The Croatian prime minister paid tribute on Monday (September 28) to Serbian civilians killed after the independence war of the 1990s, a new gesture of reconciliation intended to try to repair relations which are still fragile 25 years after the conflict.
The victims were shot at point blank range in front of their homes almost two months after Operation "
Storm
" which ended the war that began with the 1991 declaration of independence. No one has yet had to respond. of these murders.
It was the first time that a Croatian Prime Minister attended this ceremony organized by an organization of Serbs from Croatia.
The head of government expressed his regrets for these "
serious crimes against innocent and defenseless people
".
"
This crime is an insult to modern Croatia and a violation of the ideals for which a large majority of Croatian veterans, who also included Serbs, fought
."
By this highly symbolic gesture, Andrej Plenkovic intended to testify once again to his will to try to improve the still delicate relations between Serbs and Croats.
The war of independence (1991-95) left more than 20,000 dead
Varivode's crimes like other crimes committed against Serbs during the war "
cannot be justified in any way,
" he said, adding that he wanted to send to the Serbian minority "
a message of reconciliation and the hope of building a common future for all citizens of Croatia
”.
The authorities have made several gestures recently towards the Serbs in Croatia.
Deputy Prime Minister of Serbian origin Boris Milosevic spoke of a "
major
" event.
"
It's a very strong symbolic gesture, these victims here also deserve respect and empathy,
" he told reporters.
At the beginning of August, Boris Milosevic attended the annual commemoration of Operation "
Storm
", signing the first participation of a representative of the Serbian minority in this ceremony.
A few weeks later, Croatian President Zoran Milanovic attended a memorial service for six Serbian civilians killed in the village of Grubori shortly after Operation "
Storm
".
Around 200,000 Serbs had fled Croatia during and after the conflict.
Half of them have since returned, and Serbs today constitute around 4.5% of Croatia's 4.2 million inhabitants.