Log Revolution
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| Date | August 17, 1990 | ||
| Location | Croatia | ||
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The Log Revolution (Serbo-Croatian: Balvan revolucija/Балван револуција) was an insurrection which started on August 17, 1990 in areas of the Republic of Croatia which were populated significantly by ethnic Serbs. A full year of tension, including minor skirmishes, passed before these events would escalate into the Croatian War of Independence.
In the lead up to the first free elections in April and May 1990, the ethnic relations between the Croats and the Serbs in SR Croatia became a subject of political debate.
The local Serbs in the village of Berak put up barricades in order to disrupt the elections. During the act of government transition from the former to the new authorities in Croatia, the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) organized a "regular military maneuvre" in which a regiment of parachutists was deployed to the Pleso Airport, which was taken as an implicit threat. On May 14, 1990, the weapons of the Territorial Defense (TO) of Croatia were taken away by the Army, preventing the possibility of Croatia having its own weapons like it was done in Slovenia. According to Borisav Jović, this action was done at the behest of the Republic of Serbia. This action left Croatia extremely vulnerable to pressure from Belgrade, whose leadership began to intensify their public challenges to Croatia's borders.
In an act of protest, the militant part of Croatian Serbs in some areas where they formed a majority started to refuse authority to the new Croatian government and held several meetings and public rallies since early 1990 protesting their cause.
In June and July 1990, Serb representatives in Croatia openly rejected the new government's proposed amendments to the Constitution of SR Croatia which changed the name of the republic and entered new state symbols.Coat of arms of Croatia known as chessboard at the Serb population began to associate with symbolics Independent State of Croatia had used during World War II, although the chessboard had already officially been contained in the emblem of the Socialist Republic of Croatia within Yugoslavia .
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