Krapović rejected Zagreb's invitation: One representative of Montenegro at the military parade in Croatia on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of "Storm"

Chargé d'Affaires at the Embassy of Montenegro in Croatia Jelena Ražnatović attended today's military parade in Zagreb on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of Operation Storm, while the Ministry of Defense and the Army of Montenegro received an invitation to participate in the event, but Minister Dragan Krapović (Democrats) decided that representatives of his department and the army would not go to the Croatian capital.

The Ministry told Vijesti today that Krapović made the decision "respecting the entire historical and regional context", as well as "the special sensitivity that this topic carries in Montenegrin society".

"The Ministry of Defense and the Army of Montenegro did receive an invitation to participate in the military parade marking the 30th anniversary of Operation Storm. After considering all relevant circumstances, the Minister of Defense made a decision that representatives of the Ministry, as well as members of the Army of Montenegro, will not participate in this event," they said.

Krapović's department said that Montenegro "remains committed to cooperation with all partners and friendly countries," including Croatia, through, as they stated, formats that affirm stability, peace, and the common European future of the region.

Iz Ministarstva vanjskih poslova, na čijem je čelu Ervin Ibrahimović (Bošnjačka stranka), Vijestima su rekli da su taj resor i Ambasada u Zagrebu dobili s više adresa poziv da prisustvuju obilježavanju Dana pobjede i domovinske zahvalnosti, Dana hrvatskih branitelja i 30. godišnjice vojno-policijske operacije "Oluja".

They stated that the invitations were sent by Croatian President Zoran Milanović, the First Speaker of the Croatian Parliament Gordan Jandroković and Prime Minister Andrej Plenković. They added that Plenković, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Croatian Veterans Tomo Medved, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Internal Affairs Davor Božinović and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Ivan Anušić invited them to attend the event to be held on 5 August in Knin.

"The celebration of these events will be attended by the Charge d'Affaires at the Embassy of Montenegro in the Republic of Croatia, Jelena Ražnatović," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

Croatia regained control over part of its territory in August 1995 through the military-police operation "Storm", where a part of Croatian Serbs formed the so-called Republic of Serbian Krajina. According to Croatian sources, around 130.000 Serbs left Croatia in convoys before "Storm", while according to Serbian sources, 200.000-300.000 of them were exiled or fled to Bosnia and Herzegovina or Serbia.

The anniversary of Operation Storm in Croatia is commemorated on August 5th, as Victory and Homeland Gratitude Day, while in Serbia, Operation Storm is commemorated on August 4th, the day the operation began, as the Day of Remembrance for the Victims and Exiled Serbs.

During the four-day offensive, Croatian forces captured more than 10.000 square kilometers of territory and entered Knin, the capital of the rebel Serbs.

Croatian NGO Documenta announced on Monday that it has identified 2.353 victims of Operation Storm, most of whom are Serbs and civilians. As reported by the Hina news agency, Documenta presented preliminary results of a study of human losses related to events during and after the operation.

Research coordinator Nikola Mokrović said that for the period from July 25, 1995 to January 14, 2001, 126 people were recorded for whom, according to available information, it cannot be determined whether they were victims of war. As stated, 113 people were also recorded who were marked as unconfirmed victims, since there are no credible sources for them that would allow confirmation of the circumstances under which they died.

62 people who had residence or were citizens of the then Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia or Bosnia and Herzegovina have also been identified, and who have already been registered by the Belgrade-based Humanitarian Law Center or are in the Bosnian Book of the Dead, Mokrović said at a press conference, Hina reports.

He stated that the majority of victims were of Serbian nationality - 1.747, followed by Croatian - 466. There were 1.170 civilian victims, 918 military victims, and 228 people of mixed status and 22 police officers. Among the victims of Serbian nationality, there were 1.055 civilians and 472 soldiers, and among the Croatians, 371 soldiers and 60 civilians. The majority of people were killed - 1.073, 383 went missing, and 346 died in combat. Most of the victims were between 36 and 64 years old.

Krapović's department said that Montenegro "remains committed to cooperation with all partners and friendly countries", including Croatia, through, as they stated, formats that affirm stability, peace and the common European future of the region.

According to data from the Belgrade-based Documentation and Information Center Veritas from 2021, there are 1.877 names of Serbs killed and missing from this action and its aftermath, of which 1.228 were civilians, of whom, they say, about three-quarters were over 60 years old.

In 2011, the Hague Tribunal sentenced Croatian generals Ante Gotovina and Mladen Markač to 24 and 18 years in prison, respectively, for persecution, deportation, robbery, murder and inhumane acts against the Serb population in Krajina, while General Ivan Čermak was acquitted of all charges.

The International Court of Justice ruled that Croatia's political and military authorities were aware that the operation would cause a mass exodus of the Serb population, and that they based their military strategy on the expected exodus, considering it desirable. However, the Tribunal's Appeals Chamber acquitted both Gotovina and Markač of criminal responsibility in 2012.

The Veritas Documentation and Information Center announced in 2021 that, of the several members of its own armed forces who have been prosecuted, Croatian courts have so far convicted only one person with a final verdict (the "Prukljan and Mandići" case) and one with a non-final verdict (the "Kijani" case) for war crimes against Serbs during Operation Storm. The first, they say, is an ethnic Albanian, and the second is an ethnic Serb.