| Bombing of the Banski Dvori | |
|---|---|
| Part of theCroatian War of Independence | |
 Hrvoje Knez's photo of smoke rising after the explosion at Banski Dvori on 7 October 1991 (exhibit inZagreb City Museum; includes examples of destroyed furniture from the building) | |
| Type | Airstrike |
| Location | 45°48′59″N15°58′23″E / 45.81639°N 15.97306°E /45.81639; 15.97306 |
| Target | Banski Dvori |
| Date | 7 October 1991 |
| Executed by |  Yugoslav Air Force |
| Casualties | 1 civilian killed 4 civilians injured |
Thebombing of the Banski Dvori (Croatian:bombardiranje Banskih dvora) was aYugoslav Air Force strike on theBanski Dvori inZagreb—theofficial residence of thePresident of Croatia at the time of theCroatian War of Independence. The airstrike occurred on 7 October 1991, as a part of a Yugoslav Air Force attack on a number of targets in the Croatian capital city. One civilian was reported killed bystrafing of theTuškanac city district and four were injured.
At the time of the attack, Croatian PresidentFranjo Tuđman was in the building, meetingStjepan Mesić (thePresident of the Presidency of Yugoslavia) andAnte Marković (thePrime Minister of Yugoslavia), but none of them were injured in the attack. In immediate aftermath, Tuđman remarked that the attack was apparently meant to destroy the Banski Dvori as the seat of thestatehood of Croatia. Marković blamed Yugoslav Defence SecretaryGeneralVeljko Kadijević, who denied the accusation and suggested the event was staged by Croatia. The attack prompted international condemnation and consideration ofeconomic sanctions against Yugoslavia. The presidential residence was immediately moved to thePresidential palace, which was formerly known asVilla Zagorje. The Banski Dvori sustained significant damage, but repairs started only in 1995. The building later became the seat of theCroatian Government.
In 1990, thefirst multi-party elections were held inCroatia, withFranjo Tuđman's win raising nationalist tensions further in an already tenseSFR Yugoslavia.[1] TheSerb politicians left theSabor and declared the autonomy of areas that would soon become part of the unrecognizedRepublic of Serbian Krajina, which had the intention on achieving independence from Croatia.[2][3] As tensions rose, Croatiadeclared independence in June 1991. However, the declaration was suspended for three months, until 8 October 1991.[4][5] The suspension came about as theEuropean Economic Community and theConference on Security and Cooperation in Europe urged Croatia that it would not be recognized as an independent state because of the possibility of a civil war in Yugoslavia.[6] The tensions escalated into theCroatian War of Independence when theYugoslav People's Army and various Serbparamilitaries mobilized inside Croatia.[7] On 3 October, theYugoslav Navy renewed its blockade of the main ports of Croatia. This move followed months of standoff and the capture of Yugoslav military installations in Dalmatia and elsewhere. These events are now known as theBattle of the barracks. That resulted in the capture of significant quantities of weapons, ammunition and other equipment by theCroatian Army, including 150 armoured personnel carriers, 220 tanks and 400 artillery pieces of 100-millimetre (3.9 in)caliber or larger,[8] 39 barracks and 26 other facilities including twosignals centres and a missile base.[9] It also coincided with the end ofOperation Coast-91, in which the Yugoslav forces failed to occupy the coastline in an attempt to cut off Dalmatia's access to the rest of Croatia.[10]
According toMartin Špegelj, theDefence Minister of Croatia between August 1990 and July 1991, the Croatian Army was informed by a Yugoslav Air ForceŽeljava Air Base-based source about a top secret mission prepared for the next day, but Špegelj claims that the information was not taken seriously due to lack of details.[11] Other sources assert that a warning was conveyed byCroatian security and intelligence system services,[12] indicating theSoviet Union and its then-presidentMikhail Gorbachev as the source of the information.[13] At midnight during the night of the 6–7 October, the Soviet ambassador toBelgrade was reported to have received government instructions to warn the Yugoslav military against attacking Zagreb.[14]
Tuđman spent the night in aCroatian Air Force and Air Defence command post—a tunnel running under the Gornji Grad—where information on the movement of Yugoslav aircraft was relayed. In the morning, Yugoslav General Andrija Rašeta informed the press that his superiors may decide to attack Zagreb as a form of pressure on Tuđman.[15] Threeair raid alarms were sounded during the morning of 7 October because the Yugoslav Air Force deployed as many as 30 to 40 combat jets in the Zagreb area, and numerous tip-offs of imminent air raids were received from Yugoslav military bases. During the morning, Yugoslav Air Force jets were observed taking off from bases nearPula andUdbina in Croatia andBanja Luka in Bosnia and Herzegovina. No flights were recorded taking off from Željava Air Base, presumably because of low cloud cover in the area. At 1:30 pm, the Croatian Army captured a Yugoslav military communications centre andradar post nearVelika Buna, south of Zagreb, hindering Yugoslav Air Force control of aircraft in the area. It is believed that the event affected the timing of the raid on the Banski Dvori,[12] theofficial residence of thePresident of Croatia at the time.[16]
