The end of the peace process, after a two-year transitional administration under the United Nations, enabled the reconstruction of those areas destroyed in the Homeland War, the return of the exiled and refugees, and the reintegration of the economy and public services into the legal system of the Republic of Croatia.
The Erdut Agreement initiated the process of peaceful reintegration
After several meetings with representatives of local Serbs from the sub-Danube area, the beginning of reintegration was made possible by the signing of the Basic (Erdut) Agreement on Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Srijem on November 12, 1995 in Erdut and Zagreb.
The document was signed by the head of the Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia at the time, Hrvoje Šarinić, and the leader of the Serbian negotiating delegation Milan Milanović, and as witnesses the US ambassador to the Republic of Croatia at the time, Peter Galbraith, and the UN mediator Thorvald Stoltenberg.
The agreement provided for a transitional period of one year, which could be extended for a maximum of one more year, the establishment of a transitional UN administration and the deployment of international forces to maintain peace and security, as well as the establishment of temporary police forces. The agreement stipulated that the transitional administration would facilitate the return of the exiled and refugees and would organize elections for local authorities in the sub-Danube region.
The interim administrator was retired US General Jacques Paul Klein
The UN Security Council Resolution of January 15, 1996 established the UN Transitional Authority in Eastern Slavonia - UNTAES (UN Transitional Authority in Eastern Slavonia), and retired American general Jacques Paul Klein was appointed as the transitional administrator.
As a body for the implementation of peaceful reintegration, the Government of the Republic of Croatia established in Osijek the Office of the Provisional Administration for the Establishment of Croatian Government in Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Srijem, and Ivica Vrkić was appointed as its head.
The beginning of the return of the exiled was made possible by the deployment and withdrawal of all Serbian paramilitary units in June 1996, after which UNTAES took over control of all military facilities in the area.
From July 1, the transitional police began to operate, which in mid-December of the following year was included in the composition of the Interior Ministry of the Republic of Croatia.
Exhumation from the mass grave at Ovčara
During September and October 1996, an exhumation was carried out from the mass grave at Ovčara, near Vukovar, in which the remains of 200 victims, Croatian veterans and civilians taken from the Vukovar hospital and killed after the occupation of the city, were found.
That year, for All Saints Day, several thousand Croatian exiles were able to visit cemeteries in the area of the Croatian Danube under the supervision of UNTAES for the first time since exile in 1991.
With the return of the oil fields in Đeletovci to the INA system at the beginning of 1997, the reintegration of public companies and the economy in the Croatian Danube area began.
One of the key moments for the re-establishment of legal Croatian government in the Danube region was the holding of local elections for the municipal and city councils and assemblies of Osijek-Baranja and Vukovar-Srijem counties on April 13, 1997.
In May 1997, kuna becomes means of payment
The reintegration of the Croatian Danube into the payment system of the Republic of Croatia was carried out on May 19, 1997 by the decision of the interim administrator Jacques Klein to introduce the Croatian kuna as an official means of payment in that area.
In order to implement two-way return, six branches of the Office for Exiles and Refugees of the Government of the Republic of Croatia were opened, and on July 9, 1997, in Ilok, the head of that office, Lovre Pejković, handed over return cards to the mayor of Ilok at the time, Stipan Kraljević, and members of the City Administration, which officially started the process of the return of the exiled to the Croatian Danube region.
On August 1, 1997, Jacques Paul Klein was replaced by William Walker as interim administrator, by decision of the UN Secretary General.
In order to enable return and reconciliation in that area, in October 1997 the National Committee for the establishment of trust in the war-torn areas of Croatia was established, with the deputy head of the Office of the President at the time, Vesna Škare-Ožbolt, appointed as its president.
Train of peace in Vukovar
Croatian President Franjo Tuđman visited the Croatian Danube region several times during the peaceful reintegration, the first time on December 3, 1996, and then on June 8, 1997, when he arrived in Vukovar on the "Peace Train".
At that time, he pointed out that the arrival by train in Vukovar “is not only the beginning of the final return of the exiled, but also proof of the utmost concern of the Croatian authorities and all Croatian public institutions to rebuild this devastated area as soon as possible and to include it in the social, economic and cultural life of the Croatian homeland as soon as possible.”
President Tuđman also visited Beli Manastir on June 2, 1997, and the Osijek-Baranja County Assembly declared that date the day of that county.
During 1997, agreements were reached on reintegration of the postal, telecommunications, educational and health systems in the Croatian Danube region into the legal system of the Republic of Croatia.
Tuđman: By reaching their border on the Danube, the Croatian people confirmed their magnificent victory in the war imposed on them
The UN Security Council supported the completion of the mandate of the UNTAES mission within the stipulated time with a resolution of December 19, 1997, and on January 15, 1998, the completion of the peaceful reintegration of the Croatian Danube region was celebrated at ceremonies in the Borovo Naselje cinema and the day after in Zagreb.
At the ceremony in Borovo Naselje, the special envoy of the UN Secretary General, Bernard Miyet, assessed that the UNTAES mission successfully achieved its planned goals, and the interim administrator, William Walker, said that, despite some initial predictions about the failure of peaceful reintegration, peace reigned in the area and the majority of the population accepted the Croatian government.
At a gathering in Zagreb, President Tuđman said that "with the return of the Croatian Danube area to the official representatives of the Croatian government, the aggression against Croatia and the occupation of the last part of its territory have finally ended, and by reaching their border on the Danube, the Croatian people have confirmed their magnificent victory in the war imposed on them".
Source: HR
