On May 19, 1991, the Croatian authorities held the Croatian referendum on independence. Serb local authorities called for a boycott of the vote, which was largely followed by Croatian Serbs. In the end, a majority of Croatians endorsed independence from Yugoslavia, with a turnout of 83.56% and the two referendum questions answered positively by 93.24% and 92.18% (resp.) of the total number of votes.
On June 25, 1991, the country declared its independence from the SFRY, finalizing its effort to end its status as a constituent republic. That decision of the parliament decision was partially boycotted by left-wing party deputies.
The European Economic Community and the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe immediately urged both Croatia and Slovenia that they would not be recognized as independent states because of a fear of a civil war in Yugoslavia. By mid-1991, the Croatian War of Independence had already started. Serb-controlled areas of Croatia were part of the three “Serb Autonomous Oblasts” later known as the Republic of Serbian Krajina, bulk of which would not be under Croatian control until 1995, and the remaining parts in 1998.
Croatia was first recognized as an independent state on 26 June 1991 by Slovenia, which declared its own independence on the same day as Croatia. But by 29 June, the Croatian and Slovenian authorities agreed to a three-month moratorium on the independence declaration, in an effort to ease tensions. The Brijuni Agreement was formally signed in a meeting of the European Community Ministerial Troika, the Yugoslav, Serbian, Slovenian and Croatian authorities on 7 July. Lithuania was the sole state that recognized Croatia on 30 July.
Picture Credit : Google
