ZAGREB, Aug 5, 2020 - The Croatian state leadership will be in Knin on Wednesday to celebrate Victory Day, Homeland Thanksgiving Day, Croatian Veterans Day and the 25th anniversary of Operation Storm.

Operation Storm was a combined military and police operation that ended a Serb armed insurgency in August 1995 and restored Croatian sovereignty over occupied central and southern parts of the country, paving the way for the peaceful reintegration of eastern Croatia in January 1998.

The offensive was launched at 5 am on August 4 along the line running from Bosansko Grahovo to the south to Jasenovac to the east, the front line being more than 630 kilometres long. Within the next 84 hours slightly less than 10,500 square kilometres of territory, almost a fifth of the country, was liberated.

The operation culminated on August 5, when the Croatian Army's 4th and 7th Guard Brigades liberated Knin, the heart of the Serb rebellion, displaying a 20-metre-long Croatian flag on the town's fortress at noon.

About 200,000 Croatian soldiers and police took part in the biggest operation of the Homeland War. According to the Homeland War Memorial and Documentation Centre, 196 Croatian personnel were killed, at least 1,100 were wounded and 15 went missing, while losses among Serb forces were several times higher.

The Serb National Council has said that during and after Operation Storm 200,000 Serbs were displaced from Croatia and nearly 2,000 were killed. The Croatian Helsinki Committee for Human Rights has reported 677 civilian casualties and 20,000 damaged properties in the area liberated by Operation Storm, while the Documenta NGO put the number of civilian casualties below 677.

Operation Storm marked the end of the war in Croatia, created conditions for the peaceful reintegration of the eastern Danube River region, helped break the siege of the northwestern Bosnian town of Bihac, and enabled the return of refugees and displaced persons.

ZAGREB, Aug 5, 2020 - The President of Croatia and Commander in Chief of the Croatian Armed Forces, Zoran Milanovic, at a ceremony in Knin on Tuesday evening, presented medals to Croatian Army (HV) generals and Bosnian Croat HVO guards brigades for their contribution to the liberation of Croatia 25 years ago.

"There is time for everything. Twenty-five years after a great victory in the Homeland War, it is time for us to get together and repeat that a small group of good people did a great thing for a large group of people, putting themselves, their lives and safety, in jeopardy," Milanovic said in an address to a reception held on the Knin Fortress on the occasion of Victory Day, Homeland Thanksgiving Day, Croatian Veterans Day and the 25th anniversary of Operation Storm.

He said that the war that was imposed on Croatia was just and inevitable, and that "never, despite certain lapses, did we fall into an abyss of moral catastrophe." He also said that there had been attempts to portray the Croatian war of liberation as a criminal enterprise, but "luckily they failed".

Milanovic said he was honoured to decorate the Bosnian Croat units. "It is our debt of honour," he said.

"Today, 25 years on, we are here. We are looking back, but most of all we are looking forward, aware of all the challenges, traps, and unknowns. What I can say with a deep conviction is that the wars are over and that Croatia won them. Long live Croatia!" the President said.

Gotovina: It's never too late to do good

Retired General Ante Gotovina said that a lot of time had passed since the war, "but it is never too late to do good, to do right."

"Dear friends, with your courage and your selfless dedication to the country at that fateful time for our people, through the unity of us all, we built a Croatian army capable of defending itself, ending an imposed war and creating conditions for lasting peace," Gotovina said.

As Suzana Varosanec/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 5th of August, 2020, according to the amount of total revenue in 2019, the most successful small privately owned enterprise registered in Knin is Transport Beton Lubina, with 43.1 million kuna in revenue.

Enterprises based in the Croatian city of Knin, located in the Dalmatian hinterland, who have been operating within the corporate income tax system for the last ten years without exception have shown a positive consolidated financial result, according to Fina's recent analysis which was prepared on the occasion of Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day and Croatian Veterans Day.

However, the net profit in the amount of 12.1 million kuna, which was reported in Knin last year, which also the highest in the observed period 2010-2019, seems to be encouraging. It is as much as about 55 percent higher than in 2010, and about 34 percent higher than it was back in 2018.

The total revenue of this group of Knin-based businesses were the highest back in 2011 when they amounted to 429.2 million kuna, and the lowest was in 2018 (173.5 million kuna), while last year they were at the level of revenues earned back in 2010, which is equal to revenues of around 215 million kuna in total.

