Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković called the anniversary a celebration of freedom.
Croatia has celebrated the 29th anniversary of a key military offensive which marked a turning point for the country in the Bosnian War.
Operation ‘Storm’ offensive took place in 1995 and triggered the exodus of hundreds of thousands of people after Croatian troops reclaimed territory from rebel Serb forces.
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 of Serbian people, including families of victims, gathered in the small town of Loznica to mark the anniversary with a remembrance ceremony.
According to the Veritas Documentation and Information Centre, almost 2,000 people were either killed or are still missing as a result of the offensive and more than 220,000 Serbs were forced to leave what was then the Republika Srpska Krajina.
The Bosnian started in 1991 after Croatia declared independence from the Serb-led former Yugoslavia, triggering a rebellion by minority Serbs who took control of about one-third of the country’s territory.
Croatia retook the lands in the 1995 offensive and a peace deal was signed later that year.
