President Milanović at Anniversary of Military Operation in Ploče: The foundation of Croatia is the brotherhood and friendship of Croats in the Homeland War
“After 33 years, perhaps this is something that should irrevocably and forever unite you and keep you together. The foundation of this community and many other Croat communities is the brotherhood and friendship of compatriots, Croats, Croatian citizens, in the Homeland War. That is something that makes Croatia unique in Europe. Croatia as a community of people with a past and a common future – in this experience, we are unique,” the President of the Republic and Commander in Chief of the Croatian Armed Forces Zoran Milanović said at a ceremony in Ploče commemorating the 33rd anniversary of the military and police operation “Zelena tabla – Mala bara.”
In his address, President Milanović said that this great day, which Croatia remembers and will continue to remember more and more as time passes, “will be viewed with a sense of positive amazement, wondering how it was even possible.” He stated that there had been wars and extreme situations in which people were thrust from civilian life into the nightmare of war and the terror of uncertainty, but that, since the Second World War, no European country had experienced anything like what Croatia went through.
“No country has found itself in such a whirlwind and turmoil as Croatia had found itself in, without any help, without weapons, without the right to buy them or the possibility to obtain them at a normal price. It is altogether a unique and at the same time a horrible and amazing experience that no other political nation has on this continent to which we belong, where we live and are one of the members of the European Union. It was worth fighting for,” said President Milanović, pointing out that our defenders marched forward out of a sense of duty for their country and with fear for their own lives.
“The more the time passes, the more unbelievable everything seems, today, when everything is analysed… the relationship of the international community towards Croatia, the time it took them to recognise us, who recognised us, who established diplomatic relations with us and when, and how long the harassment by the Hague tribunal lasted after Croatia’s victory in 1995. It was only in 2012 that the Croatian generals, and a few years later, with less success, the Croatian politicians and officials from Bosnia and Herzegovina put that story behind them. Many of them are, unfortunately, still in prison, some are free,” said President Milanović, adding that we will never know the real truth and every detail because it is impossible. “The truth is in the eye of the beholder, do not let that cause division among you,” the President told the ceremony.
The military and police operation “Zelena tabla – Mala Bara” liberated the first former Yugoslav People’s Army barracks in Croatia, the one in Ploče. It was fought between the Croatian forces and the Yugoslav People’s Army on the night of 14-15 September 1991 in Ploče and the surrounding area. During the operation, Croatian forces seized large quantities of ammunition, weapons and other military equipment that was subsequently used in the defence of Sinj, Zadar, Šibenik, Karlovac, Vukovar, Dubrovnik and other Croatian cities.
In addition to President Milanović, the attendees were also addressed by history professor Andrija Pećar, Mayor of Ploče Mišo Krstičević, Dubrovnik-Neretva County Prefect Nikola Dobroslavić, and the delegate of the Minister of Veterans’ Affairs, retired General Darko Rukavina.
On the occasion of marking the 33rd anniversary of the military and police operation “Zelena tabla – Mala bara,” the President of the Republic laid a wreath and lit a candle at the memorial to the defenders of the town of Ploče. President Milanović was accompanied by Bartol Šimunić, Head of the Cabinet of the President of the Republic, and Marijan Mareković, Special Adviser to the President of the Republic for Homeland War Veterans.
PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Tomislav Bušljeta