As previously stated, according to the amount of total revenue earned in 2019, the most successful small privately owned enterprise with its headquarters in Knin is Transport Beton Lubina with an impressive 43.1 million kuna. The production of concrete products for construction is the predominant activity of this company, which is owned and managed by Srećko Lubina. The company employs nineteen people and their average net salary in 2019 was around 5300 kuna per month, which is well above the Knin average.

The number of enterprises based in Knin increased from 75 in 2010 to 88 in 2019, an increase of 17.3 percent, but the number of employees decreased from 615 (2010) down to 510 (2019), which marks a decrease of a similar 17.1 percent. As such, it can be assumed that one of the reasons is the stated negative trends in terms of the amount of the net salaries of employees in Knin.

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ZAGREB, Aug 4, 2020 - It would be good not to embarrass ourselves as a country, President Zoran Milanovic said on Tuesday referring to announcements by some individuals that they would attend the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the military and police operation Storm in Knin wearing T-shirts with the emblem "For the Homeland Ready".

"That isn't the same. In Okucani, it was a matter of protocol. They appeared before the prime minister and me. This is a different situation. It would be good not to embarrass ourselves as a country, but if they wish to shout, let them but they should not wear those T-shirts, that just causes us harm," Milanovic said after attending the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the first Croatian police unit at the Croatian Police Academy in Zagreb.

Asked whether he would react as he did in Okucane when he left the commemoration because of the "For the Homeland Ready" HOS emblem if the same emblem was included in the protocol of the Knin commemoration, Milanovic said he would because he acted in line with his principles which the people had recognised.

I will not allow Croatia to be ridiculed, PM will make sure everything goes well

"I will certainly not allow the Croatian state and symbols to be ridiculed. I am certain that the prime minister will make an effort for that to be clean," said Milanovic.

With reference to Deputy Prime Minister Boris Milosevic of the Independent Democratic Serb Party (SDSS) attending the Storm celebration, Milanovic said that that was good but that he had not expected it.

"There will be a celebration in Knin tomorrow and not a commemoration. I do not expect everyone in Croatia to celebrate everything in the same way. That is why I am glad, if this is sincere, and I believe it is, for Milosevic to come," stressed Milanovic.

At not one moment, with possible faults during the war and in its aftermath, did Croatia fall into a moral disaster, he added, saying that there were mistakes and faults which had been paid for both in courts and materially.

"A stain remains but the victory is big, clean and unquestionable. If some are unhappy about it, let it be. That is why I am glad that Boris Milosevic is coming, he was an official in my government, too," Milanovic underlined.

No harsh words between prime minister and myself

Asked whether he had been in contact with Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic since last week following mutual criticism, Milanovic said that there were no harsh words there.

"The only thing he said was that I was bored, but that wasn't directed at me personally but to the position I hold. I didn't take that personally," he added.

As far as the powers of the National Civil Protection Authority are concerned, which he considers to be unconstitutional, Milanovic said that he had not launched proceedings to test its constitutionality because thirty other people had already done so and that it would not be any more relevant if he did so too.

"The president does not have any special status or special active legitimacy before the Constitutional Court and that is not the job of the president. It is up to me to say, and I have done so clearly from the very beginning - it is unconstitutional," he said. He reiterated that there is a way to regulate the matter, with the Sabor granting certain powers to the authority for a limited period.

EU funds: The prime minister has to take and use that money without delay

With regard to EU funding allocated to Croatia, Milanovic said that this was an enormous amount and that it was up to the prime minister to make sure that money was taken and used without any delay.

ZAGREB, Aug 4, 2020 - The opposition Homeland Movement party, led by Miroslav Skoro, said on Tuesday that its delegation, during a visit to Knin on August 5 for the commemoration of the 25th anniversary of Operation Storm, would not attend the official ceremony.

The party said one of the reasons why it would not attend the official ceremony was the fact that President Zoran Milanovic does not want units of the wartime Croatian Defence Force (HOS) to be part of the official protocol, and that one of Homeland Movement members of parliament was HOS general Ante Prkacin, who, it said, would be insulted by the party's attendance at the ceremony.

