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{{short description|Bloodless skirmish and first armed incident of the Croatian War of Independence}}
{{FixBunching|beg}}
{{good article}}
{{Infobox Military Conflict
{{Infobox military conflict
|conflict=Battle of Pakrac
| conflict = Pakrac clash
|image={{location map|Croatia|label=Pakrac|lat=45.4363889|long=17.1888889}}
| image = {{location map|Croatia|float=center|label=Pakrac|caption=|lat=45.4363889|long=17.1888889}}
|caption=
| caption = Location of Pakrac in Croatia
|partof=the ]
| partof = the ]
|place=town of ], central northern ]
| place = ], ], ]
|date=March 1–3, 1991
| date = 1–2 March 1991
|result= ]n victory <br> Croatian special police liberated the town of Pakrac from rebel Serbs
| result = ]
|combatant1={{flag|Croatia}} <br> Croatian special police
*] retake the town of Pakrac from Serb rebels
|combatant2=] rebel Serbs <br> ] ]
*'']'' restored by agreement
|commander1= Stjepan Kupsjak
| combatant1 = {{flag|SR Croatia|1991}}
|commander2= Jovo Vezmar
| combatant2 = {{flagicon|Serbian Krajina}} Rebel Serb insurgents<br />'''Supported by:'''<br />] ]
|strength1=
| commander1 = {{flagicon|SR Croatia|1991}} Marko Lukić<br>{{flagicon|SR Croatia|1991}} ]<br>{{flagicon|SR Croatia|1991}} Stjepan Kupsjak
|strength2=
| commander2 = {{flagicon|Serbian Krajina}} Jovo Vezmar<hr>] ]
|casualties1= 3 wounded
| units1 = {{flagicon image|Emblème de l'Antiteroristička jedinica Lučko (ATJ Lučko).svg|border=|size=20px}} ]<br>Omega special police company
|casualties2= 32 captured
| units2 = {{flagicon image|Patch of the Krajina Militia.svg|size=22px|border=}} ]<hr>] Armoured battalion of the 265th Mechanised Brigade
|}}
| strength1 = 200 special police troops
{{FixBunching|mid}}
| strength2 = Unknown
{{Campaignbox Croatian War of Independence}}
| casualties1 = None
{{FixBunching|end}}
| casualties2 = 180 rebels captured
| campaignbox = {{Campaignbox Croatian War of Independence}}
}}


The '''Pakrac clash''', known in ] as the '''Battle of Pakrac''' ({{langx|hr|Bitka za Pakrac}}), was a bloodless skirmish that took place in the Croatian town of ] in March 1991. The clash was a result of increasing ethnic tensions in Croatia during the ]. It was one of the first serious outbreaks of violence in what became the ].<ref name=NYT3Mar>{{harvnb|The New York Times|3 March 1991}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|The New York Times|4 March 1991}}</ref>
'''Battle of Pakrac''' is the battle that many consider as the beginning of ] against ] aggression.


The clash began after rebel Serbs seized the town's police station and municipal building and harassed Croatian government officials. The ] carried out a counterstrike against the rebels, sending ] ] to re-establish control. Fighting broke out between the two sides. Despite an attempted intervention by the ] (''Jugoslovenska Narodna Armija'' – JNA), the Croatian government reasserted its control over the town. After a standoff with the JNA, an agreement to pull out the special police and the JNA was reached, restoring the town to conditions before the Serb attempt to seize control of the police there.
The armed conflict between ] and ] took place on March 1, 1991. This was the first open armed conflict of Croatian regular forces with rebel Serbs.


==Background==
This day is annually commemorated in ] as anniversary of beginning of Homeland War in ].
{{See also|Log revolution}}
In 1990, following the ] of the government of the ] by the ] ({{langx|hr|Hrvatska demokratska zajednica}}, HDZ), ethnic tensions between ] and ] worsened. The ] (''Jugoslovenska Narodna Armija'' – JNA) confiscated Croatia's ] (''Teritorijalna obrana'' - TO) weapons to minimize resistance.<ref>{{harvnb|Hoare|2010|p=117}}</ref> On 17 August, the tensions escalated into an ] of the ],<ref name=Hoare118>{{harvnb|Hoare|2010|p=118}}</ref> centred on the predominantly Serb-populated areas of the ]n hinterland around Knin,<ref>{{harvnb|The New York Times|19 August 1990}}</ref> parts of the ], ], ], and ].<ref name=MarticICTY>{{harvnb|ICTY|12 June 2007}}</ref> The Croatian Serbs established the Serbian National Council in July 1990 to coordinate opposition to ] ]'s policy of pursuing ]. ], a dentist from the southern town of ], was elected president and Knin's police chief ] established paramilitary militias. The two men eventually became the political and military leaders of the ] (RSK), a self-declared state incorporating the Serb-inhabited areas of Croatia.<ref>{{harvnb|Repe|2009|pp=141–142}}</ref>


