20 GODINA ORUžANIH SNAGA REPUBLIKE HRVATSKE VOJSKA KOJA JE ISPUNILA NAJSVETIJU ZADaću - OBRANILA I OSLOBODILA DOMOVINU Hrvatska vojska, stvorena ni iz čega, ispunila je onaj temeljni i najvažniji cilj svake vojne organizacije - zaustaviti agresora, obraniti i osloboditi svoju zemlju te očuvati njezinu suverenost. U njezino stasanje i snaženje ugrađene su mnogobrojne žrtve, no možemo biti ponosni na ostvareno, veliku pobjedu male vojske koja je dovela do ostvarenja stoljetnih hrvatskih težnji i slobodne domovine. Od zemlje primateljice mirovnih snaga postali smo zemlja i vojska koja ulaže velike napore u izgradnji mira u cijelom svijetu sudjelujući u brojnim mirovnim misijama i operacijama. Postali smo zahvaljujući samo vlastitim naporima i pobjedama, onim u Domovinskom ratu i onim koje je pred nas stavilo novo moderno vrijeme, dio najmoćnijeg vojno-političkog saveza u svijetu i danas kao jedna od 28 članica NATO-a ponosno stupamo uz bok najmoćnijih vojski svijeta. Put na koji se krenulo iz Kranjčevićeve ulice bio je put pobjede i put stasanja jedne mlade vojske danas izrasle u moderne, respektabilne i profesionalne oružane snage. Na samom početku ostvarivanja svog stoljetnog sna, samostalne i suverene države, hrvatski se narod našao na udaru velikosrpske politike, koja je od 1991. do 1995. godine zaprijetila elementarnom op- stanku, ne samo mlade države već i hrvatskog bića u cjelini. Bilo je to vrijeme u kojem je gotovo ni iz čega trebalo stvarati temelje mlade države... 20 YEARS OF THE CRoatian ARMED FORCES THE ARMY WHICH COMPLETED THE MOST SACRED OF ALL Tasks - DEFENDING AND FREEING THE HOMELAND The Croatian Army, created out of nothing, has met the basic and most important goal of every mi- litary organisation - stopping the aggressor, defending and freeing its homeland, and conserving its homeland’s sovereignty. There were many victims over the course of its coming of age and strengthe- ning, but we can be proud of what was accomplished: a great victory for a small army that realised ancient Croatian aspirations and gave us a free country. From a country that was host to peacekeeping forces, we became a country and army that invests great effort in building peace throughout the whole world by participating in numerous peacekeeping missions and operations. Thanks to our own efforts and victories, those in the Homeland War and tho- se put before us by modern times, we have become part of the most powerful military-political alliance in the world, and today, as one of 28 members of NATO, we proudly stand alongside the world’s most powerful armies. The journey which began on Kranjčevićeva Street was the path towards victory and a coming of age journey for a young army which today has grown into modern, respectable and professional armed forces. At the beginning of realizing its centuries-old dream of an independent and sovereign state, the Croati- an population came under the fire of the politics of Greater Serbia, which from 1991 to 1995 threate- ned the elementary survival not only of the young country, but of Croatian beings altogether. It was a time in which the foundations of a young country had to be created from virtually nothing... Neprijateljski zrakoplovi raketirali su u listopadu 1991. Banske dvore dok je u njima predsjednik RH dr. Franjo Tuđman održavao sastanak Enemy aircraft rocketed Ban’s Palace in October 1991 while Croatian President Franjo Tudjman held a meeting there Pripremila Vesna Pintarić, foto arhiva HVG-a V eć sredinom 1990. vojni vrh tadašnje zajedničke države bio je spreman rušiti demokratski iza- branu hrvatsku vlast. Hrvatsku su velikosrpski ideolozi optuživali za ugrožavanje srpstva, vodeći specijalni rat organiziranjem tzv. mitinga istine i naposljetku stvaranjem tzv. Srpske autonomne oblasti - tzv. SAO Krajine u Hrvatskoj. Hrvatska će u tom vremenu biti razoružana. Naime, Dana 5. kolovoza 1990. u Školskom centru MUP-a RH u Zagrebu počela je iz skladišta Teritorijalne obrane (TO) tadašnje SR izobrazba gotovo 1700 kandidata za hrvatske redarstvenike, a nedugo za- Hrvatske protuzakonito je i bez znanja legitimnih tim osnivaju se i prve specijalne postrojbe - Antiteroristička jedinica Lučko vlasti oduzeto naoružanje za 250 tisuća pripadnika te postrojbe za posebne namjene MUP-a RH i to Tuškanac, Rakitje, Valban- TO. Istodobno se nižu srpske provokacije, zaprečava- don, Kumrovec, Pionirski Grad, Sljeme, Vinica (Ivanec) i Erdut s oko 4500- ju prometnice... bio je to početak “balvan revolucije”. 