Veteran Leader: Honor Our Role in Homeland War, Not Past Regimes

Robert Puja, president of the 7th Guards Brigade Veterans Association, took a notable position during the Operation Storm anniversary ceremony in Knin. While his placement between Prime Minister Plenković and President Milanović was widely described as a "buffer zone" amid political tensions, Puja's own message resonated strongly. He expressed a clear desire for his fellow veterans' contributions to be recognized solely based on the truth of the Homeland War.

Puja stressed that veterans should never be equated with "any past regime." This sentiment was notably absent from the speeches delivered by the heads of parliament, state, and government at the ceremony. Meanwhile, a few hundred meters away in Knin, individuals like Marko Skejo and Dražen Keleminec were reportedly using World War II-era Ustaše slogans, an act described as shaming the Operation Storm commemoration.

The veteran leader's call for historical accuracy and his distancing from controversial historical associations highlight a desire to preserve the integrity of the veterans' legacy. His actions and words underscored a tension between honoring the war effort and preventing its co-option by divisive or anachronistic ideologies.

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I suoi commilitoni dovrebbero essere valutati esclusivamente sulla base della verità sulla Guerra d'Indipendenza e non dovrebbero mai essere equiparati a "qualsiasi regime passato".