Among those attending were Defence Minister Damir Krsticevic, Minister for Veterans' Affairs Tomo Medved, Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Mirko Sundov, as well as members of Parliament, government officials, and military and civilian delegations.
Krsticevic said that Operation Maslenica was a turning point in the 1991-1995 Homeland War. It showed that "the Croatian army was well trained and equipped for such a complex military operation. We connected the country together."
Medved added that with that operation "we showed Croatia and the world that we were capable of liberating our own land on our own."
Operation Maslenica was launched in the early morning hours of 22 January 1993, with Croatian forces regaining control of the Serb-occupied Zadar hinterland, the straight of Maslenica, the Zemunik airbase and later on the Peruca dam. Within 72 hours, nearly 100 square kilometres of occupied territory was liberated. A total of 127 soldiers from throughout Croatia were killed in the operation.
The programme, which opened on 18 January and runs until 14 February, includes about 20 memorial, cultural, educational and sporting events taking place in Zadar, Benkovac, Novigrad, Policnik, Jasenice, Starigrad, Skabrnja and Posedarje.