Milanovic told the press that he understood that some people and some countries considered Operation Storm as controversial, adding that for that precise reason nobody would prevent Croatia to hold a civilised military march in its capital.
"I know this sounds like an oxymoron, but it truly is a civilised (event) and everyone is welcome. There will be a lot of foreigners in attendance and they will be our guests, there will be generals, even U.S. generals," Milanovic said.
He added that Knin, in which the celebration of Operation Storm is traditionally organised every year, was being avoided by foreign guests, much to his dissatisfaction and that practically none of the international guests would visit Knin this year either.
"When all of this is taken into account, I am very happy that we will have both, and that is good. Whoever wants to come and take part in the military parade is welcome to do so, but this is primarily a Croatian military parade. This is not the mustering of NATO strategic forces. We will have a lot of guests from abroad and if a smaller unit joins, fine," Milanovic said.
He underscored that Operation Storm is not and must not be controversial for Croatia, adding that Croatia had nothing to be ashamed of and that it should not have restrictions to organise this event in its capital.
The prime minister said that Croatia should explain the meaning of Operation Storm. Regardless of the fact that some people outside Croatia have their opinion about Operation Storm, the fact remains that Croatia has entered the European Union and NATO, and that Croatian generals have been acquitted by the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague of charges levelled against Croatia and its 1995 political leadership, Milanovic said. This is an important thing for Croatia, yet we constantly have to explain that we are civilised and that we are different, unlike someone else.
"And to be honest, this military parade is intended to do exactly that," Milanovic said.