Island of Vukovar

The Island of Vukovar (Serbo-Croatian: Vukovarska ada / Вуковарска ада, pronounced [ʋûkoʋaːrskaː ǎːda] or [-ǎda]) is a disputed island on the river Danube. It is situated close to the city of Vukovar, Croatia.

Island of Vukovar
Disputed island
Native name: Vukovarska ada
Other names: Вуковарска ада
Vukovarska ada
Geography
LocationDanube
Coordinates45°20′50″N 19°01′48″E
Total islands1
Area32,000 square metres (7.9 acres)
Length3.80 kilometres (2.36 mi)
Width595 metres (1,952 ft)
Administered by
Serbia
Claimed by
Croatia
CountyVukovar-Srijem County, Croatia
Additional information
Island maintained by Sports Recreation Society Dunav (Vukovar).

During the existence of SFR Yugoslavia the island was part of SR Croatia. In 1991 Croatia declared independence. It was the opinion of the Badinter Arbitration Committee that the borders between the republics should become the borders between the countries,[1] but it was under Serbian control like other parts of Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Srem (east Croatia) at the time. In the Croatian War of Independence, the Yugoslav People's Army and Serbian paramilitary forces occupied the island. After the Erdut Agreement in 1998, Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Srem were rejoined with Croatia, but the island of Vukovar was left under Serbian military occupation, as was the Šarengrad island.

In 2004 Serbia largely withdrew its army from the island,[2] but the police completely took over border control in 2006.[3]

In 2006, the island's beaches were opened to the public for the first time since the war.[4] The island is maintained by Vukovar's Sports Recreation Society Dunav. Croatian citizens, for the first time in 16 years, were allowed on the island without passports or border permits. This border regime applies during summer months (until 15 September) between 7 am and 8 pm.[4]

One part of the peace agreements has been the short-term deal that Croatia will control the western part and Serbia eastern part of the Danube.[5] The official Serbian position is that the Badinter Arbitration Committee opinion is invalid and that this short-term deal between Croatia and Serbia is to be the future border between the states thus Vukovar island is part of Serbia as it is closer to the Serbian shoreline.[6]

In a statement to the Croatian daily newspaper Novi list in February 2012, Croatia's then-President, Ivo Josipović, said both countries needed a flexible solution for the border disputes on the Danube river which would be a combination of solutions proposed by both countries.[7] The Croatian president said that whatever the adopted solution, it would be good if the Island of Vukovar eventually remained on the Croatian side of border.[7]

See also

References
  1. Decision of Badinter committee Archived 2005-02-20 at the Wayback Machine, ejil.org; accessed 18 December 2016.
  2. "Uskoro trajekt Vukovar - Bač" (in Serbian). Prosvjeta. 2005. Retrieved 5 January 2011. Na sastanku je, pored ostalog, postavljeno i pitanje ko iz SCG kontroliše granicu sa Hrvatskom. Bogunović je rekao da vojska to ne čini već više od dve godine, a na njihovom mestu je policija Bača na razdaljini od oko 40 kilometara i Centar za carinu u Bačkoj Palanci.
  3. "Srpska vojska povukla se s granice s Hrvatskom". Jutarnji list (in Croatian). 30 October 2006. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
  4. Vukovarska Ada nakon 16 godina otvorena za kupanje, dnevnik.hr; accessed 20 November 2016.(in Croatian)
  5. Map of island and provisional deal in Croatian Archived 2008-09-10 at the Wayback Machine, vjesnik.hr; accessed 20 November 2016.(in Croatian)
  6. Serbian rejection of Badinter Arbitration Committee decision], novosti.rs; accessed 20 November 2016.(in Serbian)
  7. "HR za fleksibilno rešenje granica". B92.net. 2012-02-29. Retrieved 2016-12-19.
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