The Croatian World Congress condemns "tendentious, politicised and grotesque accusations" which that international human rights watchdog made against Croatia and said that the AI had often shown its inability or unwillingness to objectively comment on the wars in the former Yugoslavia.
Amnesty International said in the statement on 9 August that "it is concerned that the recent statements by Jadranka Kosor, the Prime Minister of Croatia reinforce the ongoing climate of impunity and reflect the lack of political will to investigate and prosecute crimes committed by Croatian armed forces during the 1991-1995 war." It also expressed its concern over glorification of Operation Storm.
The Croatian World Congress reports that last week it forwarded documentation with key information about the historical context of Operation Storm to embassies of EU member-states in Germany as well as to embassies of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Russia, USA, Turkey, the Vatican and other German and international institutions.
During the August 1995 Operation Storm, Croatian forces liberated southern and central areas held by Serb rebels since early 1990s, paving the way for the cessation of the Serb siege of the northwestern Bosnian town of Bihac, and for the peaceful reintegration of eastern Croatia into Croatia's constitutional and legal system two years later.
The Croatian World Congress was established in 1993 in Zagreb as an umbrella nongovernmental and nonparty organisation of 30 associations of Croatian expatriates in 30 countries worldwide. The Croatian World Congress (CWC) aims to unite and network Croatian associations and institutions throughout the world so as to assist in their successful functioning and to promote the Croatian heritage world-wide.