July 31, 1995. Croatian President Franjo Tudjman speaks to his generals: “Close all the ways out and then destroy them. This has to be finished in 8 days maximum. We have the support of Germany, the USA and NATO”.
In August 1995 50,000 Croatian troops stormed the Krajina, with an additional force of 10,000 Croatian and 15,000 Muslim troops. American F-16 planes provided support by bombing communication centers in Pljesavica and Djelavac.
When population census records from 1991 and 2001 are compared, it turns out that about half a million Serbs have disappeared from today’s Croatia. Croatia became the ethnically “purest” territory of the former Yugoslavia.
The Storm Still Blows
Vlastimir Popovic
Vecernje Novosti daily, Belgrade
August 2, 2006
Translated by Alex, Edited by Freenations
The town of Knin fell on August 4, 1995. The Croatian attack came at 5 am on a Friday. By half past noon, the Croatian army walked into the deserted town. The second largest migration of Serbs in history had happened. (The first happened in 1690 under Patriarch Arsenije Carnojevic). In just four days, from Krajina – the regions of Bania, Kordun, Lika and northern Dalmatia, 280.000 Serbs were expelled from lands they lived in for 500 years. Croatia became the “purest” territory of the former Yugoslavia.
Eleven years later, and the memories of the horror, endless columns of refugees, scared, terrified people, live on. While this is a day which Serbs everywhere mark with great sadness, in Croatia it’s a national holiday, and the Croatian public glorifies operation “Storm” as a legitimate, just, defensive action from a “Serbo-Chetnik and Yugo-Communist aggression”. The official stand of the Croatian authorities is that there was no ethnic cleansing, no crimes against Serbs and that they practically left Croatia on their own free will. This, of course, is the kind of lie which Goebbels was adept at teaching fascists like the Croats! (Although in fact even Goebbels was shocked by the horrific murders carried out by the Croatian Ustashe during World War 2)
The Croatian bloodbath campaign has been celebrated by champagne. Crimes have been turned to victory, criminals to heroes. Although the Croatian authorities keep saying that the return for Serbs is safe, only a few have decided to actually return.
Brioni, Tito’s former Adriatic resort. July 31, 1995. Croatian President Franjo Tudjman speaks to his generals: “Close all the ways out and then destroy them. This has to be finished in 8 days maximum. We have the support of Germany, the USA and NATO”.
Four days later, the Storm started. Krajina was defenceless because Serbia remained neutral. 50,000 Croatian troops stormed on Krajina, with an additional force of 10,000 Croatian and 15,000 Muslim troops. Many towns came under a heavy barrage of artillery and rocket fire. 700 Croatian tanks and armored vehicles and 1.800 artillery and rocket weapons were put into action. American F-16 planes provided support by bombing communication centers in Pljesavica and Djelavac.
The Krajina Serbs, eleven years later, are still either homeless or refugees. Only 2,700 Serbian homes have been renovated in Krajina and only about 18,000 Serbs have returned. 1,110 villages and settlements in which Serbs had been living for centuries, ceased to exist.
Many never made it to the safety of Serbia and its collective refugee centers. Fleeing death, the Krajina Serbs left everything behind. Many never had a chance. Those who did manage to get to Serbia, found themselves asking a question: “What do I do now? How do I start over?”
During the four days of operation “Storm”, 25,000 Serbian homes were destroyed, 13,000 businesses, 56 medical facilities, 78 Orthodox churches, 29 museums, 181 cemeteries, 352 small shops, all big state-owned factories, 920 monuments, 211 cafes and restaurants, 410 craftsmen shops.
Before operation “Storm”, 450,000 Serbs lived in the Krajina. From 1991 until 1995, as many as 6,765 Serbs were murdered. 2,670 are still missing. When population census records from 1991 and 2001 are compared, it turns out that about half a million Serbs have disappeared from today’s Croatia.
SERB HOMES STOLEN BY CROATS
50,000 Serbian homes have been confiscated across Croatia. Many of those became a gift of the Croatian state to the Croat “Defenders of Croatia”. Across Croatia, 4,500 Serbs have been processed for alleged war crimes. In a scam, more than 100 Serbian homes were “bought” by a Croatian real estate agency, and their owners did not receive a single cent.
