VICTORY AND HOMELAND THANKSGIVING DAY AND THE DAY OF CROATIAN DEFENDERS

Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia – from the Lineup of Soldiers on Kranjčevićeva Street to Full Integration in NATO During 24 years of its existence the Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia have gone a hard and difficult way. Experienced forces, organised in war circumstances and conditions, have been transformed in freedom period into a modern and well equipped armed force. Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia were founded on 28. May 1991, when the first brigades of the National Guard made a ceremonial pledge and a solemn march was organised at the stadium of the Football Club Zagreb on Kranjčevićeva Street. Exactly these forces played later a key role in the defence and liberation of Croatia. Actually, that year in summer the aggressor moved forward to attack Croatian territory and despite heroic resistance of Croatian Army the enemy advanced and took parts of the territory. After very intensive fights also Vukovar, the town-hero, lost its last battle on 18 November. Three months of intensive fighting created preconditions for the defence of the remaining part of Croatia and in that period the National Guard conducted successful actions, stopped the enemy and stabilised the situation in the battlefield. At the end of March 1992 the situation changed in the battlefield and the second phase of the Homeland War was characterised by a series of successful liberation operations. Among the exceptionally important actions was “Maslenica” during which the background area of Zadar was liberated and the traffic communication between the south and the north part of Croatia was established. The actions continued during 1994 creating preconditions for liberation of the occupied territories and for the military and police operation “Bljesak” (Lightning) in which the army showed excellent capabilities. The crown of liberation actions was the operation “Oluja” (Thunderstorm) in August 1995, which marked the change in strategic positioning of forces in favour of Croatia. In the years after the victory and peace establishment the Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia were constituted into a modern and professional army with new tasks in international peace missions and operations. Since 2009, as a full NATO member, the Republic of Croatia has been an important factor in creating a long-term stability in this part of |Europe. Ministry of the Defence of the Republic of Croatia Croatian Police – from the “First Croatian Policeman” to the Guardian of the Outer EU Border The history of establishing Croatian police began in the hardest times for Croatia. Before the formation of Croatian military brigades and during the Homeland War, police officers were among the first to - as a shield – to defend the country. In order to strengthen its force, at the Police Academy in August 1990 a course the “First Croatian Policeman“ was organised for 1800 attenders. Apart from performing regular tasks, the police at the same time actively participated in the defence of the homeland, which is a unique example in the history of warfare. To the military and police operation “Thunderstorm”, which took place on 4 August 1995, apart from the Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia joined also Special Police strongly contributing to the liberation of the occupied territory. Six members of the Special Police were killed and about 80 were injured. Altogether 755 police officers gave their lives for the independence of the Republic of Croatia, more than 3600 were wounded or injured and 31police officer is evidenced as missing. Development of police in peace period is marked by even higher professionalism, competence, sovereign mastering of skills and specific knowledge. Police is today a public service to citizens and police jobs in the Ministry of the Interior are organised in the Police Headquarters (at national level), as the central organisational unit and in 20 police administrations with the seats in counties and the city of Zagreb. Apart from keeping public order and peace and preventing criminal activities, the police are focused on proactive functioning, i.e. prevention of negative security trends in the community in cooperation with the citizens and local community. Since 2005 police officers have participated in international peace missions, and as a member of Interpol, Europol and ATLAS, Croatian Police contributes to the prevention and combat of all types of criminal activities. Today, Croatian Police also controls the outer border of the European Union. Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Croatia