Božović: There will never be a criminal "Storm" against the Serbian people again!

Starting from the international and universal law of each state, to regulate and conduct its domestic and foreign policy, independently and sovereignly, I believe that as the ambassador of the Republic of Serbia to Montenegro, on the occasion of the suffering of the Serbian people in the military-police criminal operation "Storm", on this day, it is my right and duty to present the official Serbian view.

Respecting Montenegro, as an independent and internationally recognized UN member state and assuming that about 30% of Serbs live in it, and about 43% of its citizens speak Serbian, in a time of emphasized need for regional cooperation and stability, we consider any celebration and marking of the criminal operation "Storm" to be inappropriate.

We especially emphasize that having all this in mind, any celebration is almost incomprehensible and unacceptable for us. This would practically mean celebrating ethnic cleansing.

The celebration of the criminal operation "Storm" is unacceptable and represents violence against the truth and true historical perception. Regardless of the frequent lack of justice and the often-present hypocrisy, as a principle in international relations, due to which the criminal aspect of operation "Storm" is systematically neglected by part of the international public, we must strive for the truth in diplomatic relations. And we especially need to keep in mind our civilizational debt to the victims. And the real truth is the final result of the criminal action "Storm" – a result that is tragic.

On 4 August 1995, the armed forces of the Republic of Croatia carried out an aggression against northern Dalmatia, Lika, Kordun and Banija, i.e., the Serbian Autonomous Region of Krajina, as part of the then Republic of Serbian Krajina (RSK) – despite the fact that the area was protected by UN, and that the representatives of the RSK, a day earlier in Geneva and Belgrade, accepted the proposal of the International Community regarding a peaceful solution to the conflict. About 200,000 soldiers were engaged, against about 230,000 inhabitants of the RKS (of which there were only about 30,000 soldiers). In a few days of unequal struggle, the resistance was broken, and the people of the western Krajina, more than 220,000 of them, set out to retreat to the east, on a journey from which they would never again return to their homes.

Currently, 1,852 people are on the list of killed and missing Serbs in the criminal operation "Storm", of which 65% are civilians. The material damage caused by the criminal operation "Storm" is incalculable: 13,000 buildings, 352 shops, 25,000 houses, 410 shops, 78 churches, 96 museums, 181 cemeteries, 920 monuments, 52 health centers, as well as all industrial plants were destroyed.

Demographic balances are catastrophic and leave no room for a different definition – other than ethnic cleansing. According to the 1991 census, there were 581,663 Serbs living in Croatia (12.2% of the total population), while the 2011 census showed that there were 186,633 Serbs in Croatia (4.36% of the total population). So, after the civil war and the mass exodus of the Serbian people, the number dropped by 2/3.

Due to the above, since 2014, Serbia and the Republic of Srpska have been jointly marking the anniversary of the suffering of the Serbian people in the Second World War and in the Croatian criminal military operation "Storm".

However, while the anniversary of the criminal operation "Storm" in Croatia is being celebrated as a great holiday, in Serbia it is more appropriately marked as the Remembrance Day of the Serbs who died and were expelled in that criminal armed operation. This way of marking is necessary, considering that today there is less or almost no talks about the genocide against the Serbian anti-fascist people (as well as against Jews, Roma and Croatian anti-fascists), on the ground of the fascist Nazi puppet state, the Independent State of Croatia, in World War II. The horrific story of the Jasenovac concentration camp, as well as the only death camp for children in the world in Mlaka, is shrouded in silence, although it is quite clear that crimes against the Serbian people at the end of the 20th century cannot be viewed outside the context of crimes and genocide from the period of the Second World War. I want to mention Dijana Budisavljević here, because Serbia does not forget its benefactors, an Austrian woman who saved about 12,000 children from the Mlaka children's camp.

Like all well-meaning people, and thank God, there are enough of them all over the world, we invite Montenegrin officials to attend the Remembrance Day, especially since Serbia does not force anyone to admit genocide, but only to show reverence for Serbian victims and reconsider the celebrations over the graves of our, sometimes common, compatriots. The risk of walking along "Mile Budak Street" – the creator of the concept that the Serbian issue in Croatia should be solved by killing a third, baptizing a third and expelling a third of them, would be avoided. They would be reminded that no one from the Croatian military and political leadership was held accountable before the Hague Tribunal for the expulsion of almost a quarter of a million Serbs and the killing of a large number of civilians and prisoners, and that the Croatian generals who led the operation were not legally convicted, that is, all three of them were released.

In any case, I am sure that Montenegro knows that the criminal operation "Storm" was one of the greatest crimes of ethnic cleansing in the world after the Second World War, which our blessed Metropolitan Amfilohije always used to remind us about at this time of year, with more than 220,000 expelled, and that there is no place for any celebration of the tragedy of the Serbian people, the killing of civilians and children. Perhaps it is even more important to hear that Serbia, although it is obliged to remember and not to be silent, will never call for conflicts, because it wants peace and to develop in friendly cooperation with all countries in the region.

Peace and stability are the most important for the Serbian people, and that is why Serbia does everything not to respond to numerous and frequent provocative messages from the region. However, nota bene, there will never be another criminal operation "Storm" against the Serbian people again, because Serbia will not allow that. Serbia does not brag about its strength, nor does it wish for it to be tested, but it is strong enough to never allow a pogrom against its people again, by working with all well-meaning people and organizations and all states and peoples to build a better, more stable, fairer and more fortunate international order.