After World War II, Yugoslavia was reconstituted as a communist federal republic with the promise of equality for all of its nations and peoples. As in most communist states, promises were not fulfilled. A ruthless secret police, and economic and political exploitation of Croatia led hundreds of thousands of young Croatians to seek freedom and prosperity abroad. After the purge of secret police chief Aleksander Rankovic in 1966, a new air of freedom developed known as "The Croatian Spring." Less known in the West than the "Prague Spring", this great liberalization was crushed by the communists in late 1971. One target of the new round of repression was a dissident former Partizan and Yugoslav Army general, Franjo Tudjman. The events of 1971 put into motion events twenty years later that would result in Croatian independence.

The death of Tito in 1980 led to increased demands for democracy and a market-based economy as well as for greater autonomy by Croatia and Slovenia from the Serbian-controlled central government. As Western-oriented Slovenia and Croatia moved toward democratic reform, Eastern-oriented Serbia struggled to maintain communist authoritarianism and a centralized government. In 1990, Dr. Franjo Tudjman became the first freely elected President of Croatia.

Free and democratic elections in Croatia and Slovenia demonstrated a commitment to the democratic process, the protection of human rights, and the development of a free market economy. Croatia began negotiations in mid-1990 toward the formation of a loose confederation of nations that would have granted national autonomy while preserving Yugoslavia in some form. The Republic of Serbia refused all attempts at negotiation and engaged in massive human rights violations against the Albanian majority in the province of Kosova, dismantling its Parliament and purging its government, media, and educational system of Albanians and noncommunists. The Serbian leader, Slobodan Milosevic, remained committed to a single party, totalitarian regime in Serbia and throughout Yugoslavia.

Spurred on by Milosevic, Serbs in Croatia launched a well-planned armed insurrection on August 17, 1990, attacking police stations and blockading the main highway south of the Croatian capital of Zagreb. When Croatian police attempted to stop the violence, the central government dispatched the Serbian-controlled air force and army to "restore order." In 1991, after months of fruitless negotiations and increased violence by the Serbian minority in Croatia, fueled by the Serbian government and military, Croatia voted for independence. On June 25, 1991, Croatia and Slovenia declared themselves to be free and independent of Serbia and Yugoslavia.

Independence and Aggression

Under the pretense of protecting the Serbian minority in Croatia, a full-scale war was launched against Croatia by the Yugoslav armed forces and Serbian militias. Croatia abided by dozens of cease fires only to see the army regroup and attack again. In December 1991, the Serbian government openly admitted that it aimed to annex territory in Croatia and Bosnia-Hercegovina in order to form a new "Greater Serbia."

On January 15, 1992, the European Community recognized the independence of Croatia and most of the world's major powers followed suit. Notably, the United States government, headed by George Bush, held back on recognition of Croatia and Slovenia until after United Nations peacekeeping forces had been moved into Croatia. Bush's Deputy Secretary of State and chief advisor on what was Yugoslavia was Lawrence Eagleburger whom the press dubbed "Lawrence of Serbia". Eagleburger had close personal and financial ties with the communist leadership of Serbia as well as Yugoslav banks and arms industries. Despite Eagleburger's friendship with communist Serbia, even the United States was eventually forced to condemn Serbia's expansionist aggression and recognize Croatia in April of 1992. Eagleburger would go on to become Secretary of State and an almost daily television commentator on what went wrong in Yugoslavia.

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