In the beginning of 1991, Croatia had no regular army. To bolster its defence, Croatia doubled ] to about 20,000. The most effective part of the force was ] deployed in twelve battalions adopting military organisation. There were also 9,000&ndash;10,000 regionally organised reserve police, which was organized in 16 battalions and 10 companies but lacked weapons.<ref name=BB86>{{harvnb|CIA|2002|p=86}}</ref> According to the ], Serbs were the largest ethnic group in the municipality of Pakrac (46.4%), followed by ] (35.8%).<ref>{{harvnb|Miškulin|2011|pp=356–357}}</ref> ] politician ] became the political leader of Croatian Serbs in western ].<ref>{{harvnb|Miškulin|2011|p=362}}</ref> He held a view that Serbs should secede from Croatia.<ref>{{harvnb|Miškulin|2011|p=365}}</ref>
== Chronology of events ==
=== Intro ===


On 22 February, the municipal council controlled by Džakula voted to join the ] (later renamed the RSK) and subordinate the Pakrac police station to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Krajina.<ref>{{harvnb|Miškulin|2011|p=377}}</ref> The vote was annulled by the ] on 28 February.<ref>{{harvnb|Miškulin|2011|p=378}}</ref>
The aim of Greater Serbian ideologists was to conquer the city of ]. According to their plans, that city was supposed to be the seat of ] for Western Slavonia.


==Timeline==
Things began to boil in the beginning of 1991. It all started with open Greater Serbian iconography. Greater Serbs drew the chetnik signs and hoisted ] flags all over the city. Night shooting was becoming something usual and after all that, they began putting the explosives under the houses of Croats.
]


In February 1991, Babić and Martić directed Serb paramilitaries to take over the town's police station and municipal buildings.<ref name="Ramet" /> On 1 March,<ref>{{harvnb|Repe|2009|p=141}}</ref> the paramilitaries disarmed the town's 16 Croatian policemen and subjected local Croatian officials to a campaign of vilification and intimidation.<ref name=NYT3Mar/><ref name="Ramet">{{harvnb|Ramet|2006|pp=384–385}}</ref> The police in Pakrac were commanded by Jovo Vezmar, who sided with Babić and Martić.<ref name=Policechiefs>{{harvnb|Glas Slavonije|20 February 2013}}</ref>
Next step was done by functionaries of Assembly of Community of Pakrac, which were mostly Serbs (much above their share in ethnic structure of Community of Pakrac). On February 22 1991 they voted for the annexation to the so-called SAO Krajina.


In response, President ] ordered the Croatian Interior Ministry to restore the government's authority over the town. At 04:30 on 2 March 1991, the first part of a 200-strong Croatian police force entered Pakrac.<ref name="Ramet" /> A ] of the "Omega" special police unit,<ref>{{harvnb|Karaula|2007|p=14}}</ref> dispatched from ], approached via the village of ], where a number of Croatian civilians followed the force towards Pakrac. A barricade outside Pakrac was cleared with no resistance, and the Croatian police secured the town's police station unopposed. Several hours later, shots were fired at the police station from a nearby hill by a force commanded by Vezmar. Soon afterwards, a second Croatian special police unit, the ], arrived from ]. Vezmar retreated east towards the villages of ] and ] on the ] Mountain.<ref name=Miskulun379>{{harvnb|Miškulin|2011|p=379}}</ref> The special police, commanded by ] and ], arrested 180 ethnic-Serb rebels, including 32 ethnic-Serb policemen, without either side sustaining deaths or injuries.<ref name="Ramet" /><ref name=Miskulin384>{{harvnb|Miškulin|2011|p=384}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Degoricija|2008|p=155}}</ref> Vezmar was replaced by Stjepan Kupsjak as the Pakrac police chief.<ref name=Policechiefs/>
At that time the chief of the local police (SUP) was Jovo Vezmar, person of Serb nationality. He was kept on that position for the reason of "peaceful coexistence".


