VETERANS Minister Tomo Medved said on Thursday that Croatia was building a society on justice and tolerance, and that every gesture contributed to the establishment of trust when it came to visiting execution sites which, he added, would be announced.
Speaking for RTL television, Medved said the prime minister would announce in a timely fashion all his visits, refuting reports that there existed agreements on visiting specific locations.
"When the prime minister will visit an execution site or a mass grave, he will clearly announce it," he said when asked if the prime minister would attend the Varivode commemoration.
Medved said the 25th anniversary of Operation Storm was marked in a dignified manner and that clear messages of optimism were sent that called on everyone to contribute to the building of a tolerant society.
He said government members visited execution sites in the past as well and that they would continue to do so as a civilisational gesture. "Paying our respects to civilian victims, as we are doing every day, paying our respects to Croatian defenders. That has been our government's policy and we will continue to do so."
Medved said summer and autumn were the time when many execution sites were visited, such as Vukovici, Saborsko, Kostrici, Bacin, Vocin, Ovcara and Skabrnja.
He said everything would be agreed also with Deputy PM Boris Milosevic.
Joint commemoration with Serbs in Vukovar
Medved said it was important to honour all victims in an appropriate manner. "Every such gesture contributes to the establishment of trust."
Asked if it was realistic to expect a joint commemoration for the Vukovar victims this year, he said he was confident of it, both in Vukovar and Skabrnja.
"We communicated our policy very clearly and will continue to do so. Croatia today can be a model to many countries in that respect, notably to Serbia, whose rhetoric these days has been totally unacceptable."
Commenting on Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic's statement that it was humiliating that a Serb representative attended the Operation Storm anniversary, Medved called it sad.
"Unfortunately, we have been witnessing the same rhetoric for 25 years. The call on Serbs is to face the past, their role in the realisation of the Greater Serbia policy and all the evil they did in the 1990s, to understand that it all failed."
Medved said everyone should understand that Croatia was independent and sovereign, and that it had achieved most of its strategic goals. "That's our message to them, to turn to the future and face the truth."
Asked about the possibility of talks with Vucic, he said Croatia's policy was clear and that he expected everyone who needed to, to acknowledge that and to accept that approach and level of dialogue and tolerance.
"Croatia is building a society on justice, social inclusion and tolerance, truth. We will tirelessly continue along that path."