Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković called the anniversary a celebration of freedom.
Croatia has celebrated the 29th anniversary of a key military offensive that marked a turning point in the country’s 1992-1995 war of independence.
The “Operation Storm” offensive, which liberated parts of Croatia under the occupation of rebel ethnic Serb forces, also triggered the exodus of hundreds of thousands of ethnic Serb civilians.
This year the anniversary was celebrated in the city of Knin with speeches from Croatia’s leaders, military parades and a flyover of Rafale fighter jets recently acquired from France.
“We are gathered here today to once again celebrate freedom. To remember the magnificent ‘Storm’. To remind ourselves of the fearlessness of Croatian defenders and all those who made it possible for us to live in a free and democratic Croatia,” said Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković as he spoke to soldiers at the ceremony.
“Generations of Croats have dreamt about this, and today, it’s our reality and our responsibility,“ he added.
Croatian President Zoran Milanović also attended the event.
“We are not celebrating ‘Operation Storm’ to gloat to the side which was defeated, to innocent victims, any victims. We feel sympathy with every family that lost its loved ones. We are not celebrating to provoke anyone, or to spite anyone,” he said.
“We are gathering here, and we will continue to gather, to celebrate freedom. And to remind ourselves, how much pain, effort and persistence was needed in order to resist submission.”
But for Serbia, the anniversary is a painful reminder of what it considers a war crime that resulted in the exodus of most Serbs living in Croatia.
On Saturday, thousands, including families of victims, gathered in the small town of Loznica to mark the anniversary with a remembrance ceremony.
In August 1995, the UN estimated that around 150,000 ethnic Serbs fled to what is today Serbia and Montenegro, and between 10,000 and 15,000 arrived in the general area of Banja Luka in neighbouring Bosnia.
After Croatia declared independence from the former Yugoslavia in 1991, this triggered a rebellion by minority Serbs who took control of about one-fifth of the country’s territory. Croatia retook all of its territory in the 1995 offensive.