The Croatian action prompted an intervention from the federal Yugoslav government. ], the ]n representative on the collective ], supported a request by Yugoslav Defence Minister ] to send the JNA to the scene.<ref name="Ramet" /> The first ten JNA tanks arrived in Pakrac late in the evening of 1 March and took positions in various parts of the town; most of them were stationed near the town hospital.<ref name=Miskulun379/> The next afternoon, an additional JNA unit led by Colonel ] arrived in Pakrac, taking positions close to the Croatian special police.<ref>{{harvnb|Miškulin|2011|pp=379–380}}</ref> Čeleketić was acting on the orders of Major General ], commander of the 32nd (]) Corps.<ref>{{harvnb|Miškulin|2011|p=382}}</ref> Cokić authorised deployment of three companies of the armoured battalion of the 265th Mechanised Brigade based in Bjelovar.<ref>{{harvnb|Miškulin|2011|p=381}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Karaula|2007|p=13}}</ref>
But, Serb politicians that incited the rebelion and annexation to Greater Serbia gave him the task to annex the Community of Pakrac to SAO Krajina. As a means to reach that goal, his task was to take over the control over Pakrac and local police station.


The arrival of JNA tanks in Pakrac came too late to stop the Croatian special police from retaking the town. However, it prompted the remaining Serb rebels to begin shooting at the town from the surrounding hills.<ref name="Ramet" /> Shots were fired at a police vehicle on patrol. The policemen shot back at men retreating towards a JNA position, and the JNA shot at the police vehicle in return.<ref name=Miskulin380>{{harvnb|Miškulin|2011|p=380}}</ref> The shooting ended when talks between Croatian member of the federal presidency ] and JNA Colonel ] produced an agreement that the Croatian police would be allowed to retain control of the town.<ref name="Ramet" /> The JNA planned to retake control of Pakrac from the special police by force. The attack, codenamed Pakrac-91, was cancelled when the Croatian authorities agreed to withdraw the special police by the evening of 3 March.<ref>{{harvnb|Miškulin|2011|pp=382–383}}</ref> The JNA withdrew from Pakrac following a decision of the Yugoslav Presidency,<ref>{{harvnb|Ahrens|2007|p=113}}</ref> abandoning the northern approaches to the town on 12 March, and pulling out completely seven days later.<ref name=Miskulin383>{{harvnb|Miškulin|2011|p=383}}</ref>
=== March 1 ===
On March 1 1991 he has ordered the mobilization of reserve police forces. He has mobilized exclusively Serbs. All the weapons that was designated exclusively for reserve police he gave exclusively to Serbs from Pakrac and neighbouring villages. Same night, from March 1 to March 2, by a method of swindle he has disarmed all policemen of Croat nationality (in total, 16 persons) and that way he took over the control over the police station.


==Aftermath==
Rebel Serbs have removed the flag of Republic of Croatia from the police station and the community building and replaced it with the flag of Republic of Serbia. Besides the latter, rebel Serbs have put also the chetnik flag on the community building.
The agreement to withdraw the special police and the JNA largely restored '']''.<ref name=Miskulin383/> 17 of the 32 arrested policemen returned to service by 5 March; charges were eventually filed against five, including Vezmar.<ref name=Miskulin384/> The incident had a lasting significance because it was the first serious skirmish in what would become the ]{{mdash}}a full-scale war between Croatia and its rebel Serb population supported by Serbia and the JNA.<ref name="Ramet" /> The Serbian government used the Pakrac clash to strengthen nationalist propaganda claims that Croatia was committing genocide against its Serb population. Up to 40 deaths from the clash were reported by Serbian and Montenegrin media outlets. In an indication of the confused and highly inaccurate nature of the reporting, the Belgrade daily newspaper '']'' reported on its front page that the town's ] priest had been killed, on its second page that he had been wounded, and on its third page it printed a statement from him. The Yugoslav presidency finally issued a statement that nobody had been killed in Pakrac.<ref>{{harvnb|Kurspahić|2003|p=72}}</ref>


