Devastating Storm
Serbs killed and missing in the Operation Storm. Remember to light a candle and say a prayer for those who perished in Croatia's latest pogrom of Serbs.
Serbia Mourns, Croatia Celebrates
While in Serbia the 11th anniversary of Croatia's latest pogrom of Serbs called Operation Storm was marked with a Holy liturgy and a commemoration service for the victims in St Mark's Church, Croatia celebrates August 5 as a national holiday: Day of Victory and National Gratitude for Operation Storm. In addition, for the past four years this day is celebrated as the Day of Croatian armed forces.
Serbian leaders during the commemoration service
On Belgrade Nikola Pasic Square, Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica addressed the gathering of Serbian Krajina refugees and the families of those who were killed in the pogrom, reminding that Serbian nation commemorates thousands of innocent people killed and ethnic cleansing of hundreds of thousands Krajina Serbs who, in few days alone, were expelled and uprooted from the region they inhabited for centuries.
When under the threat of annihilation the entire nation is expelled, the consequences of this great tragedy can never be corrected. We have to search for ways to reduce this injustice, so our duty today is to continuously work on returning the exiles back to their homes, with full guarantees for their safety and respect for the human rights, - said Mr. Kostunica.
Croatian War Crimes On Tape
One of Serbian news agencies has acquired a video recording showing the events on 7-8 August 1995 in Krajina. The video shows how members of the "Black Mamba" Croatian paramilitary unit and "Hamza" platoon of the Bosnia-Hercegovina Army settled scores with Serb soldiers but also civilians who were leaving Krajina. The participation of the Bosnian Muslim Army in Operation Storm is less well known.
The tape that recorded some of the war crimes committed during Croatia's latest pogrom of Serbs was made with an amateur camera and those who taped it are the participants themselves. The video recording contains a scene of the murder of an ethnic Serb who surrendered and was sitting on the ground with his hands up, the torching of houses of the exiled Serbian population from an area extending from Glina to Dvor on Una and the abuse of elderly persons, refugees from the intercepted column.
You can access the video recording of Croatian war crimes in Real Video Stream (32.7 MB).