Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandrokovic on Sunday issued a congratulatory message for Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day, Croatian Veterans' Day and the 29th anniversary of Operation Storm, saying it is everyone's task to constantly cherish the memory of the magnificent victory in Operation Storm.

Jandrokovic said that the display of the Croatian flag on the Knin Fortress on 5 August 1995 opened a new page in Croatian history.

“Our triumph in the military and police Operation Storm rightfully resonated far and wide, showing the world the full extent of our defence transformation and confirming the dedication of Croatian defenders and their tactical readiness for the most complex tasks. This new strength of ours, as well as the maturity of the political leadership under the first Croatian President, Dr Franjo Tuđman, also enabled the great Croatian post-war success – the peaceful reintegration of our Danube region,” he said.

“Having defeated the Serbian aggressor in an imposed war and regained full control of our own territory, our Homeland could embark on new peacetime successes. Since then, with the exceptional commitment of the Croatian people and state institutions, we have made Croatia politically more stable, geostrategically more relevant and economically stronger.”

“We have fulfilled our goals of joining NATO and the European Union, giving them added value by entering the Schengen area and the euro area. At the same time, we finally connected together our land territory with the Pelješac Bridge and built an LNG terminal on Krk island, which significantly improved Croatia’s position on Europe’s energy map. With the decisions on the acquisition of multi-purpose combat aircraft, helicopters, armoured fighting vehicles and anti-aircraft missile systems, we have proved our commitment to raising the level of equipment and readiness of the Croatian Army and strengthening our national security,” he said.

All these steps have made Croatia a more resilient and safer country, more ready to successfully deal with many intertwined crises in recent years. We are invited together to make it equally ready for all the challenges of tomorrow, he added.

Jandrokovic emphasised the importance of being aware that all these achievements were based on the victory in the Homeland War.

“Our collective task, therefore, is to constantly cherish the memory of the magnificent victory in Operation Storm and to protect the dignity of the Homeland War against all malicious attacks on it. We do this by commemorating our great holiday throughout Croatia every year on 5 August with undiminished pride, patriotic fervour and in the spirit of unity,” the Parliament Speaker said in his message.