In Serbia, the ruling ] (SPS), led by ], condemned the Croatian police action as a "brutal attack by the Croatian government on the population of Pakrac violent and fascist methods"{{mdash}}a statement that was carried prominently by the state-controlled ]. The SPS urged Serbs to attend "protest meetings against the violent behaviour of the Croatian HDZ government".<ref>{{harvnb|Gordy|2010|loc=p. 38, note 37}}</ref> Milošević used the Pakrac clash to demand that the JNA be authorised to forcibly disarm Croatia.<ref name=Kaufman>{{harvnb|Kaufman|2001|pp=189–190}}</ref> The request, specifically demanding the granting of wartime powers to the JNA and the introduction of a state of emergency, was made through Kadijević at a Presidency session of 11&ndash;15 May.<ref>{{harvnb|Mesić|2004|pp=51–55}}</ref> The request was refused, and Milošević declared that he no longer recognised the authority of the federal presidency.<ref name=Kaufman/>
Then ] (JNA) has involved into Serb rebelion. A column of 10 tanks set off from the JNA garrison in ] towards ]. It passed through Pakrac around 22:30.


The police intervention prompted Serb political leaders in ] to urge the local population to erect barricades around the town in to pre-empt another intervention&mdash;stating that police forces were moving in from ] and ]. The barricades were guarded by armed civilians.<ref name=Miskulin380/> In Pakrac, approximately 500 Serb protesters gathered in front of the municipal council building to the demand the removal of the ].<ref>{{harvnb|Miškulin|2011|pp=380–381}}</ref>
=== March 2 ===
Croatian reaction followed next day, March 2. The troops of ] forces of Republic of Croatia set off from Bjelovar. Their first action was removing the barricades from the road to ]. Early in the morning they arrived in Pakrac. When they've reached the city center, rebel Serb policemen from the positions on the Kalvarija hill started shooting on them from the infantry weapons.


==Footnotes==
Croatian special police responded and short fighting followed, in which they took the victory. They've captured 32 rebel policemen, liberated the police station and removed Serb flags from the Croatian official buildings and restored the flags of Republic of Croatia. Rebel Serb policemen were taken to Bjelovar and in Pakrac the public order and peace was restored.
{{reflist|20em}}


==References==
Rebel commander was deposed from duty and police station got new commander, Stjepan Kupsjak.
;Books
{{refbegin|60em}}
*{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b3fLRcHYSVAC|title=Diplomacy on the Edge: Containment of Ethnic Conflict and the Minorities Working Group of the Conferences on Yugoslavia|first=Geert-Hinrich|last=Ahrens|publisher=]|location=Washington, D.C.|isbn= 978-0-8018-8557-0|year=2007}}
*{{cite book|ref={{harvid|CIA|2002}}|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=it1IAQAAIAAJ|title=Balkan Battlegrounds: A Military History of the Yugoslav Conflict, 1990–1995|publisher=Central Intelligence Agency|author=], Office of Russian and European Analysis|year=2002|oclc=50396958|location=Washington, D.C.|isbn = 9780160664724}}
*{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DQsWAQAAMAAJ|title=Nije bilo uzalud|trans-title=It Was not in Vain|language=Croatian|first=Slavko|last=Degoricija|publisher=ITG|location=Zagreb, Croatia|year=2008|isbn= 978-953-7167-17-2}}
*{{cite book|last=Gordy|first=Eric D.|title=The Culture of Power in Serbia: Nationalism and the Destruction of Alternative|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6ccXASlIcGgC|publisher=]|location=University Park, Pennsylvania|year=2010|isbn=978-0-271-04368-5}}
*{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oFXdiS25N78C|editor-first=Sabrina P.|editor-last=Ramet|title=Central and Southeast European Politics Since 1989|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2010|isbn=978-1-139-48750-4|chapter=The War of Yugoslav Succession|first=Marko Attila|last=Hoare|pages=111–136|location=Cambridge, England}}
*{{cite book|last=Kaufman|first=Stuart J.|title=Modern Hatreds: The Symbolic Politics of Ethnic War|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2Plw98pTk5wC|publisher=]|location=Ithaca, New York|year=2001|isbn=978-0-8014-8736-1}}
*{{cite book|last=Kurspahić|first=Kemal|title=Prime Time Crime: Balkan Media in War and Peace|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dyN2xrDAE98C|publisher=]|location=Washington, D.C.|year=2003|isbn=978-1-929223-39-8}}
*{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mButzsYUurkC|title=The Demise of Yugoslavia: A Political Memoir|first=Stjepan|last=Mesić|publisher=]|location=Budapest, Hungary|year=2004|isbn=978-963-9241-81-7}}
*{{cite book|last=Ramet|first=Sabrina P.|title=The Three Yugoslavias: State-building and Legitimation, 1918–2005|publisher=]|location=Bloomington, Indiana|year=2006|isbn=978-0-253-34656-8}}
*{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1QbX90fmCVUC|first=Božo|last=Repe|editor-first=David P.|editor-last=Forsythe|title=Encyclopedia of Human Rights, Volume 1|chapter=Balkan Wars|publisher=]|location=Oxford, England|year=2009|isbn=978-0-19-533402-9|pages=138–147}}
{{refend}}


