Harassment and Ethnic Cleansing in Western Slavonia by the Authorities of the Republic of Croatia

Part 5.
Part 1 is at this link.

CONCLUSION

In Western Slavonia, and specifically in the municipalities of Daruvar, Grubisino Polje, Nova Gradiska, Novska, Orahovica, Podravska Slatina and Slavonska Pozega, from early July 1991 until mid August 1992, the Croatian authorities have completely ethnically cleansed 193 settlements (10 urban and 183 village settlements), and after armed conflict in the Republic of Croatia was over, destroyed or burned down the majority of ethnic Serb owned houses. Partially ethnically cleansed were 87 village settlements, but as of this writing, that figure is not complete yet. Many partially ethnically cleansed settlements will soon be completely ethnically cleansed if the world community fails to force Croatian authorities to cease ethnic cleansing of its territories from ethnic Serbs. Notwithstanding that, the already completed ethnic cleansing has changed the ethnic map of the Republic of Croatia, and has therefore to a large extent completed the project of an ethnically pure Croatian state in which, as formulated in the Croatian national program from the close of XIX century, there is no place for ethnic Serb, Orthodox, population.

In Western Slavonia, according to data as of August 15, 1992, completely ethnically cleansed were 149 villages and partially cleansed were another 40 villages, all with an absolute ethnic Serb majority until then. On territories controlled by Croatian authorities there still remain 22 villages with a majority consisting of ethnic Serbs, which have not been completely or partially ethnically cleansed, or the Serbian Council Information Center has not gathered reliable data on their fate.

By the expulsion of ethnic Serb population, and by inhibiting the return of the refugees, ethnic Serbs are left without 26,285 hectares of privately owned land, while Yugoslavs are left without 3,952 hectares. This land is currently in part being used by the Croatian population, and in part remains unused. Croatian authorities are currently searching for some, any form of legal way to nationalize ethnic Serb owned land and to turn it over for use to the Croatian population. At this time, according to our data, two forms are being used: ethnic Serbs who were run off, since they had no opportunity to obtain the so-called country certificates (domovnice), are treated as foreigners and therefore loose the right to own land in the Republic of Croatia; the other option also currently used is to expropriate land from current owners on basis of unpaid real estate taxes, regardless of the fact that these people were run out of the country, that they are not allowed to return and that the tax authorities are not even trying to hand them tax notices and other papers. Land owners cannot complain of these practices because papers on expropriation are not given to them, so through no fault of their own they are missing legal time limits for submitting complaints.

Damages suffered by ethnic Serbs in Western Slavonia from destroyed property, which was generally destroyed out of war zones or after the war was over, is not likely ever to be realistically evaluated or compensated. It is hard to overlook the damages suffered by ethnic Serbs, mostly farmers, because they are unable to till their own private property and use privately owned forests, therefore producing no income from them. On that basis alone, depopulated ethnic Serbs from Western Slavonia are loosing some 45 million German marks equivalent annually.

In Western Slavonia, as throughout the Republic of Croatia within its internationally recognized borders, not ethnically cleansed are only those ethnic Serb territories which ethnic Serbs defended with weapons and those within the Serbian Republic of Krayina. Bearing in mind that all parts of the country controlled by Croatian authorities have been almost completely ethnically cleansed, the Republic of Croatia itself justified by using the practice of ethnic cleansing armed resistance of ethnic Serbs and the creation of the Serbian Republic of Krayina. On the territories of the Serbian Republic of Krayina, all ethnic Serb settlements have been saved from ethnic cleansing and at the same time, several tens of thousands of refugees from ethnically cleansed parts of Croatia have found safe haven in it.

The ethnic cleansing in Western Slavonia was conducted in a most brutal manner, including physical liquidation of ethnic Serbs and partial or total destruction of their private property. Only in this report, whose basic purpose is not to discuss crimes against ethnic Serbs in Western Slavonian municipalities, we have quoted cases of murdering 71 ethnic Serbs. Special reports, dealing exclusively with crimes against ethnic Serbs in the Republic of Croatia, will illustrate the full extent of brutality used by the Croatian authorities in resolving the ethnic Serb question in the Croatian state.

Serbian Information Council
Belgrade
October 31, 1992

Academician Pavle Ivic
Serbian Council President

Academician Vasilije Krestic
Serbian Council Information Center Board President

Professor Vojin S. Dabic, Ph.D.
Serbian Council Information Center Director

Report team:
Ema Miljkovic, B.A.
Ksenija Lukic
Dejan V. Veselinovic, B.Sc.

OUR NOTE:

At some point at the end of 1990's, one of the key people who assembled this valuable document, Professor Vojin S. Dabic, was caught by Croatian police and severely tortured. He barely survived. We do not know all the details.