Ante Gotovina is much more than just a household name like that of an actor or a singer. This hero of the Homeland War was proclaimed innocent at The Hague and released back in 2012. He returned to Croatia and embarked on a normal life before becoming somewhat of an entrepreneur. Thesedays, Gotovina no longer dons a general's uniform, but instead deals in the raising of tuna through his own company.

As Gotovina enjoys the quiet life now, the stories of his heroic past in the face of war have never faded, and a film about him is set to be filmed with Šibenik-Knin County's very welcome financial support.

As Morski writes on the 28th of May, 2019, Šibenik-Knin County Prefect Goran Pauk has signed a co-financing contract for a feature film and the "General" TV series.

"This contract stipulates that Šibenik-Knin County is obliged to provide financial support in the amount of 100,000 kuna to the project of a feature-length film and drama television series called "General'', by the screenwriter and director Antun Vrdoljak in the production of Kiklop filma d.o.o. and Croatian Television,'' reads a quote from Šibenik-Knin County.

In the explanation, it is argued that the theme of the film and TV series is the Homeland War, to which Croatian cinematography still owes a lot, given the historical achievement of the creation of the democratic and independent Republic of Croatia, the fulfillment of a centuries-old dream of the Croatian people.

The film and TV series covers the the war and the life of General Ante Gotovina and his generation of Croatian defenders, detailing both the good times and the extremely bad ones.

"Most of all, because of those who have given us and all future generations the liberty that we've inherited today, the Croatian Defense Forces," they argue in their clarification of their decision to fund the film on Gotovina's life and deeds.

To briefly recall, filming was completed in Šibenik on January the 30th this year, and Šibenik native Goran Višnjić plays General Ante Gotovina.

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ZAGREB, May 12, 2019 - A ceremony was held outside the Defence Ministry building in Zagreb on Sunday to formally mark the return of a MiG-21 fighter jet with which Croatian pilot Rudolf Perešin defected from the Yugoslav Air Force in October 1991.

Perešin flew the plane from a Yugoslav Air Force base near the northwestern Bosnian town of Bihać to Klagenfurt, Austria, which was seen as an act of moral victory at the start of Serbian military aggression against Croatia in 1991. The plane was returned to Zagreb earlier this month and will remain on display outside the Defence Ministry until the end of May, after which it will be relocated to the Croatian Air Force base at Pleso.

Addressing the ceremony, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said that the plane was one of the main symbols of the 1991-1995 Homeland War, adding that its return after 28 years of quiet diplomacy and government efforts was a mark of honour to all Croatian veterans and their families.

"The story of Rudolf Perešin and this plane is a story of freedom. It must remain with us forever. The message Rudolf Perešin sent in October 1991 to Croatian defenders, the entire Croatian nation and the entire world, is a message of freedom, courage, strength, boldness and patriotism. That message is again with us here today," the prime minister said.

Defence Minister Damir Krstičević said: "This plane is a living piece of history and a symbol of the start of the Croatian Army and the Croatian Air Force, a symbol of victory, resistance against aggression and the fight of the Croatian nation for its independence. Its return is of an immeasurable value to our country."

Rudolf Perešin decided to leave the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) on 25 October 1991, undertaking a risky flight from Bihac to Klagenfurt. He was later quoted by media as saying: "I am Croatian, I cannot and won't shoot at Croatians."

Perešin was killed on 2 May 1995 during Operation Flash in the Western Slavonia region when his MiG was shot down by Serb anti-aircraft artillery. His remains were found only two and a half years later, and he was given a formal burial at Zagreb's Mirogoj Cemetery in 1997.

More news about the Homeland War can be found in the Politics section.

Almost 24 years after the Homeland war ended, Croatia has 1,687 new war veterans. New veterans have been able to prove they should be recognised as such nearly a quarter of a century after the end of the war due to the new War Veterans Act, which has reopened the possibility of acquiring the status, even though the earlier deadline was 2009. The number of new veterans is expected to grow further because the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of the Interior have received a total of 10,600 requests for recognition of this status, reports Novi List on May 10, 2019.