;Scientific journal articles
That very same day, in the afternoon around 16:00 in Pakrac have come high Croatian officials, Vice President of Presidency of SFR Yugoslavia ] and President of Council of Communities of Sabor of Republic of Croatia, ].
{{refbegin|60em}}
*{{cite journal|journal=Journal of Contemporary History|publisher=Croatian Institute of History|issn=0590-9597|title=Osvajanje vojarne JNA "Božidar Adžija" u Bjelovaru 1991. godine|language=Croatian|trans-title=Capture of "Božidar Adžija" JNA Barracks in Bjelovar in 1991|first=Željko|last=Karaula|volume=39|issue=1|date=June 2007|url=http://hrcak.srce.hr/index.php?show=clanak&id_clanak_jezik=24487|pages=7–24}}
*{{cite journal|url=http://hrcak.srce.hr/index.php?show=clanak&id_clanak_jezik=116217&lang=en|journal=Scrinia Slavonica|publisher=Hrvatski institut za povijest - Podružnica za povijest Slavonije, Srijema i Baranje|issn=1332-4853|first=Ivica|last=Miškulin|volume=11|issue=1|date=October 2011|title=Srpska pobuna u općini Pakrac 1990.-1991.: uzroci, nositelji i tijek|trans-title=Serb Revolt in Pakrac Municipality 1990 - 1991: Causes, Champions and Course|language=Croatian|pages=355–392}}
{{refend}}


;News reports
Croatian troops soon found out that rebel Serbs are preparing now and stronger attack on police station for the very same night. In order to defend Pakrac and to prevent the Greater Serbs in their attempt to retake the station, two buses of Croatian policemen set out towards Pakrac. They've arrived in Pakrac around 18:00. As soon as they've got out of the buses, strong rifle fire poured over Croatian policemen from the positions from surrounding hills and from machine gun from the tower of the Orthodox church.
{{refbegin|60em}}
*{{cite news|ref={{harvid|The New York Times|3 March 1991}}|newspaper=]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/03/03/world/belgrade-sends-troops-to-croatia-town.html|first=Stephen|last=Engelberg|title=Belgrade Sends Troops to Croatia Town|date=3 March 1991|archive-date=2 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131002222925/http://www.nytimes.com/1991/03/03/world/belgrade-sends-troops-to-croatia-town.html|url-status=live}}
*{{cite news|ref={{harvid|The New York Times|4 March 1991}}|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/03/04/world/serb-croat-showdown-in-one-village-square.html|title=Serb-Croat Showdown in One Village Square|first=Stephen|last=Engelberg|date=4 March 1991|archive-date=14 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130614225834/http://www.nytimes.com/1991/03/04/world/serb-croat-showdown-in-one-village-square.html|url-status=live}}
*{{cite news|ref={{harvid|Glas Slavonije|20 February 2013}}|newspaper=]|url=http://www.glas-slavonije.hr/190455/1/Pakrac-poziva-branitelje-na-dvadeset-i-drugu-obljetnicu-pocetka-rata|language=Croatian|title=Pakrac poziva branitelje na dvadeset i drugu obljetnicu početka rata|trans-title=Pakrac Invites Soldiers for the Twenty-Second Anniversary of the Start of the War|date=20 February 2013|first=Eduard|last=Soudil|archive-date=30 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131130141158/http://www.glas-slavonije.hr/190455/1/Pakrac-poziva-branitelje-na-dvadeset-i-drugu-obljetnicu-pocetka-rata|url-status=live}}
*{{cite news|ref={{harvid|The New York Times|19 August 1990}}|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/08/19/world/roads-sealed-as-yugoslav-unrest-mounts.html|agency=]|title=Roads Sealed as Yugoslav Unrest Mounts|date=19 August 1990|archive-date=21 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921063029/http://www.nytimes.com/1990/08/19/world/roads-sealed-as-yugoslav-unrest-mounts.html|url-status=live}}
{{refend}}


