Serbian Leaders' Memorial Act Sparks Regional Controversy
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and Milorad Dodik placed wreaths at a memorial in Janjila, Bosnia and Herzegovina. They commemorated victims from August 7, 1995. This was after Operation Storm when a refugee column was struck. Serbian officials call it a horrific crime with no one held accountable. Belgrade and Banja Luka state ten civilians died. Vučić promised Serbian funds for a chapel there.
This act supports a 2022 Serbian indictment against four retired Croatian Air Force officers. Croatia rejects this. It calls it an attempt to impose universal jurisdiction. Yet, Belgrade reportedly hides crucial information. Serbian witnesses and military analysts confirmed that Serbian planes had attacked these civilian columns. This was a 1990s tactic to wrongly blame the Croatian Army.
Historian Ante Nazor said international organizations and the Hague Tribunal investigated these events. They found no basis for legal action. Former Croatian diplomat Mate Granić explained that military tanks and trucks, carrying weapons for Bosnian Serbs, were mixed with civilian columns. This made the military vehicles legitimate targets.
Croatian Minister Gordan Grlić Radman called these actions clear politicking by Belgrade. Croatia defends its pilots. Experts warn that regional stability cannot be built on hidden facts or aggressive claims. Vučić's tour failed against historical truths.
