Speaking at a commemoration, Kotromanovic said Gotovina had never ordered his troops to destroy, demolish or burn down. As for the Hague war crimes tribunal's acquittal of Gotovina on Friday, he said justice could be slow, but it always prevailed.

Kotromanovic attended the commemoration as the envoy of President Ivo Josipovic and Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic. He said today was a sad day for Skabrnja and the eastern town of Vukovar as well as the entire Croatia. "We all know what happened in Skabrnja on 18 November 1991. This was Croatia's Alamo and we respect and appreciate that."

Forty-eight civilians and 15 defenders were killed in Skabrnja that day. Others were killed the next day in Nadin. A total of 86 civilians and defenders were killed in Skabrnja by the end of the war and the liberation of occupied territories in the 1995 Operation Storm.

The commemoration was also addressed by the parliament speaker's envoy, Deputy Speaker Dragica Zgrebec.

She said that after 8 October 1991, when Croatia severed all ties with the former Yugoslavia, the former Yugoslav army embarked on destroying everything with its superior power.

"For the first time, Croatians were united and the enemy couldn't defeat that. But the destruction and the victim tally were big, especially here in Skabrnja and in Vukovar. The suffering was horrific, the place was burned down and the criminals left behind... 48 killed civilians and 15 killed defenders," Zgrebec said, adding that the criminals had still not been convicted.

"Vukovar and Skabrnja became symbols of suffering and (operations) Flash and Storm symbols of victory. Let's remember and honour the victims, but let's not forget. Let's turn to the future, because we owe it to those killed, civilians and defenders, and to their families. Let's honour this debt," she said.

As part of the commemoration, wreaths will be laid and respect paid to the victims at the local cemetery's central cross and monument to the victims.