;Other sources
After Mesić and Degoricija ended their visit, rebel Serbs began shooting from the Kalvarija hill on the Pakrac. Rebel Serb attack on Pakrac and the clash of Croatian police with rebels lasted whole night.
{{refbegin|60em}}
*{{cite web|ref={{harvid|ICTY|12 June 2007}}|title=The Prosecutor vs. Milan Martic – Judgement|url=http://www.icty.org/x/cases/martic/tjug/en/070612.pdf|publisher=]|date=12 June 2007}}
{{refend}}


{{Coord|45.438|17.19|display=title}}
=== March 3 ===
In the morning after the clashes, rebel Serbs fleed in the woods or to the villages whome the approach was with the barricades set by rebel Serbs.


{{Wars and battles involving Croatia}}
Armoured unit of JNA went to help the the rebels Serbs, but it came too late in the Pakrac so it couldn't prevent the reaction of Croatian police. Though, passing through the city had other purpose: demonstration of force by driving through the city streets, intimidate Croats and encourage Greater Serbs.
{{Wars and battles involving Serbs}}

{{Yugoslav wars}}
A meeting was held on the local football playground in the presence of Stjepan Mesić (Vice President of Presidency of SFRY), ] (Minister of Interior of RH), ] (Vice President of Croatian government), ] and ] (the representatives of Presidency of SFRY), ] (Minister of Interior of SFRY) and ], Commander of 5th Army District. The conclusion was to restore the things as they were before the March 1.

== Balance of attack ==
After the attack of rebel Serbs on Pakrac and clash with them, Croatian police had three wounded.

], the former President of ] (for the area of Western Slavonia) in his testimony that he gave somewhat later, in July 1991 he personally got the death threat from the Serb police chief, Jovo Vezmar, "''because of passivization of Serbs in Western Slavonia and because it still no war took place''") ("''pasiviziranja Srba u zapadnoj Slavoniji i zato što još nije došlo do rata''") <ref>{{hr icon}} Nisu htjeli pregovore već prekid odnosa, January 17, 2006 (])</ref><ref>{{hr icon}} Đakula prvi svjedočio protiv Martića, January 17, 2006, accessed December 28 2009</ref>.

===References===
* {{hr icon}} Marijan Pinhak: ''Pakrac ne zaboravlja'', Hrvatsko slovo, March 13, 2009, p. 8-9
* {{hr icon}} Zdravko Sever: ''Obljetnica Domovinskog rata: Specijalci rastjerali pobunjene Srbe'', March 2, 2005, p. 7
{{Reflist}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Pakrac clash}}
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Latest revision as of 12:31, 14 November 2024

Bloodless skirmish and first armed incident of the Croatian War of Independence

Pakrac clash
Part of the Croatian War of Independence
Pakrac is located in CroatiaPakracPakrac
Location of Pakrac in Croatia
Date1–2 March 1991
LocationPakrac, Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia
Result

Status quo ante bellum

Belligerents
 SR Croatia Republic of Serbian Krajina Rebel Serb insurgents
Supported by:
Yugoslavia SFR Yugoslavia
Commanders and leaders
Socialist Republic of Croatia Marko Lukić
Socialist Republic of Croatia Mladen Markač
Socialist Republic of Croatia Stjepan Kupsjak		 Republic of Serbian Krajina Jovo Vezmar
Yugoslavia Milan Čeleketić
Units involved
Lučko Anti-Terrorist Unit
Omega special police company		 Krajina Militia
Yugoslavia Armoured battalion of the 265th Mechanised Brigade
Strength
200 special police troops Unknown
Casualties and losses
None 180 rebels captured
Croatian War
of Independence
1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

  • Timeline of all major events
  • Log Revolution
  • Events in Serbia

    • The Pakrac clash, known in Croatia as the Battle of Pakrac (Croatian: Bitka za Pakrac), was a bloodless skirmish that took place in the Croatian town of Pakrac in March 1991. The clash was a result of increasing ethnic tensions in Croatia during the breakup of Yugoslavia. It was one of the first serious outbreaks of violence in what became the Croatian War of Independence.