The Ministry of Defense has announced that it has received a total of 9,529 requests by May 3. Out of this, 2,579 applications have been processed, and 1,367 have been accepted. This means that the remaining 1,382 claims have been declined, i.e. in these cases, citizens have failed to prove that they should get the war veteran status. The Interior Ministry announced it had received 1,071 requests. “The status has been confirmed for 320 people, while 391 requests have been denied. Other claims are still being processed,” said the ministry.

The two ministries have processed 3,470 of the 10,600 requests so far, which is slightly more than one-third. So far, 47.3 per cent of the claims has been accepted, while slightly more than half have been rejected, which means that, if the ratio is maintained, Croatia could eventually have about five thousand new war veterans. Given that claims can still be filed, this will not be the final number.

When the government passed the new law in December 2017, and Veterans Affairs Minister Tomo Medved reclassified the War Veterans Register, it included 505,694 veterans, but that number has now grown by 1,687.

The new law foresees that the war veteran status, in addition to members of the Armed Forces, including the National Guard, the Croatian Army, officials of the Defence Ministry, police officers, officials of the Interior Ministry, and the Croatian Defense Forces, “can be recognised for members of the People Protection units, If they were engaged for at least 100 days in the period from July 30 1991, to December 31 1991.”

Citizens who have taken advantage of this opportunity and ensured the war veteran status in the latest wave may expect certain benefits when it comes to their everyday life, i.e. the right to health care and to a privileged position in getting a job in state services. If they become unemployed, they have the right to special compensation. The law which entered into force in 2018 has also reduced the retirement age for veterans. They also have a minimum guaranteed pension which is higher than the one for other retired citizens.

Translated from Novi List (reported by Jagoda Marić).

More Homeland War news can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, May 2, 2019 - Croatian President Kolinda Grabar Kitarović told reporters on Wednesday in Okučani at a ceremony marking the 24th anniversary of a combined military and police offensive, known as Operation Flash, which ended nearly four years of Serb occupation of the Western Slavonia region, that Operation Flash had finally liberated Croatian territory and enabled the reintegration of the entire Croatia.

"Today with special reverence and dignity we are marking the military and police Operation Flash which launched the final liberation of Croatian territory and reintegration of the entire Croatia," said the president. She expressed deep sympathy for the families of those killed and missing.

Asked to comment on the 22 Serb victims who were killed in Medari during Operation Flash, the president said: "We mourn every victim and all victims deserve commemoration, regardless of their nationality."

Also present was Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković who said Croatia commemorated all those who died during Operation Storm.

The ceremony in Okučani was also attended Defence Minister Damir Krstičević, Interior Minister Dražen Božinović, Veterans Minister Tomo Medved and other top officials.

The operation was launched on May 1 and ended on May 3, 1995. During less than 32 hours, Croatian troops and police regained control of 500 square kilometres of land, including the main west-east motorway and the railway line leading to Eastern Slavonia.

About 7,200 troops and police officers took part in the liberation of Western Slavonia, of whom 42 were killed and 162 wounded. It was the first time during the 1991-1995 Homeland War that the Croatian Air Force had used airstrikes on a larger scale, and the enemy was further surprised by tanks that were brought in by rail and deployed in combat.

Okučani is located about 130 kilometres southeast of Zagreb. During the war it was the centre of the Serb rebellion and a staging area for terrorist attacks in Western Slavonia.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenković visited Okučani on Tuesday on the eve of the 24th anniversary of Operation Flash.

Serb Orthodox priest Dragan Antonić officiated a religious ceremony in Okučani on Wednesday after which Independent Democratic Serb Party vice president Boris Milošević told the press he had come to Okučani to remember the victims and senselessness of the war.

Although announced, SDSS president Milorad Pupovac did not attend the event.

Asked about the message from Okušani, Milošević said this was exclusively a religious event.

After the religious ceremony, a prayer was held in Medari to commemorate the 22 Serb civilians killed in Operation Flash.

More news about the Homeland War can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, May 1, 2019 - Croatia is marking the 24th anniversary of a combined military and police offensive, known as Operation Flash, which ended nearly four years of Serb occupation of the Western Slavonia region.

