VELIMIROVIĆ: CRIMINAL ACTION STORM WAS SOLVING ISSUE OF SERBS IN CROATIA

NOVI GRAD, AUGUST 6 /SRNA/ - With the criminal operation "Storm", in which more than 220,000 Serbs were expelled from Republika Srpska Krajina, and almost 2,000 were killed, Croatia wanted to solve the issue of Serbs in that country, coordinator of the Documentation - information center "Veritas" for Republika Srpska Janko Velimirović told SRNA.

Velimirović says that the military action "Storm" should be connected with the end of the war in the territory of the former Yugoslavia, that is, in BiH and Croatia, where the Americans decided to return the Krajina to Croatia without the Serbs and, in that way, achieve some sort of balance in this area. "The Krajina Serbs paid the most in that "card game" in the Balkans. It was done in a bestial way by expelling more than 220,000 thousand Serbs, regardless of whether they were civilians or soldiers. It was an armed people, not a professional army", said Velimirović. He points out that Operation "Storm" should not be viewed separately from the general context of the war since 1991. "Croatia came to a situation where it could resolve the expulsion of the Serbs militarily, and they did so at the beginning of August 1995", said Velimirović. He added that expulsion was not enough, but there had to be victims as well. "In the northern part, in Banija and Kordun, the expulsion was focused on the communication that went from Dvor towards Novi Grad in Republika Srpska. Residents of Banija and part of Kordun who escaped cutting off the refugee convoy crossed there", said Velimirović. He added that on August 7, 1995, the greater part of the Kordun corps was besieged in Topusko and after the surrender and negotiations continued on the highway towards Serbia. "Croatian forces continued to bomb the refugee convoy that crossed into Novi Grad, and there were casualties in Svodna", said Velimirović.