Serbia condemns Croatia for glorifying war criminals

(Xinhua)

15:19, August 08, 2011

Serbian President Boris Tadic on Sunday reproached Croatian Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor for her open praise of Croatian generals convicted of war crimes.

Kosor thanked former General Ante Gotovina and Mladen Markac for their roles in "Operation Storm" in 1995, which resulted in the exodus of ethnic Serbs from Croatia.

The military offensive on August 5, 1995 in Knin, the former capital of the rebel Serb republic which sought independence from Croatia after it seceded from the former Yugoslavia, has been arousing disputes in recent years.

August 5, now observed as a national holiday in Croatia, is mourned every year in Serbia.

"Without Storm and the commanders who led it, we would not be here today and would have nothing to celebrate," said Kosor, extending greetings to war veterans and generals, especially Gotovina and Markac.

"The statement by Prime Minister Kosor does not contribute to the development of good neighborly relations between our two countries," said Tadic in his statement.

"The two countries have been trying to raise their cooperation to a higher level ever since the serious conflicts in the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s left behind a large number of casualties, missing persons and people expelled from their homes,"he said.

Tadic stated that a significant number of innocent lives were lost during "Operation Storm" as it drove more than 200,000 Serbs from the territory.

Tadic said that Serbia, which had delivered 46 indicted war criminals to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) had never praised war criminals, despite domestic political pressures.

"No election campaign or power struggle should be reason to glorify those who committed war crimes. It is a very irresponsible policy," stated Tadic.

In April, Gotovina was found guilty of participating in a joint enterprise aimed at the forcible and permanent removal of the ethnic Serb population and sentenced to 24 years in prison. Markac was sentenced to 18 years in jail terms.

Increases the bookmark

• twitter
• facebook
• Sina Microblog
• digg
• Google
• Delicious
• buzz
• friendfeed
• Linkedin
• diigo
• reddit
• stumbleupon
• Qzone
• QQ Microblog

Related Reading

1. EU urges Serbia, Kosovo to defuse border tensions
2. Arrest of Hadzic closing "difficult" chapter in history: Serbian president
3. Serbian president confirms arrest of war crimes fugitive Hadzic
4. Serbia arrests last remaining war crimes fugitive Hadzic
5. Serbia outclasses China 17-5 at FINA worlds men's water polo
6. Former Croatian PM extradited back to Croatia receiving trial
7. Italian president visits Croatia
8. Serbian court drops charges against Mladic's wife
9. Croatian army commander removed from post

Leave your comment0 comments

Weekly review

1. The week in pictures(July 31-Aug.6,2011)
2. Chinese-American ambassador to China key to boosting ties
3. Why is Japan sounding 'China threat' alarm again?
4. Political negotiations needed to end Libya deadlock
5. China should adhere to scientific outlook on development
6. Chinese-American ambassador to China key to boosting ties
7. People's Daily website revamps English version
8. Report: China's urban middle-income class growing