page_title: Plitvice Lakes incident
section_title: Aftermath
hierarchical_section_title: Plitvice Lakes incident / Aftermath
caption_attribution_description: English: Place of death of Josip Jović, Croatian policeman, the first victims of the Croatian Homeland War.Hrvatski: Mjesto pogibije Josipa Jovića, hrvatskog redarstvenika, prve hrvatske žrtve u Domovinskom ratu.Русский: Место смерти Йосипа Йовича, хорватский полицейский, первой жертвой хорватской войны Родины.
context_page_description: The Plitvice Lakes incident was an armed clash at the beginning of the Croatian War of Independence. It was fought between Croatian police and armed forces from the Croatian Serb-established SAO Krajina at the Plitvice Lakes in Croatia, on 31 March 1991. The fighting followed the SAO Krajina's takeover of the Plitvice Lakes National Park and resulted in Croatia recapturing the area. The clash resulted in one killed on each side and contributed to the worsening ethnic tensions.
  The fighting prompted the Presidency of Yugoslavia to order the Yugoslav People's Army to step in and create a buffer zone between the opposing forces. The JNA arrived at the scene the following day and presented Croatia with an ultimatum requesting the police to withdraw. Even though the special police units which captured the Plitvice Lakes area did pull out on 2 April, a newly established Croatian police station, staffed by 90 officers, remained in place. The police station was blockaded by the JNA three months later, and captured in late August 1991.
context_section_description: Police officer Josip Jović was the only Croatian fatality in the incident. The SAO Krajina force also suffered one killed in the fighting—Rajko Vukadinović, who was the first Croatian Serb combat fatality in the war. A total of 20 people were wounded, seven of whom were the Croatian police. The Croatian forces captured 29 SAO Krajina troops, 18 of whom were formally charged with insurgency. Among the prisoners was Goran Hadžić, later to become the President of the Republic of Serbian Krajina, although he was quickly released. Hadžić's release was explained as a goodwill gesture by the authorities, but Boljkovac claims he was released because he was collaborating with the Croatian authorities in 1991. Approximately 400 tourists, most of them Italian, were evacuated from the Plitvice Lakes after the fighting.
  The clash at the Plitvice Lakes worsened the overall situation in Croatia and led to an escalation of the conflict. Even though the Croatian and Serb forces were separated by the JNA at the Plitvice Lakes, the situation in the area continued to deteriorate following the clash. In nearby Plaški, Croatian police personnel left the local police station and were replaced by Serb officers. Both SAO Krajina and Croatian forces set up several roadblocks on the Saborsko–Lička Jasenica–Ogulin road. By summer, the blockades were extended to the north of Plaški and south of Saborsko, where Croatian authorities established another 30-strong police station on 2 April. Only JNA vehicles were permitted to pass the roadblocks, and that brought about a shortage of food, medicine and electricity in the area.
  On 2 May, the Serb Democratic Party, the ruling party in the SAO Krajina, organised a protest march to the Plitvice Lakes and a political rally demanding the Croatian police withdraw from Plitvice. The march, led by Babić and Vojislav Šešelj, was prevented from reaching the Plitvice Lakes by the JNA and forced to return to Titova Korenica. The JNA imposed a blockade of the Plitvice Lakes police station on 1 July, on the pretext that the Croatian police had abducted and imprisoned two JNA officers. By 6 July, the SAO Krajina forces and the JNA commenced attacks on the Ljubovo Pass southeast of the Plitvice Lakes, on the Titova Korenica–Gospić road, driving the Croatian National Guard back and capturing the pass by the end of the month. Throughout the summer, the JNA continued to engage Croatian forces in Lika using the units deployed to the Plitvice Lakes in April. The fighting escalated further on 30 August, when the JNA captured the Plitvice Lakes police station and the following day when the Battle of Gospić began.
  Jović is largely viewed in Croatia as the first casualty of the Croatian War of Independence. A monument dedicated to him was erected in his birthplace of Aržano in 1994. After the war, a monument was erected at the site of his death, where annual commemorations of the clash are held. The clash and Jović's death are commemorated annually at the Plitvice Lakes.
caption: Memorial to Josip Jović, the first Croatian policeman killed in action
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