The Homeland Movement said it wanted to "celebrate the victory with the people" while the area where the official ceremony would be taking place would be cordoned off.

The party also said that statements by the HDZ and its coalition partner the Independent Democratic Serb Party (SDSS) ahead of the 25th anniversary of Operation Storm put emphasis on individual negative experiences of representatives of one part of the Serb minority, instead of on those who took part in the 1995 military operation.

"Instead of celebrating the magnificent victory, the 25th anniversary of Operation Storm has turned into a political show by Plenkovic and Milanovic aimed at promoting the Croat-Serb coalition that is based on trade-offs. The Homeland Movement refuses to give legitimacy to what should have been a celebration of the Croatian victory and has been turned into a commemoration for the Serb victims. We respect all victims, but on the 25th anniversary of Operation Storm, guilt cannot be equated and the aggressor cannot be turned into the victim," the party said.

ZAGREB, Aug 3, 2020 - Minister Tomo Medved on Monday said he was glad the entire government would be in Knin, which is a strong message that "calls on everyone to have a united approach aimed at creating an atmosphere of normalisation and closure of many chapters that, in a certain way, burden Croatian society."

Veterans' Affairs Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Tomo Medved attended the opening of an exhibition of photographs in Rijeka entitled "25 years later" as part of the 25th anniversary of the Storm military operation.

"Croatian Veterans' Day is the day in the year that the entire society stops for a moment to recall the defenders who were prepared to sacrifice their lives for the freedom of the homeland. We show our respect to all those who contributed so that we can have an independent and sovereign Croatia and together create a prosperous and even better Croatia," said Minister Medved.

He underscored that he was proud of the cooperation with all Homeland War associations from Rijeka and Primorje-Gorski Kotar County. "Croatia has achieved the majority of its strategic objectives and let's be proud of what we have done as a nation," Minister Medved said and called for new challenges that life brings to be accepted with optimism as Homeland War defenders did.

Important to mark 25th anniversary of Operation Storm with dignity

Medved reiterated that the message he wishes to send by attending the commemoration in Grubori is that now the most important thing is to mark the 25th anniversary of Operation Storm in a dignified manner and that later commemorations and activities will be discussed after that.

"We all know what the summer and autumn time brought Croatia, how much suffering and commemorations are ahead of us. As we have done so far, we will pay our respects with dignity both to Croatian defenders who died and to all the civilian victims," he said and added that now "we are concentrating on remembering those courageous defenders, the days of pride and glory."

We will mark the anniversary of Operation Storm on August 5 with dignity with the main programme in Knin as well as in other counties, cities and municipalities, which pleases us. The celebration will be different due to measures related to the coronavirus pandemic and foremost to protect the lives and health of citizens, Medved said.

Asked what deputy prime minister Boris Milosevic's attendance at the anniversary of Storm in Knin means, Medved reiterated that he was glad that the entire government would be there. "That is a strong message that calls on everyone to have a united approach, aimed at creating an atmosphere of normalisation and closure of many chapters that, in a certain way, burden Croatian society," he said.

ZAGREB, Aug 3, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Sunday that Deputy Prime Minister Boris Milosevic's attendance at the celebration of the 25th anniversary of Operation Storm in Knin this week was "a very useful and good thing".

"The fact that Milosevic will be in Knin on behalf of the SDSS (Independent Democratic Serb Party) is a very useful and good thing for Croatian society, for relations between the Croats and the Serb minority in Croatia, for relations between Croatia and Serbia, and it is also a good message that the modern, contemporary Croatia has completed all its national tasks," Plenkovic said in an interview with the public broadcaster HRT.

He said that Milosevic's attendance also showed the government's unity and the need to face what had happened in the past 30 years.

"Operation Storm is not only the most important victory in the Homeland War, but possibly in Croatian history as well. The operation was legally legitimate, militarily inevitable and politically necessary," the prime minister stressed.

"Our objective is to change relations in Croatian society and relations with our neighbours for the better, to put them in the right place and in the right temporal and historical context," he said when asked what kind of cooperation he expected with Serbia after August 5 given its criticism of Milosevic's decision.

"Twenty-five years have passed since the end of the war and 22 since the peaceful reintegration of the Croatian Danube region. Croatia is a member of the EU and NATO. ... We consider this decision to be very good and positive, and I believe that with time Belgrade and the entire political scene will realise why this decision is important and why it is good, useful and the only one possible," Plenkovic said.

