Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Tuesday in Okučani during the commemoration of the 23rd anniversary of the military-police operation Flash that Croatia and Serbia are “at this moment two worlds,” but he did not want to say whether he would discuss new diplomatic measures against Serbia with President Kolinda Grabar Kitarović in response to Serbia’s declaration of Croatian Minister Damir Krstičević as a persona non grata.
When asked for a comment on the statement by Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dačić that Croatia, if it wishes, will also get a diplomatic war, Plenković said that this is not appropriate rhetoric that Croatia should accept and emphasized that Croatia and Serbia are currently two different worlds, referring to the statement by Serbian Defense Minister Aleksandar Vulin that he and Krstičević are two different worlds.
Plenković emphasized that it could not happen in Croatia that some Croatian parliamentary representative desecrates the Serbian flag and that Croatia is not the same “in this story with Serbia,” as it was in the 90s, now, and in the future. Everyone must be aware of this, including Croatian media and the public, he stated. “Look at the rhetoric of my government – from the elections until now. When have we used relations with Serbia as some kind of argument in internal political squabbles? I think no one can remember that,” the Prime Minister emphasized.
Plenković confirmed in Okučani that he would talk with Grabar Kitarović this week, but did not reveal whether the topic would be Serbia and the withdrawal of new measures in response to Serbia’s declaration of Croatian Minister Krstičević as a persona non grata in Serbia.
In response to the question of whether Foreign Minister Marija Pejčinović Burić will participate in the oral hearing in Brussels on Friday regarding Slovenia’s complaint to the European Commission that Croatia’s non-implementation of the arbitration decision on the border violates European law, Plenković said that “he is not sure that the Slovenian Foreign Minister will be there.”
“The level of presentation at this type of discussion within the process being conducted before the EC is never ministerial. We will be represented by our State Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Andreja Metelko Zgombić, as well as some experts and professors, either our own or international, who will clearly present the Croatian position, which is very clear – that there is no violation of European law,” Plenković said.
“On the contrary, we are sending another message to Slovenia – we want to resolve this bilateral problem. We had good faith to do so in the arbitration process, unfortunately, everyone knows why that process was irreversibly compromised. From that side, Croatia has offered Slovenia a solution. We will strive to start seriously addressing this problem again after the elections in Slovenia, which are in early June, when a government is formed there. This is not something that should burden Croatian-Slovenian relations. On the contrary,” Plenković said.
In Okučani, a memorial was unveiled for the defenders who died in “Flash”
With the unveiling of the memorial “Crystal Cube of Serenity,” laying of wreaths, and lighting candles, the entire state leadership, along with numerous defenders and citizens, paid tribute on Tuesday in Okučani to the defenders who died in the military-police operation “Flash,” in which the Croatian army and police liberated western Slavonia 23 years ago.
The new monument to the defenders in Okučani, named “Crystal Cube of Serenity,” composed of 51 cubes, was unveiled by representatives of the cadets of the Armed Forces and police, and previously the names of the defenders who died in “Flash” and a brief history of that operation were read. The monument was blessed by military ordinary Jure Bogdan, who also led a prayer for all fallen defenders and civilians in the operation that liberated western Slavonia 23 years ago.
A joint wreath, on behalf of the Republic of Croatia, was laid at the memorial for the fallen by the President of the Republic, the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, the President of the Croatian Parliament Gordan Jandroković, and Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, together with delegations from the Parliament and the Government.
Wreaths were also laid by delegations from veterans’ associations, guard units, the Croatian army, and police, among others.
The commemoration was attended by Ministers Damir Krstičević, Davor Božinović, and Tomo Medved, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia Mirko Šundov, and the Chief of Police Nikola Milin.
Along with the President of the Parliament Gordan Jandroković, the parliamentary delegation included Vice President of the Parliament Milijan Brkić and the Presidents of the Committees for Foreign Policy, War Veterans, Maritime Affairs, Transport, and Infrastructure Miro Kovač, Josip Đakić, and Pero Ćosić. The commemoration was also attended by Vice Presidents of the parliamentary committees for legislation and war veterans Davor Vlaović and Miro Bulj, head of the Croatian Parliament Delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly Miroslav Tuđman, as well as representatives Ljubica Maksimčuk, Ljubica Lukačić, Željko Lenart, and Nikola Grmoja.
For all fallen Croatian defenders and civilian victims in the Homeland War, a requiem mass was held in the Church of St. Vitus, led by Bishop Antun Škovorčević of Požega.
A tactical-technical weapons exhibition was organized for visitors, and there was great interest from early morning hours in the presentation of combat and non-combat techniques and equipment of the units of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia, where the centerpiece was the combat armored vehicle Patria, the self-propelled howitzer PzH 2000, multiple rocket launchers, and other military machinery and vehicles. The “Cadet” project and study programs of the Croatian Military Academy “Dr. Franjo Tuđman” as well as voluntary military training were also presented.
Additionally, in the Memorial Park for Croatian Knights, a demonstration of ceremonial actions by the Honorary Protection Battalion, the Military Police Regiment, and the Special Forces Command was performed.
The military-police operation “Flash” began on May 1, 1995, at 5:21 AM, and in just 31 hours, about 500 square kilometers of Croatian territory were liberated, and the highway that connected central Croatia with Slavonia was unblocked. 32 units of the Armed Forces and police participated in it. In liberating western Slavonia, 42 members of the Croatian army and police were killed, and 162 were injured. The “Flash” operation preceded the “Storm” operation, which followed three months later, showing Croatia’s determination to establish a legal order throughout its territory.