The operation was launched on May 1 and ended on May 3, 1995. During less than 32 hours Croatian troops and police regained control of 500 square kilometres of land, including the main west-east motorway and the railway line leading to Eastern Slavonia.

About 7,200 troops and police officers took part in the liberation of Western Slavonia, of whom 42 were killed and 162 wounded. It was the first time during the 1991-1995 Homeland War that the Croatian Air Force had used airstrikes on a larger scale, and the enemy was further surprised by tanks that were brought in by rail and deployed in combat.

Okučani is located about 130 kilometres southeast of Zagreb. During the war it was the centre of the Serb rebellion and a staging area for terrorist attacks in Western Slavonia.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenković visited Okučani on Tuesday on the eve of the 24th anniversary of Operation Flash. Plenković, accompanied by Minister of Regional Development and EU Funds Gabrijela Žalac and Minister of Veterans' Affairs Tomo Medved, laid a wreath and lit candles in tribute to 51 Croatian soldiers killed in the operation.

After the ceremony, he met with the mayors of Western Slavonia towns and municipalities, and Minister Žalac presented them with agreements aimed at promoting the development of social, economic and municipal infrastructure and entrepreneurship.

Top Croatian state officials attended a ceremony in Okučani on Wednesday. The ceremony in Okucani was attended by President and Armed Forces Supreme Commander Kolinda Grabar Kitarović, Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković, Defence Minister Damir Krstičević, Interior Minister Dražen Božinović, Veterans Minister Tomo Medved and other top officials.

More news about Homeland War can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, March 31, 2019 - A wreath-laying ceremony was held in Plitvice Lakes National Park on Sunday to mark 28 years since the launch of Operation Plitvice and the death of police officer Josip Jović, the first defender of Croatia to be killed in the 1991-1995 Homeland War.

Apart from the Jović family, wreaths were laid by President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, the parliament speaker's representative Anđelko Stričak, Interior Minister Davor Božinović, Defence Minister Damir Krstičević, Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Mirko Šundov, national chief of police Nikola Milina and representatives of war veterans' organisations.

Jović, 22, was killed and nine other police officers were wounded in a police operation after Serb insurgents occupied Plitvice Lakes National Park and blocked the D1 state road that connects the country's north and south. Jović was a member of the Lučko Anti-Terrorist Unit.

The operation was launched on the morning of 31 March 1991, Easter Sunday, and is also known as Bloody Easter. According to police reports after the operation, 29 Serb extremists were arrested and 18 were charged with armed rebellion, including Goran Hadžić, a member of the main committee of the Serb Democratic Party, and Borivoje Šavić, secretary of the executive committee of the party's Vukovar branch.

Although the Croatian police regained control of the local police station, they had to withdraw later on and the area remained under rebel control until August 1995 when Operation Storm crushed the Serb insurgency.

Jović has been posthumously promoted to the rank of major and decorated with high state medals.

More news about Homeland War can be found in the Politics section.

Independent parliamentarian Vlaho Orepić discussed various issues surrounding the Croatian political and social structure, claiming that ''the failure to properly deal with fake (fictitious) residences by the authorities is politically motivated and purposely left unresolved with the aim of influencing the outcomes of the upcoming elections,''

The fact that there is no real intention of the current authorities to remove fake residences from the electoral register and bring some order [to that situation] and accordingly, Croatia conducts a policy of banalisation when it comes to the conditions for obtaining Croatian citizenship were grounds for a press conference held by independent MP Vlaho Orepić.

On Tuesday, February the 5th, 2019, on the premises of the Croatian Parliament, Vlaho Orepić held a press conference on which he once again pointed out to the media and the public the problem of fake residence registration.

The fact that this issue remains unresolved means people who have their permanent residence in the Republic of Croatia are denied the right to elect their own authorities, and Croatian citizens living outside the homeland (whose voting rights are indisputable and come directly from what is written in the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia (Ustav Republike Hrvatske) are also deceived in this way.

The conclusion which has now been arrived to, given that a response from the relevant minister wasn't given even after the issue was brought up in parliament, is that there is simply no sincere and real intention of the current government to even try to tackle an extremely important issue so that honest elections can be carried out in the future. Orepić has therefore also called upon political and social structures to take a stance and engage with the aim of protecting legality of upcoming elections and democratic processes in the Republic of Croatia.

