |
| 31 March | Security Council Resolutions 981, 982 and 983 were adopted unanimously. 981 set up UNCRO (Confidence Restoration Operation) in Croatia; 982 renewed UNPROFOR mandate in Bosnia; 983 transformed UNPROFOR in the Republic of Macedonia to UNPREDEP (UN Preventive Deployment Force). All three new mandates were to run until 30 November 1995. |
| 1 May | Start of the Croatian offensive, Operation Flash, to retake western Slavonia. Croatian Serbs responded by shelling and detained some UN personnel. |
| 3 May | UN-brokered ceasefire agreement signed by Croatia and Croatian Serb representatives. |
| 24–26 May | In response to high levels of shelling and shooting, Lieutenant-General Rupert Smith, UNPROFOR Commander for Bosnia, issued ultimatums: 'RS' to stop firing into the Sarajevo exclusion zone; to return heavy weapons removed from UN collection point by noon on 25 May; and, by 26 May, to remove all heavy weapons from the exclusion zone or put them under UN control. |
| 8 June | US House of Representatives voted for unilateral lifting of arms embargo. |
| 9 June | Carl Bildt, a former Swedish Prime Minister, to succeed Lord Owen as Co- Chairman of the ICFY Steering Committee. |
| 16 June | United Nations Security Council Resolution 998 authorised increase in UNPROFOR personnel by up to 12,500 to reinforce existing forces and create Rapid Reaction Force (RRF). China and Russia abstained. |
| 18 June | UNPROFOR withdrew from weapon-collection points and observation posts in Sarajevo's 20 km exclusion zone. |
| 20 June | NATO requested UN permission for air strike on Banja Luka airport in response to violations of NFZ by Bosnian Serbs. |
| 2 July | UN HQ at Sarajevo shelled by Bosnian Serbs. |
| 3 July | UN convoy on Mount Igman fired at and returned fire. |
| 8 July | 'RS' forces moved into Srebrenica safe area. |
| 9 July | 'RS' forces overran Srebrenica UN posts, capturing UN troops. UN threatened to call for air strikes if Bosnian Serb forces moved closer. |
| 11 July | NATO air strikes. 'RS' threatened to kill UN hostages. 'RS' forces took Srebrenica. Srebrenica massacre begins, with more than 8,000 Bosniaks killed by Serb forces. |
| 12 July | UN and EU demanded Bosnian Serb withdrawal from Srebrenica. |
| 19 July | 'RSK' and forces of Fikret Abdic, a Muslim separatist leader, attacked Bihac region. |
| 21 July | Meeting of EU, UN, NATO, Contact Group and other UN troop contributors held in London to discuss response to Serb attacks on safe areas |
| 22 July | Presidents Tudjman and Izetbegovic met in Split. Agreement signed on joint defence and implementation of the Bosniac/Croat Federation. |
| 23 July | UK, US and French representatives delivered ultimatum to Ratko Mladic, commander of the 'RS' army: attacking Gorazde or putting UN lives at risk there would lead to extensive air strikes. |
| 25 July | International Criminal Tribunal indicted Karadzic and Mladic for genocide and Martić for war crimes. Bosnian Serb forces entered Zepa. |
| 26 July | UN Secretary-General delegated his authority for air strikes to UNPROFOR Commander Bernard Janvier. US Senate voted to lift embargo on Bosnia if UN decided to withdraw or Bosnian Government requested UN withdrawal. |
| 27 July | Tadeusz Mazowiecki, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights, resigned, saving he could not participate in pretence of protection of human rights. Abdic declared himself President of the 'Independent Republic of Western Bosnia'. |
| 28 July | 'RS' and 'RSK' both declared state of war on their enemies. |
| 29–30 July | Akashi talked to President Tudjman and 'President' Martić with the aim of averting a Croatian offensive against 'RSK'. |
| 1 August | NATO agreed to use theatre-wide air power to protect safe areas. |
| 3 August | UN-brokered talks in Geneva, between Croatian Government and 'RSK' leaders, broke down. |
| 4 August | Croatia launched Operation Storm, which rapidly retook Sectors North and South. The majority of Serbs fled via Bosnia into Serbia, where tens of thousands have settled in Vojvodina. Smaller numbers agreed to move to Kosovo. |
| 7 August | Bosnian Government forces gained control of Abdic's stronghold in the Bihac region. |
| 10 August | US President Clinton's National Security Adviser, Anthony Lake, began four-day trip to London, Bonn, Paris, Madrid, Rome, Moscow and Ankara to outline new US peace initiative, based on the existing Contact Group map. |
| 28 August | Bosnian Serb mortar attack killed 37 civilians in Sarajevo. |
| 29 August | 'RS' Assembly welcomed US initiative. |
| 30 August | NATO and RRF began air strikes on 'RS' military targets in response to 28 August mortar attack on Sarajevo. 'RS' and 'FRY' leaderships announced that joint negotiating team, led by President Milosevic who would have casting vote, would consider US peace plan. |
| 8 September | Bosnian, Croatian and 'FRY' Foreign Ministers met in Geneva and reached agreement on basic principles including 1) Bosnia-Hercegovina would continue its legal existence with its present borders and continuing international recognition; 2) it would consist of two entities, each with the right to establish parallel special relationships with neighbouring countries, consistent with the territorial integrity of Bosnia. |
| 14 September | 12-hour pause agreed in the NATO/RRF strike campaign to allow for US envoy Richard Holbrooke, Mladic and President Milosevic to conclude a 'Framework for a Cessation of Hostilities Agreement'. Strikes were suspended for 72 hours to allow withdrawal of Serb heavy weapons from Sarajevo exclusion zone. Within 24 hours, airport and humanitarian routes into city were to be opened; within 144 hours the weapons withdrawal was to be completed. |
| 22 September | Croatia revoked the refugee status of all persons from areas of Bosnia held by the Federation. |
| 26 September | Bosnian, Croatian and 'FRY' Foreign Ministers met in New York and agreed that Bosnia would have a central presidency, parliament and constitutional court. Parliament was to be composed of one-third 'RS' delegates and two- thirds Federation delegates. Within the presidency, voting would be by majority, but the results could be blocked by parliaments of the entities. Provision was made for holding internationally supervised elections. |
| 3 October | Attempt to assassinate President Kiro Gligorov of Macedonia. |
| 1–21 November | Bosnian, Croatian and 'FRY/RS' delegations, plus the Contact Group countries, met for talks in Dayton, Ohio. |
| 14 December | Signing of the Dayton Agreement in Paris. | |
