Storm was not only a legitimate liberation operation led by Croatia’s first president, Franjo Tudjman, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said at the central ceremony marking the anniversary of Operation Storm.
It was also, he added, an action that saved Bihac in northwest Bosnia and Herzegovina from a looming humanitarian catastrophe, changed the balance of power in Bosnia and paved the way for peace and the Dayton Agreement, which ended the 1992-5 war in Bosnia.
Croatia is neither engaged in an arms race nor threatening anyone, Plenkovic continued. However, “We are not afraid of anyone” and “will know how to respond to any threat” he warned.
He stressed that Croatia would never again be unprepared or unprotected, guided by the principle: “If we want peace, we must be able to defend it.”
Plenkovic said Croatia was not alone in this effort as it is a member of NATO. He stressed that investing in defence is not preparation for war but an investment in the security of the country, its homes, schools and factories. Such investments, he said, also strengthen investor confidence and make Croatia a more attractive place to live and work.
To compare the wartime landscape with the present day, BIRN set out to recreate photographs taken on August 5 and 6, 1995, with the help of two photographers.
One of them, artistic and documentary photographer Zeljko Gasparovic, 72, from Novska, volunteered during Croatia’s War of Independence and never parted with his camera. As a result, he built one of the largest private photographic archives documenting the war.
All photos can be slid left and right to compare the past and present.