Zagreb Perspective Peaceful Reintegration The Discarded Triumph of Reason and Peace Boris PAVELIĆ January 2018 n Why did Croatian President Franjo Tuđman prefer the uncertain and politically sensitive process of Croatia‘s peaceful return to the Danube region to a military operation? n The peaceful reintegration in Croatia began on January 15, 1996 when the United Nations Security Council adopted resolution 1037 and established a Transitional Authority in Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium(UNTAES). n The Erdut Agreement is a document that provides for the establishment of a provisional transitional UN administration, demilitarization, the return of displaced persons, the restoration of property, the right of all Croatian citizens to return to their pre-war places of residence and respect of“the highest levels of internationally recognized human rights and fundamental freedoms.” n It remains an astonishing fact to this day that under the conditions of a juridical vacuum, fear and mutual distrust during the whole two-year process of the peaceful reintegration not a single critical incident occurred, notwithstanding provocations, unpleasant as they were, but without serious consequences. n The contribution of peacekeeping NGOs to the peaceful reintegration is still widely unfamiliar to the general public although they started the process a year and a half before the military and political circumstances instigated the governments to also embrace peace.