Generals Ante Gotovina and Mladen Markac were sentenced to 24 and 18 years' imprisonment respectively for their roles in a joint criminal enterprise the aim of which was to forcibly and permanently remove the Serb population from occupied areas of Croatia during and after a Croatian military offensive, codenamed Operation Storm, in the summer of 1995.

Protest organisers said that the Croatian war veterans were never members of any criminal organisation and that they remained brave and staunch defenders of their people and country. They said that the allegations contained in the tribunal's judgement were aimed at rewriting history and exonerating Serbian aggressors.

The verdict "not only equates us, Croats, who were brutally and mercilessly attacked and who were the victims of military aggression, with them, but it also puts us in the role of the aggressor, which is contrary to the historical truth written in the blood of 16,000 innocent people killed while defending their homes," organisers said in a written statement.

Protesters were carrying Croatian flags and flags against the European Union. They bound the Croatian and the US flag together, with a sign saying "Together in 1995". At every mention of politicians they shouted "treason".

The crowd applauded the speech by Lika-Senj Bishop Mile Bogovic, who said that he could not afford to keep silent when he ought to speak out. He said that as late as 10 years ago the Commission of the Croatian Bishops' Conference had warned about the bad attitude of the Croatian government towards the Hague tribunal. The bishop called on the protesters to support the convicted generals with their prayers.

The police estimated the number of protesters at 10,000 and the protest organisers at as many as 50,000. The rally was organised by the Association of Homeland War Veterans 1990-1996 and co-organised by the Hrast movement and the political initiative "Action for a Better Croatia".

The protest was expected to end by 3 PM when the protest organisers were to present their demands to the government.

A similar rally was held in the northern Adriatic city of Rijeka where about 500 veterans and citizens peacefully marched through the city centre in protest at the conviction of generals Gotovina and Markac.

"This shameful verdict gives the best portrayal of the political tribunal in The Hague, which aims to equate the aggressor and the victim," the head of the local branch of the veterans' organisation UHDDR, Mile Biondic, told the crowd.

Biondic said that the responsibility for the verdict laid with the late Prime Minister Ivica Racan "for his insane acceptance of the Hague tribunal", the incumbent President Ivo Josipovic for "handing over Operation Storm to The Hague", former President Stjepan Mesic "for seeing to it that the generals are convicted" and former Prime Minister Ivo Sanader for "handing over Ante Gotovina to the Hague tribunal".

At the mention of Stjepan Mesic, the crowd shouted "traitor" and "high treason".

Before dispersing peacefully, the protesters said the Lord's Prayer for the generals.