Plenkovic in Knin Expresses Regret over Death of Serb Civilians

Andrej Plenkovic, Knin (BETAPHOTO/HINA/ MARIO STRMOTIC/

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic on Aug. 5 in Knin expressed regret over the fate of all civilian victims of the war in Croatia, both Serb and Croat.

“As a country that won in an imposed war, we feel regret over [the fate of] all who have perished, over all civilians, not only Croats, but the Serbs, too, as well as others,” Plenkovic said at a ceremony marking 25 years from Operation Storm, which is celebrated in Croatia as Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day and the Day of Croatian Defenders.

Plenkovic pointed out that Operation Storm was legally justified, militarily unavoidable and politically inevitable in a war forced [upon Croatia] by Slobodan Milosevic’s Greater Serbia regime.

“We feel for the victims of war crimes committed by the Croatian side; any such act is a painful, ugly scar at the righteous face of the Homeland War,” the prime minister said.

Plenkovic also said that he expects such respect for all victims from Croatian society, especially from Serb representatives, who should clearly condemn the crimes committed against the Croats. He added that it is also important that Croatia’s Serbs see Operation Storm not only as an exodus of their people, but also as an end of the war.