- Log Revolution
The Log Revolution ( _hr. Balvan revolucija) was an incident which started from
August 17 ,1990 in areas of theSocialist 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, theCroatian 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 andMilan Martić , the local Serbs proclaimedSAO Kninska Krajina in August 1990 and began blockading roads connectingDalmatia 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 hisICTY 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 byBelgrade ". [cite web
url=http://www.iwpr.net/?p=tri&s=f&o=259675&apc_state=henftri259753
title=Martić “Provoked” Croatian Conflict
accessdate=2007-06-12
author=Goran Jungvirth
date=2006-02-17
publisher=Institute for War and Peace Reporting ]ee also
*
Breakup of Yugoslavia
*Špegelj Tapes References
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