ZAGREB, 27 May 2022 - Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Friday that government officials had met with Croatian Air Force pilots who had taken part in the 1995 Operation Storm, stressing that all available mechanisms would be used to protect them from an indictment from Serbia.

"We discussed the latest developments following media reports that indictments are being prepared in Serbia, at the request of their prosecutor, against four pilots, Air Force commanders at the time of the military and police operation Storm," Plenković said at the start of a government session.

He said that they still did not have any concrete documents or requests for legal assistance but that they would do everything to protect the pilots.

"As before, the government will use all the available mechanisms to protect the Croatian pilots and the dignity of the Homeland War, thus sending a clear message about the fundamental values on which free Croatia is founded," said Plenković.

He said that during the Homeland War no orders had been issued, especially not in the Air Force, that would in any way be directed against civilian targets, repeating that the Homeland War, notably its operations Storm and Flash, had been part of efforts to liberate, protect and reintegrate Croatian territory.

Plenković repeated that with the indictment Serbia "is making a step backward in reconciliation", stressing that he had conveyed his dissatisfaction with the indictment to Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić at a meeting in Davos.

The Serbian war crimes prosecutor has issued an indictment charging four Croatian officers with having ordered, on 7 and 8 August 1995, a missile attack on a refugee convoy, but the prosecutor's office has said that the indictment is not final and that the proceedings currently underway are not public.

According to unofficial reports, the indictment refers to Croatian Air Force pilots Vladimir Mikac, Zdenko Radulj, Željko Jelenić, and Danijel Borović.

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ZAGREB, 24 May 2022 - Croatian President Zoran Milanović said on Tuesday that indicting four high-ranking Croatian Army officers for alleged war crimes will cost Serbia, calling out politicians in that country for "unintelligent behaviour" with which Serbia will never succeed in joining the European Union.

Serbia's War Crimes Prosecutor's Office indicted four high-ranking Croatian Army officers for alleged war crimes. They are accused of shelling a refugee column during the military Operation Storm on 7 and 8 August 1995.

"These indictments have occurred despite our years-long attempts to convince them not to play with fire and that it will cost them. I cannot be more polite, I hope they are listening to me. Leave that alone. Otherwise, they should not be surprised by reactions by right-wing lawmakers in the Sabor. The problem is that the majority of people in Croatia think like that," Milanović told reporters.

Asked by N1 television if he was afraid of being indicted for his speech in Glina in 1995 as a possible response to Serbia indicting four Croatian generals, Serbia's President Aleksandar vučić said "the Serbs didn't kill Croatians, it was the Croatians who killed Serbs."

Milanović called on Vučić "not to do that." "I can keep things rhetorically under control to a certain measure. But then this comes from Belgrade and how then can I explain that we pursue a well-intentioned policy?"

Milanović said that these moves by Serbia were "unintelligent behaviour" by a state that is "impoverished and degraded," and that does not have its status resolved anywhere.

"They don't want to join NATO, OK. They will never join the European Union this way. Who needs this? Who is pursuing this policy? Which citizens there is the prosecutor's office addressing?" Milanović said.

He went on to say that he is convinced that 75% of citizens would support his and the Prime Minister Andrej Plenković's common stance about Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and that just as many people in Croatia believe that "Croatian prosecutorial authorities should indict Vučić."

Milanović however said that that should not be done because Vučić is "being tactical." "And then we hear that nobody killed anyone, but instead the Croatians killed Serbs," he added.

"I am sorry for every Serb who was killed. They need not have been. But a huge majority of Serbs fled straight away. That is a fact. Even the tribunal in The Hague confirmed that," said Milanović.

"Serb brethren, come to your senses," Milanović said, adding that he would probably now be proclaimed an "Ustasha." "Last week I was a Serb."

"We have to be clear and just in our relations with Serbia, articulate what we expect of them," he added

Last week the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts called on Serbia to stop inciting animosity against Croatia and prosecuting Croatian citizens, to renounce Greater Serbia propaganda and respect its obligations in line with agreements, such as protecting the reciprocal rights of the Croat minority and ensuring for Croats free political and cultural organising, as Croatia ensures for the Serb minority.

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ZAGREB, 25 Oct 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković on Monday received Ljerka Perešin, the widow of the legendary Croatian pilot, Brigadier Rudolf Perešin, on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of his flight with a Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) MiG-21 fighter jet from Bihać to Austria.

On 25 October 1991, Perešin, a Croat, defected from the JNA from Bihać to Klagenfurt and joined the Croatian Army. His plane was returned from Austria to Croatia in 2019 owing to the efforts of former defense minister Damir Krstičević and Croatia's diplomacy.

Perešin is known for his statement in Klagenfurt: "I'm a Croat and I cannot shoot at Croats!" which reflected the feeling of unity and strength among the Croatian people who were doing their best to make the dream of a free and independent Croatia come true.

Eternal thanks to Perešin for his heroism and sacrifice for the homeland

Prime Minister Plenković thanked the Perešin family for their courage, strength, and patriotism and for Rudolf's sacrifice. Perešin lost his life during the 1995 Flash military and police operation when Croatia's forces liberated areas in Western Slavonia.

Plenković said that it is up to all of us to nurture the lasting memory of Homeland War heroes and to ensure dignity for Croatian veterans and their families. It is particularly important for younger generations to foster the memory of Homeland War heroes like Rudolf Perešin was.

"We owe our eternal gratitude and respect to Rudolf Perešin, who showed courage, love, and loyalty towards the homeland and made the greatest sacrifice for its freedom," said the Prime Minister.

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