Approximately at noon of 7 October 1991, Tuđman met withStjepan Mesić, thenPresident of the Presidency of Yugoslavia andAnte Marković, thenPrime Minister of Yugoslavia, both ethnicCroats, in the Banski Dvori.[17] The purpose of the meeting was to persuade Marković to leave his position as the head of the Yugoslav federal government, which he appeared reluctant to do,[18] and to discuss the need for Croatia's independence.[19] The meeting was adjourned for lunch that was to be attended by presidential aides. Tuđman made another effort at persuading Marković, trying to appeal to his Croatian origin. The three left the lunch as dessert was being served and moved into the president's office to continue their discussion. After Tuđman left the room, everyone else followed.[12]
Just after 3 pm, minutes after the lunch had ended, theYugoslav Air Force attacked the Banski Dvori and other targets in theGornji Grad area ofZagreb and elsewhere in the Croatian capital city, two or three minutes after everyone had left the hall where the lunch was hosted.[12] Zagreb was attacked by approximately 30 Yugoslav jets,[20] however the Gornji Grad raid was carried out by twoMikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21s carrying eightMunja 128-millimetre (5.0 in)unguided missiles each and twoSoko G-4 Super Galebs carrying twoMark 82 bombs each.[18][21] The Banski Dvori building was struck by the Mark 82 bombs set off byproximity fuzes 5 metres (16 feet) above the target, scoring two direct hits.[13]
One civilian was reported killed by the aircraftstrafing of theTuškanac area of Gornji Grad.[22] None of the three leaders was injured,[23] but four people were wounded in the attack.[24] The facade of the Banski Dvori and nearly all its rooms were damaged, and a part of its roof structure was destroyed.[25] The first estimates of the damage inflicted on the building and its contents ranged between 2 and 3 millionUS dollars. Apart from the Banski Dvori, other buildings in the area sustained damage. Those included theCroatian Parliament building, theOld City Hall,St. Mark's Church, the Museum of History, the Institute for the protection of cultural monuments as well as residences and offices in the vicinity,[20] including the residence ofSwissconsul Werner Mauner.[24]
In a television report taped and broadcast shortly after the bombing, Tuđman said that the attack appears to have been meant to destroy the Banski Dvori as the seat of thestatehood of Croatia, and as adecapitation strike. He concluded with statements of resolve to end foreign occupation and rebuild the nation.[26] Marković telephoned his office in Belgrade blaming Yugoslav Defence Secretary GeneralVeljko Kadijević for the attack. He demanded his resignation, threatening not to return to Belgrade until Kadijević was out of office. The Yugoslav Defence Ministry brushed away the accusation, claiming that the attack was not authorized by the central command and suggesting that the event might have been stage-managed by the Croatian authorities.[17] The Yugoslav military later suggested that Croatian leadership plantedplastic explosives in the Banski Dvori.[24]
In response to the situation, theUnited Statesconsulate advised American nationals, including journalists, to leave Croatia. The USState Department announced that it would consider introducingeconomic sanctions against Yugoslavia.[15]Germany condemned the attack, calling it barbarous, and blamed it on the Yugoslav military.[27]
On 8 October 1991, as the independence declaration moratorium expired, the Croatian Parliament severed all remaining ties with Yugoslavia.[28] That particular session of the parliament was held in theINA building inŠubićeva Street in Zagreb due to security concerns provoked by the recentair raid;[29] Specifically, it was feared that the Yugoslav Air Force might attack the parliament building.[30]
After the bombing, the residence of the President of Croatia was moved from the Banski Dvori to thePresidential palace—formerly known asVilla Zagorje—in thePantovčak area of Zagreb.[16] Funds to repair the Banski Dvori were approved in 1995,[31] and the site became the official residence of theCroatian Government.[32] Aplaque commemorating the bombing was placed at the Banski Dvori facade 20 years after the attack, in 2011.[33] The bombing is also commemorated by theZagreb City Museum as the event is featured in theZagreb in Independent Croatia collection of its permanent display.[34]
