Log Revolution
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The Log Revolution (Croatian: Balvan revolucija) was an incident which started from August 17, 1990 in areas of the Socialist Republic of Croatia which were populated significantly by ethnic Serbs.
The first democratic elections of Croatia, still within Yugoslavia, resulted in a victory for the pro-independence party of Franjo Tuđman. Tuđman's party, the Croatian Democratic Union, had already promulgated in their manifesto their intentions of recognising the non-Croatian population as minorities rather than constituent nations; and consequently, with Yugoslavia largely disfunctional, the social status of Croatia's Serbs had been inevitably demoted overnight. In an act of protest, the Croatian Serbs in the areas where they formed a majority, started to refuse authority to the new Croatian government.
Led by Milan Babić and Milan Martić, the local Serbs proclaimed SAO Kninska Krajina in August 1990 and began blockading roads connecting Dalmatia to the rest of Croatia. The blockade was mostly made from logs cut down from nearby woods, which is why the event was dubbed the "Log Revolution". Since it was done during the Summer and severed land ties to Dalmatia, high economic damage was done to Croatian tourism.
A year full of tension, including minor skirmishes, passed before these events would escalate into the Croatian War of Independence.
As a part of his plea bargain with the prosecution, Milan Babić testified against Martić during his ICTY trial, saying Martić "tricked him into agreeing to the Log Revolution". He also testified that the entire war in Croatia was "Martić's responsibility, orchestrated by Belgrade".[1]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Goran Jungvirth (2006-02-17). Martić “Provoked” Croatian Conflict. Institute for War and Peace Reporting. Retrieved on 2007-06-12.
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