The flag was lifted by a Croatian Army officer near the memorial plaque set up in tribute to the event of 6 August 1995 when the first Croatian President Franjo Tudjman hoisted a flag on that place after the Croatian forces liberated Knin, which was held by Serb rebels.
President Mesic said today that the there had been many brilliant battles and victories during the Homeland Defence War but the 1995 'Storm' operation was particularly important as it stopped what he said "the spreading of war flames to Europe"
"This is a very important act and we must preserve the dignity of the Homeland War and such operations and we must not forget those who lost their lives in it," the head of state said.
PM Sanader told reporters that on this day Croatians remembered the most brilliant operations of the Homeland Defence War: the 'Storm', which was carried out in August 1995, and 'Flash' carried out three months before that.
"Those operations are recorded with golden letters in Croatian history, as they made it possible for Croatians to live in freedom," Sanader said.
He went on to say that the Homeland Defence War was a pillar of Croatia, and that the country had to be thankful to soldiers and civilians killed in the war.
"We proved that Croatians could take care of themselves and that they could build their country on their own," the PM added.
A programme of entertainment ensued in the main square of Knin after the flag-hoisting ceremony at the Fortress.
On 5 August, Croatia marks Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving day to commemorate the liberation of Knin, the stronghold of Serb rebels since the early 1990s, by Croatian police and army forces in the 1995 operation "Storm". The liberation of Knin meant the end of a para-state called Krajina which Serb rebels declared with the help of the former Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) shortly after the first parliamentary elections in Croatia in the early 1990s, with the aim of annexing it to Serbia.
The end of the para-state, which existed more than four years and was founded on the expulsion of Croats and other non-Serbs, plunder and terror, started at 5 am on 4 August 1995. In only 84 hours, the Croatian police and military forces liberated the occupied area stretching from Sveti Rok, via Gracac, Benkovac, to Plitvice and Knin, as well as the entire regions of Lika and Banija.
More than 200,000 soldiers from both sides participated in what is considered the biggest military operation in the Homeland War, 174 Croatian soldiers were killed and 1,430 were wounded. The operation had a positive impact on the reintegration of eastern Slavonia and the Danube region, and contributed to re-establishing control over the entire territory of Croatia.