COMMEMORATION OF THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF POGROM AGAINST SERBS IN OPERATION "FLASH" TO BE HELD TOMORROW IN GRADIŠKA

BANJA LUKA, APRIL 30 /SRNA/ - The 30th anniversary of the pogrom against 15,000 Serbs from Western Slavonia in the Croatian "Bljesak" /Flash/ operation, during which at least 263 Serbs were killed, including 12 children, will be marked tomorrow in Gradiška.

This is a historical event of the Republic's significance, and its commemoration is being organized by the Republika Srpska Government's Committee for Nurturing the Traditions of Liberation Wars. Assistant Minister for Veterans' and Disabled Persons' Protection and Protection of Civilian War Victims, Nebojša Vidaković, told reporters in Banja Luka that during the "Flash" operation, Croatian forces attacked territory under UN protection and carried out ethnic cleansing of the Serbian population from that area, emphasizing that no one from Croatia has yet been held accountable for this crime. He cited data from the Republic Center for Research of War, War Crimes, and the Search for Missing Persons, according to which at least 263 Serbs were killed in the two-day Croatian operation, of whom 156 were soldiers and 107 civilians, including 43 women and 12 children, while around 15,000 Serbs were expelled from their ancestral homes. Vidaković reminded that about fifteen days after the operation, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 994, which requested that Croatia withdraw from the protected zone, without issuing an ultimatum or imposing punitive measures, a request that Croatia ignored. He said that, according to the commemoration program, a memorial service will be held at 10:00 at the Memorial for the Serbs of Western Slavonia who were killed, followed by the laying of wreaths and flowers. A spiritual academy will be held at the Cultural Center in Gradiška at 11:00, during which a film about the exodus of Serbs from Western Slavonia will be premiered. On May 1, 1995, the Croatian armed forces carried out an offensive under the code name "Bljesak" /Flash/, launching an aggression on the Serbian region of Western Slavonia, which was part of the Republic of Serbian Krajina and under UN protection at the time. More than 16,000 members of the Croatian armed forces launched an attack against Serbs in Western Slavonia, approximately 15,000 civilians and around 4,000 soldiers. Around 1,450 members of the Serbian Krajina Army were captured, many of them deceitfully with the help of UN forces, and a large number were later subjected to severe psychological and physical abuse in Bjelovar and Varaždin. Within just 36 hours, 15,000 Serbs were expelled, and at least 263 were killed in this criminal Croatian operation, including 107 civilians, among them 12 children.