"What worries me, and what has inspired a series of both formal and informal reactions from me, even this press conference, is the fact that false (fictitious) residences are politically motivated and protected with the aim of influencing the outcomes of the electoral process(es) in the Republic of Croatia. My goal is to put an end to fake residence [registration] and the type of politics which permits that same cheating in the elections. My goal is fair elections,'' stated Orepić.

According to new statistics, Croatia has fewer than four million inhabitants (approximately 3.750 million), according to official data we can count almost 4,175,000 people with health insurance and as many as 3,746,286 voters. The fact that the number of voters isn't actually correct has been indicated by the data of the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), published in July 2017, which states that just children under the age of fourteen alone which are registered amount to 600,000. It's totally clear that Croatia has no accurate and publicly available list of citizens and voters, nor does it have the political will to have this problem solved.

From the mentioned numerical indicators, as well as from the legal definition of residence, which reads as - residence is the place and address in the Republic of Croatia where the person permanently resides in order to exercise his/her rights and obligations related to living interests such as family, professional, economic, social, cultural and social other interests - it's clear that a lot of people who don't meet these conditions have been entered into the electoral register.

They are listed [on the electoral register] on the basis of their false registrations of residence in the Republic of Croatia and thus, in addition to voting and other rights, they enjoy economic ones which come with residing in the Republic of Croatia.

That this is politically motivated has also been indicated by the fact that the second day after Vlaho Orepić's dismissal as Minister of the Interior, the disclosure and deletion procedure of false residence registrations in the Republic of Croatia (mainly regarding citizens from neighbouring Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina) was suspended. Activities related to the abolition of fake residences are a legal obligation of the chief of police administrations, but in spite of that fact, all of those who were engaged in carrying out this work were prevented from continuing with it.

While Vlaho Orepić was the Minister of the Interior, in just two and a half months, about 45,000 fake residence registrations were removed, and over the next four months that number rose to 75,000. The estimates are that at the present moment, there are at least 150,000 fictitious residence registrations in the Republic of Croatia, which brings a whole range of election process outcomes as well as the legality of the authorities at all levels into question.

"I hope all political, judicial and other social structures will realise the importance of this issue. From the government, the security services and the justice system, I expect an urgent reaction, just as was done with the recent attempt to try to discredit the Minister of Agriculture (Tomislav Tolušić). I expect from the umbrella of war veteran associations to stand up for the legality of the election process in the Republic of Croatia, especially with the engagement of Mr. Josip Đakić as a parliamentary representative and as a war veteran.

I expect the support of the President of the Croatian Parliament, Mr. Gordan Jandroković, and especially the two vice-presidents Mr. Milijan Brkić and Mr. Božo Petrov because they know very well what I'm talking about and what I'm fighting for. I also expect the support of President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović to whom this issue must be in focus because it's in the interest of citizens, and all the citizens of the Republic of Croatia, and without whom we cannot even begin to talk about the rule of law as the basis for the survival of every single legal state,'' concluded Vlaho Orepić, MP.

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ZAGREB, March 2, 2019 - A ceremony was held in Pakrac, in Western Slavonia, about 130 kilometres east of Zagreb, on Saturday to commemorate the 28th anniversary since the start of the Homeland War. Those present were addressed by President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, Mayor Anamarija Blažević, Pozega-Slavonia County Deputy Prefect Vedran Neferović, and war veterans.

Grabar-Kitarović particularly thanked those who had defended the town against Serb paramilitary forces. "Western Slavonia was a strategically important area for our defence in the early spring of 1991. The Greater Serbia aggressors knew that. They attacked Pakrac and other towns on the axis between Pakrac and Virovitica to carve up Croatia and break it," she recalled.

"The initial burden of the defence was on the Croatian police who showed the unbreakable spirit of the Croatian people and resoluteness of Croatian authorities to stop the Greater Serbia aggression," the president said, adding that 1991 was the most difficult.

"That was a key year in which we successfully defended Croatia and laid the foundations of the victorious Croatian army and successfully conducted the first offensive and liberating military operations," she said. "I have made a formal proposal to create a Western Slavonia Medal of Honour to be given to all defenders who fought on this front," she said.

