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Serbian Autonomous Oblast of Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia     Srpska autonomna oblast Istočna Slavonija, Baranja i Zapadni Srijem (hr) Српска аутономна област Источна Славонија, Барања и Западни Срем (sr-cyr) Srpska autonomna oblast Istočna Slavonija, Baranja i Zapadni Srem (sr-lat)
1991–1992
Flag Coat of arms
Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia (cyan)
Status	Self-proclaimed insurgent entity
Capital	Vukovar
Government	Interim authority
Speaker of the People's Assembly
• 1991–1992	Ilija Končarević
Historical era	Breakup of Yugoslavia
• Broke away from Croatia	25 June 1991
• Incorporated into the Republic of Serbian Krajina	26 February 1992
Currency	Krajina dinar
ISO 3166 code	HR
Preceded by Succeeded by Socialist Republic of Croatia Republic of Serbian Krajina
Sources: www.worldstatesmen.org

Part of a series on the
History of Slavonia
Antiquity Illyria Pannonia Municipium Iasorum
Medieval Gepids Avar Khaganate Pannonian Croatia Kingdom of Croatia (925–1102) Ban of Slavonia Realm of Ugrin Csák Kingdom of Croatia (1102–1526)
Ottoman Empire Hundred Years' Croatian–Ottoman War Sanjak of Pojega Sanjak of Pakrac Sanjak of Syrmia Great Turkish War
Habsburg Monarchy Kingdom of Slavonia Slavonian Military Frontier Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia
20th century Sava Banovina Banovina of Croatia
Croatian War of Independence Battle of Vukovar Battle of Osijek Operation Flash Erdut Agreement
v t e

The Serbian Autonomous Oblast of Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia (Croatian: Srpska autonomna oblast Istočna Slavonija, Baranja i Zapadni Srijem; Serbian: Српска аутономна област Источна Славонија, Барања и Западни Срем / Srpska autonomna oblast Istočna Slavonija, Baranja i Zapadni Srem) was a self-proclaimed Serbian Autonomous Oblast (SAO) in eastern Croatia, established during the Yugoslav Wars. It was one of three SAOs proclaimed on the territory of Croatia. The oblast included parts of the geographical regions of Slavonia, Baranja and Syrmia.

The entity was formed on June 25, 1991, the same day the Socialist Republic of Croatia decided to withdraw from Yugoslavia, following the Croatian independence referendum, 1991. In the first phase of the Croatian War of Independence, in 1992, the oblast joined the breakaway Republic of Serbian Krajina (RSK). After the fall of Republic of Serbian Krajina in 1995, there was a short-lived Serb parallel entity Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia that existed in the same area and was reintegrated with the rest of country after the signing of Erdut Agreement and the end of the United Nations Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium in 1998.

History

On January 7, 1991 a group of political leaders of local Serbs from eastern regions of Croatia decided to create a regional political body, called the "Serbian National Council of Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia". The SAO Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia was declared on June 25, 1991, and on June 26 its first president was declared to be Goran Hadžić. Like the SAO Krajina, it was developed by the Serbian National Council, but was the one representing Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia.

Initially, it was a separate Serb autonomous region (oblast), but it subsequently joined the Republic of Serbian Krajina (RSK) in February 1992.^[1] Its borders were established by the end of 1991 as entrenched front lines of the first phase of the Croatian War of Independence. Up to August 1995, Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia was de facto part of the Republic of Serbian Krajina, while de jure still part of Croatia, per United Nations Security Council Resolution 753. The region did not have its own local/regional administration within the RSK.

Geography

The territory of the former SAO Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia was part of the Central European Pannonian Basin. The eastern border of the oblast was mostly the Danube river, while approximately one third of the western border was the Drava river. The Kopački rit natural preserve located near the confluence of Drava and Danube formed a major geographical barrier - there were no road or rail connections between Baranja and the southern parts of the territory, except through Serbia.

Other boundaries were not natural boundaries: the border with Hungary in the north had existed since the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, the eastern border with FR Yugoslavia partly existed since the Kingdom of Slavonia (on the Danube) and was partly set with the formation of SFR Yugoslavia, while the border with the rest of Croatia in the west and south was formed after the fronts were settled in the first phase of the Croatian War of Independence.

Eastern Slavonia is a mostly flat area, with the best type of soil where agriculture is highly developed, particularly on wheat fields, and it also has several forests as well as vineyards.

The Đeletovci Oil fields are located between the villages of Đeletovci, Banovci and Nijemci.

Traffic over the Brotherhood and Unity Highway (today the A3) was interrupted with the formation of the ESBWS. The water transport over the Danube river continued unobstructed. The Drava river was not navigated at the time. The railway line between Zagreb and Belgrade and the transport between the Budapest and Sarajevo passing through the area were also closed.

Population

The population of this area was ethnically mixed. Before the war, the total population of the area numbered 192,163 inhabitants, and was composed of:

• 90,454 (47%) Croats,


• 61,492 (32%) Serbs, and


• 40,217 (21%) others (Hungarians, Roma, Yugoslavs, Germans, Rusyns, Slovaks, etc.).

During the Croatian War of Independence, 109,500 Serbs lived in this area out of a total of 160,000.^{[2][better source needed]} which means that the number of Serbs living there has almost doubled while the general population has decreased

War crimes charges brought by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia against Croatian Serb leader in the region, Goran Hadžić, indicate that virtually all Croat and other non-Serb population of the region was either killed, deported or otherwise forcibly removed from the area.^[3]

Municipalities and Inhabited places

During the existence of the Republic of Serbian Krajina, the region was divided into five municipalities:

• 
  Beli Manastir (in Baranja),


• 
  Dalj and Tenja (in eastern Slavonia), and


• 
  Vukovar and Mirkovci (in western Syrmia).

