Page 101 - Dark Shades of Istria
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5.3 Region of Istria: A Brief Historical Overview
military clash, although some military incidents and, consequently, so-
cial protests were detected in 1990 and later; the y pa also established
some roadblocks, e.g. at today’s border crossings Sečovlje-Plovanija and
Dragonja-Kaštel. More than 150 military facilities were taken over by the
Croatian army (military facilities were demined and protected), mostly in
Pula, from which 6,000 to 8,000 soldiers of all ranks and related people
were relocated (Majušević, 2012, p. 446).⁸⁵
After that, a fully equipped 119th brigade was sent to the Lika battle-
field;⁸⁶ later it was transferred to the Dalmatian hinterland and Slavonia.
More than 6,500 residents of Istria participated in the brigade’s opera-
tions; they had 7 fatalities. The city of Pula honoured its activity by giving
its name to a city street (Gregorović, n.d.). Similarly, on the northern side
of the Croatian part of Istria (areas of Buzet, Labin, Pazin, Poreč, Buje,
and Umag), the 154th brigade was formed in 1991, in which 5,800 peo-
ple were involved and (only) one soldier died. Military operations were
performed mainly on the territory outside of Northern Istria, as there
the ypa was not so militarily active in Istria (Ratni put 154. brigade hv,
n.d.; Dukovski, 2011b, pp. 384–385). In addition to the special police unit
(ba k Istra), which operated in the battlefields of Croatia, Home Guard
units (Domobranske postrojbe) were formed to operate in Istrian towns, in
which mainly older military serviceman were involved (Majušević, 2012,
pp. 446–447).⁸⁷
The Slovenian independence war, on the other hand, did not reach the
scale of the Croatian one, but there were three brief military confronta-
tions of the Slovenian police and Territorial defence forces with the ypa:
in the Istrian hamlet of Moretini, at the Bivje intersection, and at the
international border-crossing of Škofije. Confrontations resulted in five
wounded and three dead ypa soldiers (Filipčič, 2011, pp. 22–23).
During the conflict in the 1990s, the regional political initiative on the
international protection of Istria was presented (Janjentović, 2017, p. 11).
Besides the alleviation of the extremely negative impact on the Istrian
economy, i.e. tourism (Akilić, 2012; Šuligoj & Medarić, 2015, pp. 76–77),
that initiative would make sense from another aspect as well. In the Croa-
tian part of the region, more than 26,000 refugees⁸⁸ were accommodated
⁸⁵ Orlić (2019) reported on 12,000 soldiers in Pula in Glas Istre.
⁸⁶ The air base in Pula was also part of this brigade.
⁸⁷ More about some other military units in Pula can be found in Dukovski (2011b, p. 385).
⁸⁸ In some media reports at the time, e.g. in the Glas Istre newspaper, 14 January 1992, we
can find even higher figures.
101
military clash, although some military incidents and, consequently, so-
cial protests were detected in 1990 and later; the y pa also established
some roadblocks, e.g. at today’s border crossings Sečovlje-Plovanija and
Dragonja-Kaštel. More than 150 military facilities were taken over by the
Croatian army (military facilities were demined and protected), mostly in
Pula, from which 6,000 to 8,000 soldiers of all ranks and related people
were relocated (Majušević, 2012, p. 446).⁸⁵
After that, a fully equipped 119th brigade was sent to the Lika battle-
field;⁸⁶ later it was transferred to the Dalmatian hinterland and Slavonia.
More than 6,500 residents of Istria participated in the brigade’s opera-
tions; they had 7 fatalities. The city of Pula honoured its activity by giving
its name to a city street (Gregorović, n.d.). Similarly, on the northern side
of the Croatian part of Istria (areas of Buzet, Labin, Pazin, Poreč, Buje,
and Umag), the 154th brigade was formed in 1991, in which 5,800 peo-
ple were involved and (only) one soldier died. Military operations were
performed mainly on the territory outside of Northern Istria, as there
the ypa was not so militarily active in Istria (Ratni put 154. brigade hv,
n.d.; Dukovski, 2011b, pp. 384–385). In addition to the special police unit
(ba k Istra), which operated in the battlefields of Croatia, Home Guard
units (Domobranske postrojbe) were formed to operate in Istrian towns, in
which mainly older military serviceman were involved (Majušević, 2012,
pp. 446–447).⁸⁷
The Slovenian independence war, on the other hand, did not reach the
scale of the Croatian one, but there were three brief military confronta-
tions of the Slovenian police and Territorial defence forces with the ypa:
in the Istrian hamlet of Moretini, at the Bivje intersection, and at the
international border-crossing of Škofije. Confrontations resulted in five
wounded and three dead ypa soldiers (Filipčič, 2011, pp. 22–23).
During the conflict in the 1990s, the regional political initiative on the
international protection of Istria was presented (Janjentović, 2017, p. 11).
Besides the alleviation of the extremely negative impact on the Istrian
economy, i.e. tourism (Akilić, 2012; Šuligoj & Medarić, 2015, pp. 76–77),
that initiative would make sense from another aspect as well. In the Croa-
tian part of the region, more than 26,000 refugees⁸⁸ were accommodated
⁸⁵ Orlić (2019) reported on 12,000 soldiers in Pula in Glas Istre.
⁸⁶ The air base in Pula was also part of this brigade.
⁸⁷ More about some other military units in Pula can be found in Dukovski (2011b, p. 385).
⁸⁸ In some media reports at the time, e.g. in the Glas Istre newspaper, 14 January 1992, we
can find even higher figures.
101
