Djuric: Commemorations of plight of Serbs killed or expelled by Croatia were worthy, dignified

BELGRADE - Serbian FM Marko Djuric said Saturday's commemorations for Serbs killed or expelled in Croatia's 1995 "Operation Storm" had reflected the sadness over the loss of innocent lives and that Serbia had demonstrated it remembered the unfortunate event in worthy and dignified manner.

August 4 marked 29 years since the launch of a Croatian military and police attack on the then Republic of Serb Krajina in which nearly 2,000 Serbs were killed and 220,000 others expelled.

The main commemoration in Serbia was held in Loznica.

"For the spirit of our nation, for the culture of remembrance, as well as for the overall state position of Serbia, it is crucial that, for ten years now, we have been commemorating, in a worthy and dignified manner, the victims of the crimes committed during the armed 'Operation Storm'. I think it is very important that we are cherishing that kind of culture of remembrance," Djuric told Tanjug.

By marking the anniversaries of the operation, Serbia is preventing a forced change of the narrative about events from the 1990s and clearly pointing out that the Serbs have suffered greatly, Djuric said.

"Those people, our people from Krajina, are the ones who are having the most difficult time, and many of us have roots in the territories from which people were expelled in August 1995 and the years before that. Our job is to continue to help those people and cherish a culture of remembrance," Djuric said.

He noted that Serbia was a country that was looking to the future and developing at a fast pace.

The victory of the Serbs is best reflected in Serbia's strength, its strong economy and its strong defence, Djuric added.