A ceremony began in the eastern Croatian town of Erdut on Friday to mark the 15th anniversary of signing of an agreement that laid the ground for the peaceful reintegration of the Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Srijem region into Croatia following the 1991-1995 Homeland War.
The ceremony was being attended by President Ivo Josipovic, Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor, Parliament Speaker Luka Bebic and his deputy Vladimir Seks, the former head of the government office for the restoration of Croatian authority in the region, Ivica Vrkic, the former head of the national committee on confidence restoration, Vesna Skare-Ozbolt, the head of the UN Transitional Administration (UNTAES) in the region, Jacques Paul Klein, and the former US ambassador to Croatia, Peter Galbraith.
Agriculture Minister Petar Cobankovic formally unveiled a memorial plaque commemorating the signing of the Erdut Agreement.
The agreement was signed in Erdut and Zagreb on November 12, 1995 by the then head of the Croatian President's Office, Hrvoje Sarinic, and chief Serb negotiator Milan Milanovic. The signing was witnessed by US ambassador Peter Galbraith and UN peace mediator Thorwald Stoltenberg.
The agreement was reached by Croatian President Franjo Tudjman and Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic at a peace conference in Dayton, Ohio. The 14-point document provided for a two-year transitional period under UN supervision, a transitional administration, formation of a multi-national police force, local elections, and demilitarisation 30 days after the deployment of international peacekeepers. Seven provisions of the agreement dealt with human rights, refugee return, and property restitution or compensation.