    The clash began after rebel Serbs seized the town's police station and municipal building and harassed Croatian government officials. The Croatian government carried out a counterstrike against the rebels, sending Interior Ministry special police to re-establish control. Fighting broke out between the two sides. Despite an attempted intervention by the Yugoslav People's Army (Jugoslovenska Narodna Armija – JNA), the Croatian government reasserted its control over the town. After a standoff with the JNA, an agreement to pull out the special police and the JNA was reached, restoring the town to conditions before the Serb attempt to seize control of the police there.

    Background

    See also: Log revolution

    In 1990, following the electoral defeat of the government of the Socialist Republic of Croatia by the Croatian Democratic Union (Croatian: Hrvatska demokratska zajednica, HDZ), ethnic tensions between Croats and Serbs worsened. The Yugoslav People's Army (Jugoslovenska Narodna Armija – JNA) confiscated Croatia's Territorial Defence (Teritorijalna obrana - TO) weapons to minimize resistance. On 17 August, the tensions escalated into an open revolt of the Croatian Serbs, centred on the predominantly Serb-populated areas of the Dalmatian hinterland around Knin, parts of the Lika, Kordun, Banovina, and eastern Croatia. The Croatian Serbs established the Serbian National Council in July 1990 to coordinate opposition to Croatian President Franjo Tuđman's policy of pursuing independence. Milan Babić, a dentist from the southern town of Knin, was elected president and Knin's police chief Milan Martić established paramilitary militias. The two men eventually became the political and military leaders of the Republic of Serb Krajina (RSK), a self-declared state incorporating the Serb-inhabited areas of Croatia.

    In the beginning of 1991, Croatia had no regular army. To bolster its defence, Croatia doubled police personnel to about 20,000. The most effective part of the force was 3,000-strong special police deployed in twelve battalions adopting military organisation. There were also 9,000–10,000 regionally organised reserve police, which was organized in 16 battalions and 10 companies but lacked weapons. According to the Croatian 1991 census, Serbs were the largest ethnic group in the municipality of Pakrac (46.4%), followed by Croats (35.8%). Serb Democratic Party politician Veljko Džakula became the political leader of Croatian Serbs in western Slavonia. He held a view that Serbs should secede from Croatia.

    On 22 February, the municipal council controlled by Džakula voted to join the Serbian Autonomous Oblast of Krajina (later renamed the RSK) and subordinate the Pakrac police station to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Krajina. The vote was annulled by the Constitutional Court of Croatia on 28 February.

    Timeline

    Croatian special police at the Pakrac police station, 2 March 1991

    In February 1991, Babić and Martić directed Serb paramilitaries to take over the town's police station and municipal buildings. On 1 March, the paramilitaries disarmed the town's 16 Croatian policemen and subjected local Croatian officials to a campaign of vilification and intimidation. The police in Pakrac were commanded by Jovo Vezmar, who sided with Babić and Martić.

    In response, President Franjo Tuđman ordered the Croatian Interior Ministry to restore the government's authority over the town. At 04:30 on 2 March 1991, the first part of a 200-strong Croatian police force entered Pakrac. A company of the "Omega" special police unit, dispatched from Bjelovar, approached via the village of Badljevina, where a number of Croatian civilians followed the force towards Pakrac. A barricade outside Pakrac was cleared with no resistance, and the Croatian police secured the town's police station unopposed. Several hours later, shots were fired at the police station from a nearby hill by a force commanded by Vezmar. Soon afterwards, a second Croatian special police unit, the Lučko Anti-Terrorist Unit, arrived from Zagreb. Vezmar retreated east towards the villages of Šeovica and Bučje on the Psunj Mountain. The special police, commanded by Marko Lukić and Mladen Markač, arrested 180 ethnic-Serb rebels, including 32 ethnic-Serb policemen, without either side sustaining deaths or injuries. Vezmar was replaced by Stjepan Kupsjak as the Pakrac police chief.

    The Croatian action prompted an intervention from the federal Yugoslav government. Borisav Jović, the Serbian representative on the collective Presidency of Yugoslavia, supported a request by Yugoslav Defence Minister Veljko Kadijević to send the JNA to the scene. The first ten JNA tanks arrived in Pakrac late in the evening of 1 March and took positions in various parts of the town; most of them were stationed near the town hospital. The next afternoon, an additional JNA unit led by Colonel Milan Čeleketić arrived in Pakrac, taking positions close to the Croatian special police. Čeleketić was acting on the orders of Major General Jevrem Cokić, commander of the 32nd (Varaždin) Corps. Cokić authorised deployment of three companies of the armoured battalion of the 265th Mechanised Brigade based in Bjelovar.

