The Washington Agreement (Croatian: washingtonski sporazum; Bosnian: vašingtonski sporazum) was a ceasefire agreement between the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia, signed on 18 March 1994 in Washington, D.C.[1] It was signed by Bosnian Prime Minister Haris Silajdžić, Croatian Foreign Minister Mate Granić and President of Herzeg-Bosnia Krešimir Zubak.
 Bosnian President Alija Izetbegović and Croatian President Franjo Tuđman sign the Washington Agreement | |
| Type | Ceasefire agreement |
|---|---|
| Signed | 18 March 1994 |
| Location | Washington, D.C., United StatesVienna, Austria |
| Sealed | 24 March 1994 |
| Effective | 30 March 1994 |
| Signatories | |
| Parties | |
| Ratifiers | Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| Languages | Bosnian Croatian |
Under the agreement, the combined territory held by the Croat and Bosnian (in that time Bosniak) government forces was divided into ten autonomous cantons, establishing the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and ending the Croat-Bosniak War. The cantonal system was selected to prevent dominance by one ethnic group over another.[2]
The subsequently signed Washington Framework Agreement had the creation of a loose federation (or confederation) between Croatia and Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina as one of its goals.[3]
Background
War broke out between Herzeg-Bosnia, supported by Croatia, and the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, supported by the Bosnian Mujahideen[4] and the Croatian Defence Forces. It lasted from 18 October 1992 to 23 February 1994,[5] and is considered often as a "war within a war" as it was a part of the much larger Bosnian War. Fighting soon spread to Central Bosnia and soon Herzegovina, where most of the fighting would take place in those regions.
Between 1992 and 1994, many massacres and killings would take place, such as the Lašva Valley ethnic cleansing,[6] Trusina massacre, Ahmići massacre, Sovići and Doljani killings, Vitez massacre, Mokronoge massacre,[7][8] Grabovica massacre, Uzdol massacre,[9] Stupni Do massacre, Križančevo selo killings,[10] Zenica massacre, Gornji Vakuf shelling, Busovača massacre, and the Stari Vitez terrorist attack. Battles, operations, and sieges were also common during that time period, as the battle of Žepče, Bugojno, Siege of Mostar, Operation Neretva '93, and Operation Tvigi 94.
See also
References
Further reading
- Allcock, John B., Marko Milivojevic, et al. Conflict in the Former Yugoslavia: An Encyclopedia (1998)