30TH ANNIVERSARY OF EXODUS OF SERBS FROM WESTERN SLAVONIA TO BE MARKED ON MAY 1 IN GRADIŠKA

GRADIŠKA, APRIL 28 /SRNA/ - On Thursday, May 1, Gradiška will mark the 30th anniversary of the expulsion of 15,000 Serbs from Western Slavonia during the Croatian operation "Flash," in which 283 Serbs were killed, including 12 children.

Krsta Žarković, the president of the Association of Serbs Expelled from Western Slavonia, told SRNA that this is a historic event of the Republic's significance – "The Croatian pogrom against the Serbs of Western Slavonia in 1995." He says that the commemoration will begin at 09:00 with a memorial service for the killed Serbs at the Church of the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos in Gradiška. A memorial service for the fallen Serbian civilians and soldiers will be held at 10:00 at the Memorial Site. A spiritual academy at the Gradiška Cultural Center is scheduled for 11:00, after which the documentary film "Western Slavonia, 30 Years Later" will be shown. The commemoration of this event is organized by the Committee for Nurturing the Traditions of Liberation Wars of the Republika Srpska Government. The Croatian Armed Forces, under the codename "Flash," carried out an aggression against the Serbian region of Western Slavonia, which was part of the Republic of Serbian Krajina, on May 1, 1995, at a time when the region was under the protection of the UN. More than 16,000 members of the Croatian Armed Forces launched an attack against the Serbs in Western Slavonia, approximately 15,000 civilians and around 4,000 soldiers. Around 1,450 members of the Serbian Army of Krajina were captured, most of them deceived with the help of UN forces. Many of them later endured severe psychological and physical abuse in Bjelovar and Varaždin. In this Croatian criminal operation, 15,000 Serbs were expelled, and 283 Serbs were killed within just 36 hours, including 107 civilians, among whom were 12 children.