ĐUKIĆ: CRIMINAL OPERATION STORM STILL ONGOING FOR SURVIVING KRAJINA SERBS

BELGRADE, AUGUST 1 /SRNA/ – The criminal Oeration Storm" is still ongoing for the surviving Krajina Serbs, who are most deeply affected by the fact that, more than three decades later, there is still no justice or genuine acknowledgment that there were Serb victims, Dragana Đukić, the head of the Suza /Tear/ Association of Families of Missing and Killed Persons, told SRNA.

Marking the 31st anniversary of the expulsion, ethnic cleansing, and suffering of Serbs from Croatia during the criminal Operation Storm, Đukić said that the loss of loved ones and the deaths of children have been the most painful burden for the families.

She stressed that the association members find it particularly difficult that they must repeatedly prove, recount, and remind others that Serb victims also existed.

"Despite everything, we still have a large number of missing persons and many families who continue to live with uncertainty and cannot bring closure to that period. For those people, “Storm” is still ongoing crime," Đukić said.

She noted that the suffering of children, whose killings remain unpunished to this day, are especially tragic.

"What is particularly painful is the humiliation of mothers who have pursued legal proceedings against Croatia, where various excuses are put forward," Đukić said.

As an example, she cited the treatment of Nevenka Dobrić, whose 12-year-old son Siniša and father-in-law Petar Dobrić were killed in a refugee convoy near the village of Crkveni Bok in the Banija region on August 4, 1995, while she herself was wounded.

"She was asked questions such as: 'Did you clearly see the insignia on the uniform of the soldier who fired the shot?'" Đukić said.

She added that Dobrić's lawsuit will likely be rejected on the grounds that she may have cooked for the army, or for some similarly absurd reason.

"There is also the Petrovačka Road case, where all the facts are known and it is completely clear that a refugee convoy was shelled," Đukić said, recalling that legal proceedings against Croatian Air Force pilots are currently underway before the court in Belgrade in connection with that case.

She emphasized that the anniversaries of Operation Storm are particularly difficult for the victims' families, and that they become even more painful when, even after three decades, there is still no empathy or willingness on the other side to acknowledge that Serb victims also existed.

"On the contrary, the victims are further hurt by reports of in absentia convictions of Serbs and by the celebrations held in Croatia on that day, where there is a completely different interpretation of those events. A great deal of time has passed, and it is high time to acknowledge that crimes were committed and that there were Serb victims," Đukić said.

Đukić, who was herself in a refugee convoy during the Croatian military Operation Flash, which preceded "Storm," said she personally lived through those events and sees no difference between the two experiences.

"I went through all of it, and every day I relive those same stories with the families," Đukić said.

She added that this weekend the Suza Association in Belgrade will be visited by Denis Bojić, director of the Republika Srpska Memorial Centre, who will record video testimonies of the families of Serb victims.

"The goal is to preserve as many testimonies as possible, because some are passing away, while others are afraid to speak out, since there is no empathy or understanding on the other side /in Croatia/," Đukić said.

On that occasion, a press conference by representatives of the Suza Association and the Commission for Missing Persons will be held at the Palace of Serbia in Belgrade on Monday, August 3, at 12:00 noon. Bojić will also address the media.