Široki Brijeg Marks Operation Storm Anniversary
Citizens invited to lay wreaths and attend a ceremonial academy, while lawmakers push for August 5 to become a non-working day in the West Herzegovina Canton.
Citizens invited to lay wreaths and attend a ceremonial academy, while lawmakers push for August 5 to become a non-working day in the West Herzegovina Canton.
In Široki Brijeg, the anniversary of the Military-Police Operation Storm will be solemnly marked on Tuesday, August 4, 2026. The program begins with a wreath-laying ceremony at 6:45 PM at the Square of Široki Brijeg Victims, followed by a ceremonial academy at 7:30 PM at the premises of the West Herzegovina Canton (WHC) Assembly.
The invitation to citizens was extended by WHC Assembly deputies Antonija Banožić and Tomislav Bandić, as reported by ABC Portal. "Our duty is to celebrate the victory with dignity, remember the fallen with deep respect, and pass on the values for which Croatian defenders fought to future generations," the invitation reads. Generals of the Homeland War will speak at the ceremonial academy.
This year's commemoration carries an additional dimension. Organizers aim to strengthen the initiative for the Operation Storm anniversary to be observed institutionally and with dignity in this canton, and for August 5 to be declared a non-working day. Deputy Antonija Banožić has, as stated, repeatedly submitted this initiative to the assembly procedure and received support from the relevant minister for veterans, but it has not yet been realized.
"WHC, from which numerous Croatian defenders participated in the defense and liberation of Croatian territories, has an obligation to mark this date in an appropriate manner," organizers stated, as reported by ABC Portal.
Široki Brijeg, they emphasize, also bears a particularly painful duty to preserve the memory of Operation Storm. On the very day of the operation, August 5, the civilian area of the city was shelled. In that attack, one fellow citizen was killed, and another was wounded. "To this day, no one has been prosecuted for this attack, and the city still lacks an appropriate memorial or special observance of this suffering," the statement, carried by ABC Portal, reads.
Therefore, as highlighted, marking Operation Storm in Široki Brijeg is not only a matter of respect for a great Croatian victory but also a matter of remembering their own victims and responsibility toward their families. "Operation Storm is a symbol of freedom, unity, determination, and sacrifice of the Croatian people," the invitation for dignified commemoration states.
