Marking 29 years since Operation “Storm” – the Political Abuse of Remembrance
On the occasion of marking the 29th anniversary of the military-police operation “Storm”, during and after which Croatian forces committed widespread and systematic crimes against the Serbian civilian population and their property, the Humanitarian Law Center reiterates its longstanding demand that the authorities and institutions in Serbia grant the victims the status of civilian war victims, and that they cease their political abuse of the memory of those who perished.
None of the victims of Operation “Storm” living in Serbia can yet exercise their rights, as the current legal framework not only fails to meet the needs of the victims, but also discriminates against those whose injuries occurred outside the territory of Serbia. This leaves civilian invalids and the families of the victims of Operation “Storm” without financial, health, or psychosocial support from any of the relevant institutions.
The existing legal framework also excludes from the potential beneficiaries several thousand refugees from Croatia whom the Serbian Ministry of the Interior forcibly mobilised in August and September 1995. Only about 20% of the forcibly mobilised refugees have been able to claim compensation, while many have been unable to do so owing to administrative obstacles and the statute of limitations. Several dozen refugees were killed after being sent back to the front. Therefore, the Humanitarian Law Center demands changes to the existing legal framework and improvements in the position of civilian war victims.
The decision to hold the state commemoration of Operation “Storm” in Loznica on August 3rd this year, represents a gross political abuse of the suffering of Serbs from Croatia, and of their grief. Instead of establishing a dignified day of remembrance for the victims, the state has for years vulgarised their memory with state commemorations that include inappropriate dramatic reconstructions of wartime events. Ignoring the need for a place of remembrance, the government conditions the locations of commemorations on its political interests. Thus, this year’s commemoration was used as a means to confront the citizens of Loznica who are protesting against the government’s decree on lithium mining.
During and after Operation “Storm”, as conducted by Croatian armed forces, about 200,000 Serbs were displaced, with massive destruction and looting of their property, and the subsequent prevention of their return. According to the ruling of the International Court of Justice, it has been established that the political and military authorities of Croatia were aware that this operation would cause a mass exodus of the Serbian population and that they based their military strategy on the expected exodus, considering it desirable.
According to the Croatian Helsinki Committee for Human Rights data of 2001, 677 civilians were killed during and immediately after Operation “Storm”. The records of the Documentation and Information Center “Veritas” contain the names of 1,893 Croatian citizens of Serbian nationality who were killed or went missing during Operation “Storm” 1,236 of whom were civilians.
In a 2012 ruling by the Appeals Chamber of the Hague Tribunal, Croatian generals Ante Gotovina and Mladen Markač were acquitted of criminal responsibility for crimes against humanity and war crimes. Despite this, the court’s findings that numerous crimes against Serbian civilians were committed during Operation “Storm” were not questioned.
Most of these crimes have not been prosecuted to this day
The Humanitarian Law Center wishes to remind the public of the facts about the crimes committed during Operation “Storm,” and the documentation is available for download and use.
- Victims’ statements before the ICTY and the RECOM’s Forum for Transitional Justice in Post-Yugoslav countries.
- Report „The bombing of the refugee columns during Operaton ’Storm’ – August 1995“
- Dossier: Forcible Mobilisation of Refugees
