At the celebration of the 31st anniversary of 'Operation Storm,' the President gave full support to Chief of General Staff Tihomir Kundid and raised the question of whether increasing defense spending to five percent of GDP is justified.
President Zoran Milanović addressed the central celebration of the 31st anniversary of the military-police operation "Operation Storm" in Knin on Tuesday, congratulating citizens on Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day and Croatian Veterans Day. In his speech, he touched on a range of topics, from relations with Serbia and the role of the Croatian Army in ending the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, to defense spending and confidence in the military leadership.
Milanović recalled that in 2012, a practice was introduced whereby one of the participants in wartime operations addresses the audience at the start of the ceremony on behalf of veterans. "From the veterans and those who took part in those operations, one can hear most accurately, most credibly, and with the passage of time, most coolly, what happened. All the rest of us are just an addition," said Milanović, as reported by Novi list.
Speaking about the role of Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the President emphasized that the Croatian people in BiH and those in Croatia waged a "joint and inseparable war." He stressed that the Dayton, or Paris, Peace Agreement would not have been possible without the intervention of the Croatian Army, which he described as agreed with American allies, not arbitrary.
"There would have been no Dayton without the Croatian Army, without the Croatian Guard Brigades and the HVO. None of that would exist today. That is the simple truth," Milanović said.
Commenting on Serbia, Milanović stated that Knin was not the heart of the rebellion against the Croatian state, but that it came from Belgrade. He also sent a clear message about restraint towards rhetoric coming from the neighborhood.
"We should not react to every verbal nonsense that comes across the Danube. It will keep coming all the time," he said. At the same time, he warned that Croatia must monitor Serbia's armament because it directly affects Croatian security and requires additional financial resources. He added that he does not see the possibility of "Operation Storm" being repeated or Croatia being threatened again.
A significant part of Milanović's speech was devoted to the issue of defense spending. Croatia currently allocates two percent of GDP, which, in his assessment, is more than ever before and "almost sufficient." He raised the question of what specifically an increase in these costs to five percent of GDP would bring.
"These costs cannot be all the time a verbal contest of whether it's two percent or five percent, but rather: what do I get with two percent and what do I get with five percent? Does that mean I am two and a half times stronger, or have I just spent two and a half times more money?" he asked.
He warned that the money for increasing defense spending would be spent on purchasing foreign weapons, not on schools, kindergartens, or public standards. He also noted that interest on public debt has reached the level of defense spending. "Our capabilities-not how much we spent, but what we spent it on and how we integrated it-are the only important question," he said.
The President particularly highlighted the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia, Lieutenant General Tihomir Kundid, emphasizing that no other chief of general staff among NATO member states has led a battalion in an attack.
"Our Chief of the General Staff, Tihomir Kundid, has. He is the only one like that in the European Union and NATO, and among other things, but not only for that reason, he has and will have my trust," Milanović said, adding that Kundid is the last chief with such wartime experience.
He also commented on global conflicts, saying that the war in Ukraine and the attack by the US and Israel on Iran show the limits of conventional military power. He warned of the strategic importance of the Strait of Hormuz for oil transport. "Croatia did not win only with brute force, but also with intelligence," the President concluded, congratulating everyone once again: "Faithful to the homeland, once again happy Croatian Victory Day."