The day's commemoration started with Mass for all defenders killed in the war or who have died since, and was followed by a victory march of Croatian veterans and their families to a local cemetery for a wreath-laying ceremony.

The commemoration was organised by local government and the associations of Croatian police veterans from Pakrac and Lipik under the auspices of President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović.

Twenty-eight years ago, Croatian special police forces liberated Pakrac from occupying rebel Serbs who had captured the town's police station the day before. During the operation, three police officers were wounded while the rebels were forced to withdraw behind the hill overlooking Pakrac.

The event of March 2, 1991 was preceded by the decision of the predominantly Serb Town Council to annex the town to the breakaway Kraijna region, suspending the Croatian Constitution on February 28. This was followed by the recruitment and armament of Serb police reservists. The rebels took down Croatian flags from the police station and municipal offices and raised Serb flags. The next morning Croatian special police arrived and fighting ensued, with the Croatian forces quickly taking control of the police station, removing the Serb flags and restoring Croatian law in the town.

More news on the Homeland War can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, February 21, 2019 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Thursday the government was determined to embark as of the next school year on a "frontal application" of the education reform and new curricula in every subject, adding that the goal was to have new generations know the values of the Homeland War, take clear positions on the Holocaust, and condemn the Ustasha regime.

Speaking at a government meeting, he said 37 curricula had been agreed, adopted and published, and that the two remaining would be agreed too.

Speaking of the history curriculum, Plenković said the government's goal was to have the education system aligned to the market's real needs. At the same time, the standard of the knowledge and the information people get through education must very clearly instil in children the key identity issues, the key value system, based on historical facts, and explain Croatian history, language and culture, he added.

"That's our political goal - that new generations know what the values of the Homeland War are, and also that they take clear positions on matters such as the Holocaust, condemn those regimes that were the worst during World War Two. We have no dilemmas about the Ustasha regime."

Speaking of a draft history curriculum that underwent public consultation and was fine-tuned, the prime minister said it did not downplay the Holocaust.

He said that after Education Minister Blaženka Divjak put the curriculum back into public consultation, the government would like "two or three more authorities from the academic community to be consulted so that a draft can be agreed on which we can reach a broad expert and social consensus."

Speaking to the press before the cabinet meeting, Divjak reiterated that she decided to put the history curriculum back into public consultation because the draft she received from the expert working group downplayed the Holocaust.

She called on everyone to participate in the consultation without ideological disputes so that the most important historical events could be presented appropriately and students could understand them and take a position, for example by condemning the Holocaust.

More news on the curriculum reform can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, February 14, 2019 - After a meeting with his Serbian counterpart Nela Kuburović on Wednesday, Croatian Justice Minister Dražen Bošnjaković reiterated that he was not "that satisfied," with the cooperation between the two ministries over the past year and that war reparation was not discussed.

Bošnjaković reiterated that at a meeting with the then Serbian justice minister last year, they had defined certain objectives and that at today's meeting they "evaluated where they were at and what to do next."

"I cannot say that I am overly satisfied with the way things have functioned over the past year, but then we have formed two commissions. One was tasked with defining an international agreement regarding processing war crimes and the other was to work on exchanging information about persons against whom criminal proceedings were being conducted or have been convicted. The commissions did work and we can't say they didn't, but they haven't made any recommendations," Bošnjaković said.

He underlined the wish to intensify meetings between the task forces and that by summer they come up with their recommendations. He explained that an international agreement will define how to regulate war crimes prosecution, adding that it would be above the Law on Jurisdiction that Serbia adopted.

He added that Serbia delivered a list of about 70 names of people in Croatia that Serbia has indicted but that they did not have the full list due to technical problems regarding data collection. Croatia however has sent Serbia a list of 1,300 names.

Asked whether the ministries' delegations discussed war reparation, Bošnjaković said that this was not discussed as that "isn't in the remit of the Justice Ministry but other ministries."

During her visit to Croatia, Minister Kuburović also met with representatives of ethnic Serb minority organisations.

More news about relations between Croatia and Serbia can be found in the Politics section.