CONTEMPORARY EURASIA VOLUME VIII (1) ContemporaryEurasia81 | Page 121

BEATA BOEHM
stored in the church until power was restored (see below Infrastructure
Projects).
On the Croat-controlled side of Pakrac, a group of women,
supported by the Austrian Peace Service, opened a laundry using natural
spring water. This was an extremely urgent initiative due to water pipelines
having been destroyed in the conflict.
Infrastructure Projects
The ceasefire, which divided the city into separate Serb and Croat
areas, also separated the existing infrastructure. The Croat area housed most
of earlier infrastructures, including electricity, gas and telephone. The much
smaller Serb side contained only minor industrial plants and communal
facilities, but it did control the regional water supply system. During the
fighting of 1991/92 all infrastructure systems were damaged. Supply
facilities that were still functioning were turned off for the “other side”. That
meant that the Sector’s inhabitants on the Croat side did not have water and
those on the Serb side lacked electricity, gas and telephone services.
In order to find acceptable solutions regarding energy and water
supplies for the population on both sides of the ceasefire line, negotiations
with local technicians were assumed already in the fall of 1992 under the
leadership of UNPROFOR. Proposals were discussed with local politicians
on both sides. This led to the so-called “Daruvar Agreement” in 1993. The
Agreement envisaged trading water from the Serb side for energy from the
Croat side in order to benefit the entire population. Moderate local
politicians signed the “Daruvar Agreement”. However, the Serb signers were
subsequently arrested, accused of treason by Serb “hardliners” in Knin and
the Agreement was frozen.
In December 1994, UNPROFOR succeeded in signing an “Economic
Agreement” with politicians in both Zagreb and Knin. It involved the
opening of the highway, repairs to oil pipelines, the railway system and the
water supply system. The operation of the oil pipelines was resumed in less
than two weeks. The highway opened within two and a half weeks from the
signing of the agreement and was used by more than 25,000 vehicles already
in the first month. UNCIVPOL and UNPROFOR´s Jordanian Peace Keeping
Force monitored the highway within the Sector. Outside the Sector EU
observers monitored the highway.
The rail-lines for cargo-traffic were cleared of mines by Serbs and
Croats and rail transport operations resumed.
The proposed exchange of “water against electricity” remained frozen.
Serb local politicians had made the opening of the water pipeline conditional
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