10TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE MILITARY-POLICE ACTIONS “THUNDER”

The liberating of the occupied territory of western Slavonia and its return into the fold of the internationally acknowledged Croatian state was the task and aim of the military-police action “Thunder” which was carried out by the combined forces of the Croatian military and police armed units. The action started on the 1st of May 1995 in the early hours of the morning (5:30) and, in the course of the next thirty-one hour, the Croatian forces liberated 800 square kilometres of the so far occupied Croatian territory. The price of freedom was paid with the lives and blood of the Croatian defenders, with 42 of them dead and 162 wounded. In their forceful penetration into the depth of the occupied Croatian territory, the Croatian military and police armed forces started along the direction Novska – Okučani – Stara Gradiška and their main force along the highway in the direction of Jasenovac and Stara Gradiška; this is how the Croatian defenders proceeded with the liberating of their home country, in this way destroying the futile dreams of a “Great Serbia”. To remind you, since 1990 the ideologists of this invented creation, supported by the most extreme part of the Serbian national minority, tried to destabilize the scarcely formed and internationally acknowledged state, the Republic of Croatia. Having paralyzed the road traffic, the self-proclaimed Serbian leaders united with the Yugoslav People’s Army, making use of the platitude of rescuing peace, started arming the Serbian population, inviting Serbian extremists and paramilitary armed units, thus spreading hate, violence and terror. The occupying forces invaded and occupied almost a third of the Croatian territory, and then turned down the offer and wish of Croatia to undertake peace talks, agreements and achieve a normalization of the situation. Not did the attempts of the international community to find a solution for the crisis caused by the dissolution of Yugoslavia bring results but only put a freeze on the current situation, accompanied by constant provocations and new Croatian casualties. In this situation, the Croatian leadership headed by President Dr. Franjo Tudjman reached a decision of implementing the plan to liberate the strategic road corridor that connects the eastern and western Croatia and the whole of western Slavonia. The strategically wisely led operation was proved to be the right answer of a civilized country against terrorism. The military-police operation “Thunder” was a sort of pledge of the final and complete Croatian victory that was to follow three months later, with the military-police operation “Storm” in August 1995. Nowadays, when the Republic of Croatia is waiting to enter the Euro-Atlantic associations, these operations are the foundation of its statehood and the pride of its citizens. The military-police operation “Storm” started on the 4th of August 1995 in the early hours of the morning and in the course of the next eighty-four hours almost 11,000 square kilometres of the so far occupied Croatian territory was liberated, a territory that makes round 18.5% of the total territory of the Republic of Croatia. After a four-year-long period of waiting, negotiating, persuasion and hardships, the action “Storm” started following a well-prepared fierce artillery attack on the terrorist positions. We have finally started. For the first time in Croatian history 190,000 soldiers, 130,000 of them actively participating in the fighting, were ready for the greatest battle in the history of their nation with the goal of liberating the occupied territory all the way to the internationally acknowledged borders of the Republic of Croatia. All the anxiety and prayers were answered, and all the strength and pride emerged from hour to hour in the course of penetrating into the depth of the occupied territory. Not even the cowardly shelling of greater Croatian towns by the frenzied Serbian terrorists and their leaders could cause the Croatian people to waver in their intention to achieve complete and unconditional freedom. Once again, and hopefully for the last time, the sacrifice on the altar of our homeland was offered with dignity and pride. Thunder has announced a storm, and after the storm, as we all know, the sun is always shining. Conscious of the fact even then that they lived in a historic time, sacrificing themselves without misgivings for their Homeland and nurturing their dream of a free Croatia, our defenders have become symbols and pledge of our future. May their memory live and let them receive our thanks.