Prime Minister on 21st anniversary of Operation Flash in Okucani

Prime Minister Tihomir Oreskovic said in Okucani  that they gathered today to pay tribute to all killed soldiers and civilians without whom Croatia would not be a free country, underscoring that the people who were leading the country today must secure prosperity.

The ceremony was also attended by parliament Speaker Zeljko Reiner, Veterans Minister Tomislav Medved and Croatian Armed Forces Chief of Staff Mirko Sundov as President and Supreme Commander Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic's special envoy.

Oreskovic thanked war veterans for their decisiveness, underlining that it was up to the generations leading the country today to secure prosperity.

Oreskovic told the press the government would see that the Armed Forces receive proper technical equipment stressing that in the coming years more money would be secured in the budget for the Armed Forces.

The operation was launched on May 1 and ended on May 3, 1995. During less than 32 hours Croatian troops and police regained control of 500 square kilometres of land, including the main west-east motorway and the railway line leading to Eastern Slavonia.

About 7,200 troops and police officers took part in the liberation of Western Slavonia, of whom 42 were killed and 162 wounded. It was the first time during the 1991-1995 Homeland War that the Croatian Air Force had used airstrikes on a larger scale, and the enemy was further surprised by tanks that were brought in by rail and deployed in combat.

Okucani is located about 130 kilometres southeast of Zagreb. During the war it was the centre of the Serb rebellion and a staging area for terrorist attacks in Western Slavonia.

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