Byzantine Blog

The Storm Still Blows

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 far from the truth.

Bloodbath and Champagne

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.

Serbia Neutral

In the first few hours of operation “Storm,” 1,960 Serbs were killed, out of which 1,205 were civilians, of which 522 were women and 12 were children. The Croats applied the same methods used by the Croatian Nazis (Ustashe) during WW2. Further 3,200 civilians were deported into war camps. 25,000 Serbian homes were destroyed.

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?”

Long Refugee Days

Serbia, although sympathetic, was a new environment for them. The overwhelming support of Serbs within Serbia grew thinner over the years, because Serbia itself was in a very tough economic situation. Those that have not found a place to stay, have remained in the refugee collective centers where living conditions are poor. The elderly and the ill, widows with small children, families of invalids of war, those who had nowhere else to go, spend their days in horrible conditions. For them, the days are very long.

Even now, it is still stunning that the official media in Serbia were quiet on that August 4, 1995, and had failed to report that Croatia had begun an all-out assault on Krajina. The Serbian authorities diverted the refugees as far away from Belgrade as possible. We browse through our journalist notes from that day and we find the words of an old woman, Kata, who spoke on August 15, 1995. “Our home has been destroyed twice. We had no idea where to go, and we have not been assigned where we will stay. This cow in the trailer is Lepa (Beautiful). I would really like to walk my cow through Belgrade because this cow has saved the lives of so many refugees, especially children, during this terrible ordeal.”

The Return Is a Lie

Even after so many years, the pain is still sharp and feels like it's cutting right through the air. One man says: “I am breathing, and that's a start. My lost blue sky is someone else's blue sky now. I had left behind my vineyards and I know that nobody will love them as much as I do. I said goodbye to the morning sun, and I didn't lie when I said I would never come back. The return of Serbs is a lie. Someone else will walk on my meadows, plow my fields, enjoy the wine from my vineyards, but nobody can return. Now, I am calm. After all, it's been eleven years. Tears have dried away. My mind is calm, my hands do not shake anymore. I have buried the dreams of my home.”

Destruction of Everything Serbian

During the four days of operation “Storm,” 25,000 Serbian homes were destroyed, 13,000 various 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.

The Numbers

Before operation “Storm,“ in Krajina there lived 450,000 Serbs.

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.

Apartments

50,000 Serbian apartments have been taken away across Croatia. Many of those apartments were a gift of the Croatian state to the “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.

Free Trains

Serbian authorities have organized free train rides for all Krajina refugees who wish to visit their homes and mark the tragic eleven years since operation “Storm.” While Croats will be celebrating and holding big speeches, Serbs will be going to see their homes, their homeland, light candles for the loved ones they have lost and bring back memories of happier times, even if it's just for a short period.

Article by Vlastimir Popovic, from Vecernje Novosti daily, translated by Alex.

American and German Involvement

Carl Savich asks: “Was the Krajina expulsion an act of genocide not seen in Europe since World War II,” adding:

The US and Western media referred to it as an “exodus” and an assault to “oust” Serbian rebels, “Croatian Serbs,” the oxymoron propaganda term coined by the US State Department. It has been covered-up and deleted from the mainstream history of the Balkan conflicts because the victims were Serbs and because a majority population was destroyed and denied self-determination.

The Bill Clinton Administration, along with the Pentagon, the US State Department, the CIA, DIA, NATO, Germany, and Military Professional Resources, Inc. (MPRI), were all involved in the planning and organization of the attack.

Entire article at Serbianna web site. While there, make sure to take a look at the photo record of this pogrom, to learn what really went on and what Croats celebrate as their national holiday.