Havel on Operation Storm: Croatia Defends Its Integrity
The Croatian-Czech Society recalled the statement of then-Czech President Václav Havel from August 1995, in which he clearly distinguished the character of the Croatian military operation.
The Croatian-Czech Society recalled the statement of then-Czech President Václav Havel from August 1995, in which he clearly distinguished the character of the Croatian military operation.
As Croatian forces entered Knin on August 5, 1995, a statement arrived from Prague that is still considered a key international voice of support, then-Czech President Václav Havel drew a sharp line between the legal action of a sovereign state and the politics of aggression.
The Croatian-Czech Society marked the anniversary of Operation Storm by recalling these words. Havel warned of the danger that any military operation poses to civilians, but at the same time refused to put all parties on the same footing.
- The Croatian position is somewhat different from, for example, the position of the Serbs in Bosnia or even those Krajina Serbs, he said, refusing to "lump" the actors "into one bag."
The Czech president reminded that Croatia was an internationally recognized state with clearly established borders. Zagreb, as he pointed out, had long given the international community the opportunity to resolve the conflict through negotiations. Only after the mediators failed did Croatia decide to militarily restore its territorial integrity.
This distinction was crucial for Havel. He did not overlook the suffering of civilians, but he insisted on the difference between a state liberating its own occupied territory and the policy of ethnic cleansing.
- It is sad, it is regrettable, but it is something different than when, for example, Karadžić's wild army does what it does. This is, I think, important to distinguish, he emphasized.
The power of Havel's statement lies in the timing, it was made in real time, while the operation was still ongoing, without decades of hindsight and subsequent political interpretations. One of the most respected European statesmen of that era refused to equate a state defending its integrity with the politics of rebellion and the creation of ethnically cleansed territories.
This message remains crucial today. It testifies that the distinction was clear even outside Croatia during the conflict itself, although individual war crimes should be prosecuted, which does not change the liberating character of Operation Storm.
