At an Aug. 5 celebration of the 16th anniversary of Operation Storm in Knin, Croatia's state leaders called the operation a justified fight for liberation which "should not be questioned because of the dishonorable actions of individuals who are responsible for crimes."

"Today is the day that we celebrate the triumphatic end of the legitimate and just defense of our homeland... We celebrate this victory proudly and with dignity, while mourning every victim and condemning every crime," Croatian President Ivo Josipovic said in Knin, where he attended a central event marking Operation Storm, Victory Day, Thanksgiving to the Homeland Day and Croatian Veterans' Day.

He also said that "a crime is a crime and must be punished."

Croatian Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor said that Storm was part of the righteous and honorable struggle to free Croatia, and "a triumph of democracy and freedom over Milosevic's Greater Serbian policy of aggression, destruction and hatred," adding that it would be "good if our neighbors understood that it was at this very place that the tyrant's teeth were broken, which paved the way to democracy for them as well."

Kosor hailed Croatia's war veterans and generals, especially generals Ante Gotovina and Mladen Markac, who were sentenced for war crimes to to 24 and 18 years in prison by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.

Aug. 5 is a state holiday in Croatia which is celebrated as Victory Day and Thanksgiving to the Homeland Day marking the anniversary of Operation Storm, which caused the exodus of more than 200,000 Croatian Serbs.