Medved's attendance at Grubori commemoration an important political gesture

Plenkovic said that the attendance of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Veterans' Affairs Tomo Medved at a commemoration in Grubori, scheduled for later this month to pay tribute to Serbs killed in that village by Croatian forces, was an important political gesture of the Croatian government.

"The fact that Tomo Medved, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Veterans' Affairs, a Croatian Army general, and the commander of the Tigers Brigade, is willing to go to Grubori to make a civilisational gesture on the government's behalf and pay tribute to the victims is an important political gesture of the Croatian government," he said.

"This is good and this is no trade-off. We are now transforming the relations and putting them on a sound basis. There is no political trade-off, we did not think about it or discuss it when we were forming the parliamentary majority. This is a normal course of events as we and I personally see them 25 years after Operation Storm," he added.

Plenkovic said he was pleased that General Ante Gotovina would also speak in Knin. "The fact that the general will speak there is very good for Croatia. We remember his messages after he returned from The Hague, when he said that the war is over and we should turn to the future. I am confident that he too shares the approach we have taken for the 25th anniversary of Operation Storm," Plenkovic said, stressing that all members of his cabinet would be in Knin on August 5.

He reiterated that the ethnic minorities should always be with the government and the governing majority. "They are part of our political heritage of the past 30 years and should make their contribution to Croatia's future. We will cooperate with the ethnic minorities, there is no political doubt about it, and I think it is good and useful."

Active autumn for government

Plenkovic said that the government was bracing for an active autumn, adding that the tax burden on private citizens and businesses would be further eased.

The tax reforms will enter into force on January 1, as has been the case before, and will represent the continuity of the policy to relieve the tax burden on the citizens and businesses, the PM said.

Speaking of the minimum wage and its increase, he said that a decision on this would be made by early November at the latest.

ZAGREB, Aug 1, 2020 - Deputy Prime Minister Boris Milosevic said on Saturday that he will attend the August 5 commemoration of Operation Storm in Knin as a cabinet member, a Croatian Serb aware of the burden of the war legacy, because he believes the time has come to stop hatred and start building a culture of peace.

Writing on his Facebook page, Milosevic said he is going to Knin because he believes that 25 years after the war it is necessary to stop hatred and war which, unfortunately, for many is not over.

"Children of Serb ethnicity know this best because in their schools they have to endure stigma and feel the guilt just because they are Serbs," Milosevic said.

"I am going because I want to make their future easier. I am going because I think the time is ripe for a policy of understanding and respect to prevail over a policy of hatred," he added.

Milosevic said that during Operation Storm he had been in his native Sibenik, worrying about his father who had been mobilised as a Croatian army soldier, for his friends who were in the Croatian army, and for his relatives who were on the other side.

He said it was difficult for him to make this decision because of his personal family tragedy as his paternal grandmother had been shot dead from close range in the village of Bribirske Mostine in the wake of Operation Storm.

"The murderer was identified accidentally because of his own arrogance, believing that no one would investigate the murder of a Chetnik (Serb) woman, as he himself put it. He was sentenced to 7.5 years in prison and got out after 3.5 years following a presidential pardon," Milosevic wrote.

Milosevic said that Operation Storm is not just a military and police operation but also "an enormous collective trauma". For Croats, it is a symbol of the start of long-awaited peace and cessation of occupation, while for Serbs it is a trauma of an exodus, suffering, fear, uncertainty and the impossibility of returning to their homes.

He said he is aware that his attendance in Knin will not change the opposed views on Operation Storm among the majority on both sides, but that he is willing to accept any gesture aimed at promoting tolerance and mutual respect so that "we can confirm ourselves as a democratic society that can achieve co-existence and prosperity regardless of any differences, including those in interpreting our common past."

"Building an atmosphere of reconciliation and dialogue in which we as society must recognise and accept all the victims regardless of their ethnicity, is much more important than my presence in Knin," Milosevic said.

December 15, 2019 - A new charity beer pong tournament will bring together Split businesses and local breweries on a mission help the animals of Knin. 

