The Autonomous Province of Western Bosnia ( bs, Autonomna Pokrajina Zapadna Bosna), or Western Bosnia, was a small unrecognised state that existed in the northwest of

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and ...

between 1993 and 1995. It consisted of the town of

Velika Kladuša Velika Kladuša ( sr-cyrl, Велика Кладуша, ; lit. "Great Kladuša") is a town and municipality located in Una-Sana Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in the far n ...

, its capital, as well as a few nearby villages. It was proclaimed as a result of secessionist politics by

Fikret Abdić Fikret Abdić (born 29 September 1939) is a Bosnian politician and businessman who first rose to prominence in the 1980s for his role in turning the Velika Kladuša-based agriculture company Agrokomerc into one of the biggest conglomerates in S ...

against the central government of

Alija Izetbegović Alija Izetbegović (; ; 8 August 1925 – 19 October 2003) was a Bosnian politician, lawyer, Islamic philosopher and author, who in 1992 became the first president of the Presidency of the newly independent Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovin ...

during the

Bosnian War The Bosnian War ( sh, Rat u Bosni i Hercegovini / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. The war is commonly seen as having started ...

. For a short time in 1995, it was known as the Republic of Western Bosnia ( bs, Republika Zapadna Bosna).

History

was the winner of the popular vote to head the government of Bosnia in 1990 but surrendered to

under an undisclosed agreement. In 1993, according to journalist

Anthony Loyd Anthony William Vivian Loyd (born 12 September 1966) is an English journalist and noted war correspondent, best known for his 1999 book ''My War Gone By, I Miss It So''. He gained prominence in February 2019 when he tracked down a British ISI ...

, Abdić decided to try to carve out a little state for himself and succeeded in recruiting enough followers to make his dreams a reality. Abdić was able to hold power over his mini-state by using cult-like

propaganda techniques A number of propaganda techniques based on social psychology, social psychological research are used to generate propaganda. Many of these same techniques can be classified as Informal fallacy, logical fallacies, since propagandists use arguments ...

over his followers and Serbian arms and military training. "Talking to his autonomist followers was much the same as speaking with cult converts anywhere in the world: a wooden dead-end dialogue hallmarked by the absence of individual rationale and logic." Local residents of Velika Kladuša were reported as treating Abdić with excessive reference and "were ready to do whatever he said." The economy of Western Bosnia was largely reliant on the

Agrokomerc Agrokomerc is a food company headquartered in Velika Kladuša, Bosnia and Herzegovina with former operations extending across the entire area of former Yugoslavia. The company became internationally known in the late 1980s due to a corruption sca ...

company of Velika Kladuša. The Autonomous Province cooperated with

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia ( Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hu ...

as well as

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = " Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capi ...

against the Bosnian government. Abdić's role in undermining the rival authority in

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see names in other languages'') is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its administrative limits. The Sarajevo metropolitan area including Sarajevo ...

was awarded by the governments of Croatia and

FR Yugoslavia Serbia and Montenegro ( sr, Cрбија и Црна Гора, translit=Srbija i Crna Gora) was a country in Southeast Europe located in the Balkans that existed from 1992 to 2006, following the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yu ...

(Serbia). Agrokomerc was granted a custom-free trade zone in the Croatian port of

Rijeka Rijeka ( , , ; also known as Fiume hu, Fiume, it, Fiume ; local Chakavian: ''Reka''; german: Sankt Veit am Flaum; sl, Reka) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split). It is located in Prim ...

and free trade with Serbian-controlled territories. Trade between Western Bosnia and Croatia occurred during the

. In 1994,

Franjo Tuđman Franjo Tuđman (; 14 May 1922 – 10 December 1999), also written as Franjo Tudjman, was a Croatian politician and historian. Following the country's independence from Yugoslavia, he became the first president of Croatia and served as p ...

changed his policies towards Bosnia after diplomatic pressure from the United States and the

UN Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...

. The

Washington Agreement The Washington Agreement ( Croatian: ''washingtonski sporazum'' and Bosnian: ''vašingtonski sporazum'') was a ceasefire agreement between the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia, signed in Washington ...

was signed in March 1994. The situation became very unfavourable to the future of Western Bosnia, as Fikret Abdić could no longer count on financial or military help by one of his protectors. It was militarily defeated during Operation Tiger in June and August 1994, when the territory of Western Bosnia was seized by the Bosnian government troops. Fikret Abdić moved to

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...

. However, they were expelled later that year with the significant help of the Serbs in

Operation Spider Operation Spider ( sh, Operacija Pauk, Операција Паук) were a series of military actions in northwestern Bosnia that began on November 1994 and continued until the summer of 1995. It was a combined effort of Republika Srpska and the ...

, and the Autonomous Province of Western Bosnia was re-established. The province declared itself the independent Republic of Western Bosnia ( bs, Republika Zapadna Bosna, Република Западна Босна, links=no) on 26 July 1995.) In August 1995,

Operation Storm }) was the last major battle of the Croatian War of Independence and a major factor in the outcome of the Bosnian War. It was a decisive victory for the Croatian Army (HV), which attacked across a front against the self-declared proto-state Re ...

made it serve as the last line of defense of the

Republic of Serbian Krajina The Republic of Serbian Krajina or Serb Republic of Krajina ( sh, Република Српска Крајина, italics=no / or РСК / ''RSK'', ), known as the Serbian Krajina ( / ) or simply Krajina, was a self-proclaimed Serb proto-state, ...

in Croatia. The Republic of Western Bosnia was wiped out completely during the joint Croatian-Bosnian government army action on 7 August 1995. Abdić was forced to flee to Croatia after the operation.

Aftermath

Western Bosnia's territory was incorporated into the

Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of the two entities within the State of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being Republika Srpska. The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina consists of 10 autonomous cantons with their own gove ...

, within the present-day

Una-Sana Canton The Una-Sana Canton (Serbian and / Унско-сански кантон; ) is one of the ten cantons of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina entity within Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located in the northwest of the country and has been ...

. Fikret Abdić, who maintained friendly relations with Croatian President

, had acquired Croatian citizenship and lived in Croatia in exile. After the death of Tuđman in December 1999 and the defeat of the

Croatian Democratic Union The Croatian Democratic Union ( hr, Hrvatska demokratska zajednica, lit=Croatian Democratic Community, HDZ) is the major conservative, centre-right political party in Croatia. It is one of the two major contemporary political parties in Cr ...

in the Croatian elections of 2000, Abdić was eventually arrested and convicted for war crimes against civilian Bosniaks loyal to the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The trial took place in Croatia, where Abdić was condemned to 20 years in prison in 2002. On 9 March 2012, he was released after he had served two thirds of his reduced sentence. In 2016, the citizens of Velika Kladuša elected Abdić mayor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Autonomous Province Of Western Bosnia States and territories established in 1993 States and territories disestablished in 1995 Western Bosnia Western Bosnia Western Bosnia Western Bosnia 1993 establishments in Europe 1995 disestablishments in Europe Bosnian-speaking countries and territories Former subdivisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina History of Bosanska Krajina

History

Aftermath

See also

References