Macut: Remembrance for victims of "Operation Storm" is our moral obligation

BELGRADE - On Tuesday, August 4, a remembrance day for Serbs killed and expelled in Croatia's 1995 armed "Operation Storm," Serbian PM Djuro Macut said their suffering must not be forgotten, and that remembrance for the victims was Serbia's moral obligation and that the truth was the foundation of any sincere reconciliation.

"Today, with sadness and deep respect, we remember all the innocent victims of the criminal Operation Storm, one of the greatest tragedies of the Serbs in recent history," Macut said in a government statement.

"We remember the innocent victims and the hundreds of thousands of people who were forced to leave their homes and their homeland in columns. Their suffering must not be forgotten, as remembering the victims is our moral obligation and the truth is the foundation of any genuine reconciliation.

The Republic of Serbia will continue to preserve the memory of every innocent victim, stand by its people and consistently pursue a policy of peace, stability and dialogue. Peace does not mean forgetting. Peace is the strength to remember, to honour our victims and to responsibly build a future in which such tragedies will never happen again.

Eternal glory to all innocent victims of 'Operation Storm,'” Macut said.

Thirty-one years ago today, Croatian military and police troops expelled 220,000 Serbs from the then Republic of Serb Krajina, killing around 2,000.