Croatia today marks 5 August as Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day and Croatian Veterans Day, a public holiday dedicated to remembering the military-police operation Storm and the liberation of Knin in 1995. The central celebration of this significant anniversary, which this year marks the 31st anniversary of Operation Storm, is being held in Knin, where a rich programme has been prepared that runs from early morning until evening.
The celebration begins at 6.30 am with a bugle call echoing through the streets of the town. At 7.30 am, Masses are held at the Church of Our Lady of the Great Croatian Cross. Afterwards, from 9 am, a ceremony honouring fallen and missing veterans takes place on Dr Ante Starčević Square in front of the Monument to the Croatian Victory Storm 95. Wreaths are laid by representatives of the families of the victims, wartime commanders, and representatives of associations from the Homeland War.
High-ranking state officials are at the centre of attention, including the President of the Republic Zoran Milanović, the Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, the Speaker of the Croatian Parliament Gordan Jandroković, and the Deputy Speaker of the Parliament Ivan Penava. Representatives of the Croatian Parliament in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as representatives of counties and cities, are also present. The central ceremony at the NK Dinara stadium begins at 9.40 am with the traditional raising of the Croatian flag, which is broadcast via video screens at the stadium and the central town square.
The flag-raising ceremony, accompanied by the performance of the Croatian national anthem, is announced by the ringing of church bells in Knin, and is participated in by representatives of veterans and victims. This is followed by honour salutes, appropriate speeches, and a reading of the history of Operation Storm. A particularly emotional moment is the reading of the names of those killed and missing in Storm, with the readers being the sons of fallen Croatian veterans.
At the Fortress, cadets from the Croatian Army and students from the Police Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs perform. 245 cadets and students participate in the parade, a symbolic number dedicated to the 245 fallen and missing Croatian veterans in Operation Storm. The central ceremony at the stadium concludes with a display of capabilities by members of the Croatian Army and police, as well as an aerial programme.
The all-day programme in Knin concludes with an evening concert organised by the City of Knin. The central ceremony programme is broadcast live by Croatian Radiotelevision.