Christmas time is always the season when people feel most generous and giving.  This year, a group of Split businesses, ex-pats and a small animal shelter in Knin are getting together to make the holiday a much warmer one for some furry friends.On December 22, 2019, a charity beer pong tournament will take place with proceeds going to Udruga Berta to help feed and house about 50 animals.

Udruga Berta is located in Knin, a city that continues to lose its residents to better opportunities elsewhere. Unfortunately, when they leave, they leave their dogs behind, too. Fortunately, Udruga Berta is there to pick them up.

It all started with a belated Birthday Day present. 

Two years ago, an abandoned Dachshund was begging outside Ivan Simic's pizzeria the day before Valentine's Day.  Ivan still had not gotten his wife a belated birthday present (her birthday was the 9th) and it was to be Valentine's Day the next day. Little did that dog know that he would be the inspiration for hundreds of dogs needing homes. That little hungry Dachshund was named Masha and he was the first dog Ivan and his wife Zeljana saved from the streets. Today, their rescue has over 50 dogs. With 500 dogs being placed in forever homes in the last two and a half years. They rely entirely on donations and volunteers with just Ivan and Zeljana caring for the dogs every day.

In order to receive government aid, proper licenses need to be obtained, and this is costly and difficult because of Croatian bureaucracy.  This is where several local businesses have jumped in to help out.

About the Event:

“Hair of the Dog” Beer Pong Tournament is being held in hopes of raising money and awareness for Udruga Berta. The tournament will be held on Sunday, December 22nd, at To Je To Caffe Bar (Vukovarska Ulica 49).  Each team (consisting of two players) will donate a minimum of 100 kuna to the cause in order to play. Businesses will send two representatives (or in many cases, the owners) to play the tournament.  The community is urging people not interested in coming to donate money, blankets, dog food, or other supplies even if they do not want to play in the tournament.

The tournament will have 16 teams, and ten businesses are already participating in the competition. Six spots are left, and they are open for anyone to play; business or individuals. The beer for the Beer Pong Tournament will be donated by Lab Brewery, Tap B Brewery, and Fjaka Brewery. Prizes including bragging rights & a Beer Pong trophy for the winner, and prizes donated by Break Time Croatia, To Je To Caffe Bar and D16 are for second and third place. 

Business participating: 

Klub Kocka 

Radio Kampus 

Break Time Croatia 

To Je Tako Restaurant 

Black Dog Bar 

Crozzies PubCrawl Split 

D16    

Fig Restaurant   

Old Town & Outlanders Tribe Hostel 

Brooklyn Bagels 

My Map Split

The goals: 

 1. To raise enough money to extend a fence in the shelter so that medium and large-sized dogs can run around with more space, provide the Udruga with a form of transportation (for picking up dogs, taking them to the vet in Sibenik, etc.), buying small gravel to cover the ground, so the dogs are not covered in mud when it rains. 

2. To raise awareness about the shelter. They receive no government help and rely solely on donations, and Ivan and Zeljana's hard work to make sure these animals can live better lives. 

3. To let people know that there are plenty of dogs that need homes. Adopt, don't shop.

 4. That if you can't adopt, you can donate. If you can't donate, you can volunteer. And if you cant volunteer, you can spread awareness.

If you are interested in donating, volunteering or helping in any way, please contact the tournament hosts through Facebook.

All photos by Sara Filipa Delić

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ZAGREB, December 5, 2019 - Fifteen hooligans, who on 21 August raided a Serb-owned cafe in the village of Uzdolje, beating up some of the guests, including a child, as they were watching a TV broadcast of a football match between Red Star Belgrade and the Swiss side Young Boys, and damaging the interior of the bar, were charged with committing a hate crime in that village near Knin.

The municipal office of the Chief State Prosecutor (DORH) in Šibenik on Wednesday issued an indictment for the Uzdolje incident which reads that the defendants, who were masked and carried wooden and metal rods and a machete, attacked and inflicted bodily injuries on five guests, including a child, fans of the Serbian club Red Star.

The damage done to the cafe is estimated at 25,000 kuna (3,400 euro).

The first arrests in connection with the Uzdolje incident were made in late August, when four suspects were apprehended on suspicion of committing violence out of hatred. Ten more hooligans were arrested in early September. The 15th suspect turned himself in to the police on 12 September.

In the meantime, the prosecution has requested the extension of detention for ten of the 15 indictees.

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