5000 pripadnika. Do kraja 1990. godine MUP je imao 45 tisuća pripadnika. Sukobi postaju sve širi i opasniji te su ubrzo prerasli u krvavi pir neslućenih razmjera. Napadi na hrvatsku policiju postaju sve češći, na- Hrvatskoj je već sredinom 1990. protuzakonito oduzeto naoružanje padaju se policijske stanice, a prvi veći sukob do- teritorijalne obrane, a istodobno se nižu provokacije, zaprečavaju godio se u Nacionalnom parku Plitvička jezera koji prometnice... okupiraju paravojne srpske postrojbe. Hrvatska je specijalna policija intervenirala i odbacila teroriste te uspostavila nadzor nad parkom, a ta epizoda Do- movinskog rata ostala je zabilježena u najnovijoj hr- vatskoj povijesti kao Krvavi Uskrs. Naime, tijekom akcije poginuo je hrvatski policajac Josip Jović, prva žrtva velikosrpske pobune u Hrvatskoj. Nedugo za- tim dogodilo se i stravično stradanje dvanaestorice hrvatskih redarstvenika u Borovu Selu, ubijenih iz zasjede i na najokrutniji način. Nastavlja se progon hrvatskog stanovništva, a po- strojbe JNA otvoreno se stavljaju na stranu pobunje- nika. Bilo je više nego očito da pobunjenici na sve načine pokušavaju destabilizirati novoizabrano hr- vatsko demokratsko vodstvo koje je osim političkih mjera počelo poduzimati konkretne korake za obranu demokratski izabranih institucija. 4 20 GODINA Oružanih snaga REPUBLIKE HRVATSKE Hrvatski sabor 25. lipnja 1991. usvaja između ostalog i Deklaraciju o uspostavi suverene i samostalne Republike Hrvatske On June 25th 1991, among other things, a declaration on the establishment of a sove- reign and independent Croatian Republic was adopted By Vesna Pintarić and HVG Photo Archives As early on as the mid-1990’s, the leadership of the then-joint state was ready to destroy the democratically elected Croatian government. Greater Serbia ideologists accused Croatia of en- dangering Serbhood, leading a special war by organising so-called truth meetings and by cre- ating the so-called Serbian Autonomous Region (SAO) in Krajina in Croatia. Croatia at that time At the same, time there were Serbian provocations, road blocks... It was was unarmed. Out of the storage of the Territo- the beginning of the Log Revolution. Conflicts became more widespread rial Defence (TO) of the then Socialist Republic of and dangerous and soon turned into bloodbaths of unimaginable propor- Croatia, authorities illegally and secretly confisca- tions. Assaults on Croatian police became more frequent, police stations ted weapons from 250 thousand members of the were attacked, and the first major clash occurred in the PlitviceL akes Territorial Defence. National Park, which was occupied by Serbian paramilitary units. Croati- an special police intervened, did away with the terrorists and established supervision over the park, and that episode of the Homeland War was By mid-1990, weapons were illegally seized from Croatia’s noted in most recent Croatian history as Bloody Easter. territorial defence; there was also a series of provocations, Namely, during that action, the first victim of the Greater Serbia rebelli- roadblocks... on, Croatian police officer Josip Jović, was killed. Not long after, there was the horrific case of the twelve policemen that were killed in an ambush in the cruellest possible way in Borovo Selo. The persecution of the Cro- atian population continued, and units from the JNA openly sided with the rebels. It was more than obvious that the rebels were trying to de- stabilise the newly elected Croatian democratic leadership, which also began taking more concrete measures to defend democratically elected institutions along with its political measures. On August 5th, 1990 in the MUP’s School Centre of the Republic of Cro- atia in Zagreb, the training of nearly 1700 police officer candidates be- gan, and shortly after the first special units were established – the Lučko Anti-Terrorist Unit and as well as Special Tasks units of Croatia’s MUP more specifically its Tuškanac, Rakitje, Valbandon, Kumrovec, Pionirski Grad, Sljeme, Vinica (Ivanec) and Erdut units with round 4500 to 5000 members.. By the end of 1990, the MUP had 45 000 members. Napadi na hrvatsku policiju sve su češći, a prvi veći sukob dogodio se u nacionalnom parku Plitvička jezera u ožujku 1991. Attacks on Croatian police were more frequent, and the first major conflict occurred in the Plitvice Lakes National Park in March 1991 20 YEARS OF THE CROATIAN ARMED FORCES 5 Dana 17. travnja 1991. donesen je Zakon o izmjenama i dopunama Zakona o unutar- Prve osnovane brigade ZNG-a njim poslovima, na temelju kojeg je donije- svečanu prisegu domovini položili ta Odluka o ustrojstvu Zbora narodne garde su 28. svibnja 1991. (ZNG-a), prve profesionalne oružane postrojbe The National Guard’s first establis- s obrambenim i redarstvenim zadaćama. Prve hed brigade took their solemn oath osnovane brigade ZNG-a su svečanu prisegu to the Homeland on May 28th 1991 hrvatskoj domovini položile povijesnog 28. svibnja 1991. kad je održan i svečani mimo- hod na stadionu NK “Zagreb” u Kranjčevićevoj ulici. Taj datum danas Oružane snage RH sla-