    The arrival of JNA tanks in Pakrac came too late to stop the Croatian special police from retaking the town. However, it prompted the remaining Serb rebels to begin shooting at the town from the surrounding hills. Shots were fired at a police vehicle on patrol. The policemen shot back at men retreating towards a JNA position, and the JNA shot at the police vehicle in return. The shooting ended when talks between Croatian member of the federal presidency Stjepan Mesić and JNA Colonel Aleksandar Vasiljević produced an agreement that the Croatian police would be allowed to retain control of the town. The JNA planned to retake control of Pakrac from the special police by force. The attack, codenamed Pakrac-91, was cancelled when the Croatian authorities agreed to withdraw the special police by the evening of 3 March. The JNA withdrew from Pakrac following a decision of the Yugoslav Presidency, abandoning the northern approaches to the town on 12 March, and pulling out completely seven days later.

    Aftermath

    The agreement to withdraw the special police and the JNA largely restored status quo ante bellum. 17 of the 32 arrested policemen returned to service by 5 March; charges were eventually filed against five, including Vezmar. The incident had a lasting significance because it was the first serious skirmish in what would become the Croatian War of Independence—a full-scale war between Croatia and its rebel Serb population supported by Serbia and the JNA. The Serbian government used the Pakrac clash to strengthen nationalist propaganda claims that Croatia was committing genocide against its Serb population. Up to 40 deaths from the clash were reported by Serbian and Montenegrin media outlets. In an indication of the confused and highly inaccurate nature of the reporting, the Belgrade daily newspaper Večernje novosti reported on its front page that the town's Orthodox priest had been killed, on its second page that he had been wounded, and on its third page it printed a statement from him. The Yugoslav presidency finally issued a statement that nobody had been killed in Pakrac.

    In Serbia, the ruling Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), led by Slobodan Milošević, condemned the Croatian police action as a "brutal attack by the Croatian government on the population of Pakrac violent and fascist methods"—a statement that was carried prominently by the state-controlled Radio Television Belgrade. The SPS urged Serbs to attend "protest meetings against the violent behaviour of the Croatian HDZ government". Milošević used the Pakrac clash to demand that the JNA be authorised to forcibly disarm Croatia. The request, specifically demanding the granting of wartime powers to the JNA and the introduction of a state of emergency, was made through Kadijević at a Presidency session of 11–15 May. The request was refused, and Milošević declared that he no longer recognised the authority of the federal presidency.

    The police intervention prompted Serb political leaders in Okučani to urge the local population to erect barricades around the town in to pre-empt another intervention—stating that police forces were moving in from Kutina and Novska. The barricades were guarded by armed civilians. In Pakrac, approximately 500 Serb protesters gathered in front of the municipal council building to the demand the removal of the flag of Croatia.

    Footnotes

    1. ^ The New York Times & 3 March 1991
    2. The New York Times & 4 March 1991
    3. Hoare 2010, p. 117
    4. Hoare 2010, p. 118
    5. The New York Times & 19 August 1990
    6. ICTY & 12 June 2007
    7. Repe 2009, pp. 141–142
    8. CIA 2002, p. 86
    9. Miškulin 2011, pp. 356–357
    10. Miškulin 2011, p. 362
    11. Miškulin 2011, p. 365
    12. Miškulin 2011, p. 377
    13. Miškulin 2011, p. 378
    14. ^ Ramet 2006, pp. 384–385
    15. Repe 2009, p. 141
    16. ^ Glas Slavonije & 20 February 2013
    17. Karaula 2007, p. 14
    18. ^ Miškulin 2011, p. 379
    19. ^ Miškulin 2011, p. 384
    20. Degoricija 2008, p. 155
    21. Miškulin 2011, pp. 379–380
    22. Miškulin 2011, p. 382
    23. Miškulin 2011, p. 381
    24. Karaula 2007, p. 13
    25. ^ Miškulin 2011, p. 380
    26. Miškulin 2011, pp. 382–383
    27. Ahrens 2007, p. 113
    28. ^ Miškulin 2011, p. 383
    29. Kurspahić 2003, p. 72
    30. Gordy 2010, p. 38, note 37
    31. ^ Kaufman 2001, pp. 189–190
    32. Mesić 2004, pp. 51–55
    33. Miškulin 2011, pp. 380–381

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