Addressing the gathering, former Croatian President Stjepan Mesic, who was the president of the Socialist Federal Yugoslav presidency at the time when Dubrovnik was under the siege of the then Yugoslav People's Army and Serb and Montenegrin reservists, said that those occupying forces had attempted to separate Dubrovnik from Croatia and that the intention of the convoy was to inform the world that Dubrovnik was exposed to a brutal aggression.
"The convoy helped Dubrovnik to remain in Croatia and it informed the world that we were a victim of a brutal aggression," said Mesic, who participated in this action.
Director Veljko Bulajic, who is shooting "The Libertas Convoy" film, said he was trying to make an authentic film record about those events and about the bravery of local residents who lifted the JNA's siege over their city.
Dubrovnik, which was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1979, was besieged by JNA and Serb and Montenegrin forces from autumn 1991 to early 1992.
On 31 October 1991, this convoy of dozens of vessels entered the port of Dubrovnik, bringing humanitarian aid to local residents who were exposed to bombing from ground, air and sea almost every day since 1 October 1991.