Speakers at the main ceremony held in Knin on Sunday to mark Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day and Homeland War Veterans' Day on 5 August in memory of 5 August 1995 when Croatia regained control of the town of Knin and most of its territory occupied by rebel Serbs in 1990, expressed their gratitude to members of the Croatian forces who secured the victory for Croatia in the Homeland Defence War.
"In the just and defensive war you won the victory for Croatia and I am immensely grateful for that. Under the Constitution I am also the supreme commander of Croatia's Armed Forces and I feel humbleness, respect and pride for being the commander of this proud victorious army," Croatian President Ivo Josipovic said at the central ceremony in Knin's main square.
After the victory in the war, Croatia need now to ensure a victory in the peacetime: overcome economic difficulties and provide for human rights, religious and ethnic freedoms and prosperity of all citizens, he said.
"To win a victory in the peacetime also means to extend our hand to our citizens of Serb ethnicity and recognise their victims and pay tribute to them, too," Josipovic said.
He expressed confidence that Croatia could surmount the recession, the economic crisis and all tendencies which he said might place Croatia outside European values.
Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic said that regardless of differences, Croatians must be unanimous about the common goals.
"We are not celebrating this holiday to gloat over other's misery but to draw the best out of ourselves," PM Milanovic said.
After Operation Storm, Croatia "was not up to the task in some moments", however it should teach us to become better as our war was just, defensive and human, he said adding that those are values with which Croatia will join the European Union.
We will always defend our borders and know where they lie, just as each Croatian government has done since 1990, and we are unanimous in that, Milanovic said.
The parliament's acting president, Josip Leko, said that Croatia was proud of its defenders.
"By successfully completing Operation Storm you have significantly contributed to Croatia's international reputation," he added.
The central ceremonies in observance of Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day and Homeland War Veterans' Day on 5 August began in the southern town of Knin on Sunday morning with the ceremony of hoisting Croatia's flag at the town fortress.
The state flag was raised by two servicemen who participated in Operation Storm 17 years ago when Croatia's forces liberated southern and central areas of Croatia held by rebel Serbs since 1990.
Victory Day is being observed throughout Croatia with wreath-laying ceremonies, requiem masses and other commemorative events.
