Serbian official: Croatia refuses to help identify victims of Operation Storm

Croatia is unwilling to cooperate in the search for missing persons and the identification of Serb victims from the 1995 Operation Storm, according to Veljko Odalovic, chairperson of the Serbian Government Commission for Missing Persons. Odalovic made the accusation at a conference in Belgrade, titled “Return Our Loved Ones, We Have Waited Too Long.”

Odalovic stated that Croatian officials are campaigning to claim the Serbian side is failing to cooperate on resolving war crimes, but he asserted the reality is the reverse. “The bodies, the graves, and the archives are in Croatia. When we reach out to them, they remain silent or give us inappropriate answers,” he said. He stressed that Serbs must never forget the more than 220,000 people expelled from Croatia three decades ago.

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The bodies, the graves, and the archives are in Croatia. When we reach out to them, they remain silent or give us inappropriate answers.

Speaking on the 31st anniversary of Operation Storm, Odalovic emphasized Serbia's support for families of the missing. He noted that international missions were present during the expulsions and observed that Serbs are no longer in areas where these missions were stationed. Odalovic reiterated the families' right to know what happened to their loved ones and expressed discouragement that no one is held accountable for crimes against Serbs, adding, “It seems as though Serbs were legitimate targets.” He concluded with a call for regional cooperation.

Operation Storm began on August 4, 1995, with a Croatian military and police offensive targeting regions that comprised the unrecognized Republika Srpska Krajina. The operation resulted in the exodus of over 200,000 Serbs from Croatia.

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It seems as though Serbs were legitimate targets. Once again, I call on my colleagues in the region to cooperate.