Croatia marked the Day of Victory and Independence Day and the Day of Croatian Defenders on the 31st anniversary of the Operation Storm. The central ceremony took place on 5 August in Knin, with warnings of caution due to the high temperatures. In the Croatian public sphere, there is consensus that the territory was liberated from the rebel occupation by this operation.
In contrast, the media in Serbia and the Republika Srpska view the event as the greatest crime of ethnic cleansing following the Second World War. According to their accounts, the area of the Republic of Serbian Krajina was ethnically cleansed within 48 hours. Serbian media report around 2,000 Serbian casualties or missing persons, and more than 220,000 displaced civilians.
The Veritas Centre cites similar figures for victims and displaced persons, describing the event as the largest exodus of civilians in Europe since the Second World War. The Russian Embassy in Belgrade declared Operation Storm one of the most tragic chapters in the recent history of the Balkans, accusing the EU of bearing responsibility for the consequences.
Serbia and the Republika Srpska are jointly organising a Day of Remembrance for the Fallen and Displaced Serbs, with this year’s ceremony in the Republika Srpska taking place on 4 August in Mrkonjić Grad. Part of the reporting links the event to the Maestral operation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, noting that Croatian and Muslim forces in that operation killed an additional 655 Serbs and displaced around 125,000 people.
Within Croatia, there are disagreements between the government and the Office of the President, which prohibited the participation of soldiers in the parade in Paris. The Chief of the General Staff lost the confidence of the government after he obeyed that order. Meanwhile, the HDZ has criticised the mayor of Zagreb, Tomislav Tomašević, while the MožeMo! movement has refuted claims that the main square was not decorated with the Croatian flag.
Croatian analyst Davor Đenero believes that Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina are making a mistake by not insisting on the broader context in their annual commemorations, including the Split Declaration. Signed on 22 July 1995 by Presidents Franjo Tuđman and Alija Izetbegović, the declaration allowed the armed forces of Croatia to use the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina for a joint fight against the army of the Republika Srpska.
