Prevlaka

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The cape Oštro on Prevlaka Peninsula

Prevlaka is a small peninsula in Croatia, at the entrance to the Bay of Kotor in the eastern Adriatic. The word prevlaka means isthmus. The cape Oštro, located at the tip of the peninsula is the southernmost point of mainland Croatia.

The peninsula was subject to a dispute between Croatia and Montenegro, mainly because of the strategic position and the proximity of a major naval base within the Bay of Kotor.

The dispute is in the process of resolution, following negotiations between Croatia and Montenegro. Montenegro has accepted that the territory is part of Croatia.

[edit] Arguments in the former dispute

Montenegro's arguments included:

Border definitions that place the territory within Montenegro:
- Maps from Austria-Hungary that say Punta d’Ostro is part of Castelnuovo (Herceg Novi) which is part of Cuttaro (Bay of Kotor)
- A declaration map from the partisans that shows it as being part of Montenegro
Serbs and Montenegrins allegedly made up half the population when it was inhabited.

Croatia's arguments include:

Border definitions that place the territory within Croatia:
- The maps of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, upheld by the Badinter commission in 1992
- Dubrovnik Republic bought Prevlaka (Oštro) from Big Sandalj Hranić (who was a nephew of Vlatko Vuković, the aforementioned participant of the Battle of Kosovo) in Šćepan Polje (Montenegro) in 1419

[edit] History

The peninsula, like the other parts of the Dubrovnik Republic, became part of the republic of Croatia after World War II, when Yugoslavia's internal divisions were redefined. Cape Oštro was the southernmost land point of the Socialist Republic of Croatia.

Vicinity of Prevlaka peninsula

During the Yugoslav wars that followed the breakup of Yugoslavia, the territory was occupied by Yugoslav forces like most of the Dubrovnik region in the siege of Dubrovnik. The Croatian army pushed them back at one point but they retained control over Prevlaka. The two sides agreed on the demilitarization of the peninsula and the UN Security Council resolution 779 of the October 6th 1992 extended the mandate of the UNPROFOR to the implementation of this agreement, together with the European Community Monitoring Mission.

The conflict was finally starting to get resolved in 1996 when the United Nations mediated the conflict and set up an observer mission (UNMOP) which oversaw the demilitarization and acted as a buffer.

The mission ended in December 2002 and the territory previously part of SR Croatia was returned to the Republic of Croatia. An agreement was signed by both sides five days before the departure of the UNMOP that demilitarized Prevlaka and effectively made it a neutral territory, though implementation is still not complete.