The government delegation also included Defence Minister Ante Kotromanovic, Veterans' Affairs Minister Predrag Matic, Interior Minister Ranko Ostojic and Agriculture Minister Tihomir Jakovina.

After the wreath-laying ceremony, Josipovic said that they were marking a great victory of the Croatian military and police in the 1991-1995 Homeland War which wrested control of the Western Slavonia region from Serb insurgents.

Veterans have come here today to play games of sport and send out messages of love and friendship. Today's ceremony is also being attended by a delegation of the Serb Democratic Forum, which is also a sign that this society is moving towards reconciliation and a true European community of all its citizens, the President said.

Josipovic said that the promotion of good inter-ethnic relations was one of the priorities. Without operations such as Operation Flash and Operation Storm, there would not have been a free Croatia, he said, noting that Croatia advocates and promotes all human and ethnic rights.

The ceremony was followed by Holy Mass led by Military Ordinary Josip Jezerinac, who recounted the course of the 32-hour operation that was launched on May 1, 1995.

The purpose of the offensive was to regain control of Okucani, the centre of the Serb insurgency and terrorist attacks in Western Slavonia. In less than 32 hours, 7,200 soldiers and policemen took control of 500 square kilometres of occupied territory, including the Zagreb-Lipovac motorway and the main railway line running from Zagreb to Eastern Slavonia. Forty-two Croatian soldiers and policemen were killed and 162 were wounded.

Operation Flash preceded Operation Storm, which followed three months later, when Croatia showed its determination to re-establish its sovereignty over its territory.