The main cities in the area were Vukovar and Beli Manastir. Other important places included Borovo Selo, Darda, Dalj, Ilok, and Tenja.

Legacy

After the RSK's demise in August 1995, the region was reconstituted again as Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia (1995-1998).

Following the November 1995 Erdut Agreement, it was subsequently controlled by the United Nations Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium

Today the ethnic Serb interests in the region are advocated by the Joint Council of Municipalities.

See also

• Croatian War of Independence


• Breakup of Yugoslavia


• Republic of Serbian Krajina


• Serbian Autonomous Oblasts


• SAO Kninska Krajina


• SAO Western Slavonia


• Socialist Republic of Croatia

Further reading

• The Thorny Issue of Ethnic Autonomy in Croatia: Serb Leaders and Proposals for Autonomy, Nina Caspersen,^[4]London School of Economics and Political Science (http://www.ecmi.de/fileadmin/downloads/publications/JEMIE/2003/nr3/Focus3-2003_Caspersen.pdf)

External links

• Map


• Map


• Map


• Map

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia.

v t e Timeline of Yugoslav statehood
	Pre–1918	1918–1929	1929–1945	1941–1945	1945–1946	1946–1963	1963–1992	1992–2003	2003–2006	2006–2008	2008–
Slovenia	Part of Austria-Hungary including the Bay of Kotor See also Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia 1868–1918 Kingdom of Dalmatia 1815–1918 Condominium of Bosnia and Herzegovina 1878–1918	Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (1918–1929) Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1929–1945) See also State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs 1918 Republic of Prekmurje 1919 Banat, Bačka and Baranja 1918–1919 Free State of Fiume 1920–1924 1924–1945 Italian province of Zadar 1920–1947		Annexed bya Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany	Democratic Federal Yugoslavia 1945–1946 Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia 1946–1963 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 1963–1992 Consisted of the Socialist Republics of Slovenia (1945–1991) Croatia (1945–1991) Bosnia and Herzegovina (1945–1992) Serbia (1945–1992) (included the autonomous provinces of Vojvodina and Kosovo) Montenegro (1945–1992) Macedonia (1945–1991) See also Free Territory of Trieste (1947–1954) j			Republic of Slovenia Ten-Day War
Dalmatia				Independent State of Croatia 1941–1945 Puppet state of Nazi Germany. Parts annexed by Fascist Italy. Međimurje and Baranja annexed by Hungary.				Republic of Croatiab Croatian War of Independence
Slavonia
Croatia
Bosnia								Bosnia and Herzegovinac Bosnian War Consists of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (1995–present), Republika Srpska (1995–present) and Brčko District (2000–present).
Herzegovina
Vojvodina	Part of the Délvidék region of Hungary			Autonomous Banatd (part of the German Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia)				Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Consisted of the Republic of Serbia (1992–2006) and Republic of Montenegro (1992–2006)	State Union of Serbia and Montenegro	Republic of Serbia Included the autonomous provinces of Vojvodina and, under UN administration, Kosovo and Metohija	Republic of Serbia Includes the autonomous province of Vojvodina
Serbia	Kingdom of Serbia 1882–1918			Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia 1941–1944 e
Kosovo	Part of the Kingdom of Serbia 1912–1918			Mostly annexed by Albania 1941–1944 along with western Macedonia and south-eastern Montenegro							Republic of Kosovog
Metohija	Kingdom of Montenegro 1910–1918 Metohija controlled by Austria-Hungary 1915–1918
Montenegro				Protectorate of Montenegrof 1941–1944						Montenegro
North Macedonia	Part of the Kingdom of Serbia 1912–1918			Annexed by the Kingdom of Bulgaria 1941–1944				Republic of North Macedoniah
aPrekmurje annexed by Hungary. b See also SAO Kninska Krajina (1990) → SAO Krajina (1990–1991); and SAO Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia (1990–1991), SAO Western Slavonia (1990–1991) and the Republic of Serbian Krajina (1990–1995), all replaced by the UN Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium (1996–1998). c See also Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina; Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia; and the Serbian Autonomous Oblasts (SAOs) of Bosanska Krajina, North-East Bosnia, Romanija and Herzegovina (1991–1992), which all combined to form the Serbian Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (1992–1995). dBačka was reannexed by Hungary (1941–1944), while Syrmia was annexed by the Independent State of Croatia (1941–1944). e See also Republic of Užice. f Annexed by Fascist Italy (1941–1943) and Nazi Germany (1943–1944). Smaller part annexed by the Independent State of Croatia (1941–1944).							g Kosovo is the subject of a territorial dispute between the Republic of Kosovo and the Republic of Serbia. The Republic of Kosovo unilaterally declared independence on 17 February 2008, but Serbia continues to claim it as part of its own sovereign territory. The two governments began to normalise relations in 2013, as part of the Brussels Agreement. Kosovo is recognized as an independent state by 103 out of 193 United Nations member states. h North Macedonia was known as the Republic of Macedonia until 2019. It is known in the United Nations as the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia because of a naming dispute with Greece. j Free Territory was established in 1947. Its administration was divided into two areas (Zone A) and (Zone B). Free Territory was de facto taken over by Italy and SFRY in 1954.