ZAGREB, 26 August, 2022 - War Veterans' Affairs Minister Tomo Medved said on Friday, at a meeting with four pilots of Croatia's Air Force from Operation Storm that the Croatian state, its institutions, and especially the government would use all mechanisms to protect them from accusations from Serbia.
Minister Medved and Justice and Public Administration Minister Ivan Malenica held a meeting at the government headquarters with the four pilots of Croatia's Air Force from the 1995 Operation Storm about the war crimes indictments issued against them by Serbia.
The meeting was also attended by representatives of the Ministry of War Veterans' Affairs, the Ministry of Justice and Public Administration, the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, and other relevant institutions, the government said.
It was stressed that Croatia had not received any official information from Serbia's institutions regarding the indictments against the pilots and Croatian defenders.
The pilots accused of alleged crimes have not been notified that criminal proceedings have been launched, they have not been questioned at any stage of the criminal proceedings, nor has their questioning been requested via relevant institutions of the Republic of Croatia, the government said.
Speaking of further actions and activities, Medved stressed that the Croatian state and its institutions, and especially the government, would employ all mechanisms at their disposal to protect the pilots effectively. He said that Serbia did not respect the basic principles of judicial cooperation and carried out actions contrary to the rule of law and international law.
He told the pilots that they were the heroes of the Homeland War and that they could feel safe because Croatia would never let their freedom and rights be threatened due to politically motivated proceedings and provocations by Serbia.
At the meeting, it was also said that Serbia had to face its past and responsibility for the aggression and crimes of the Greater Serbia regime.
The Homeland War and the military and police Operation Storm had a liberation character, whose legitimacy and justification have been confirmed also by final judgments of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, the government said in the press release.
