Croatian President Zoran Milanovic abruptly left the central commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the Flash Operation in protest against the salute "For the homeland ready" on T-shirts of some war veterans who arrived in the town of Okucani on Friday morning to participate in the commemoration.

The salute concerned, which was used during the Ustasha regime in the Second World War, was also used by the HOS volunteers during the 1991-1995 Homeland War.

“I am sorry. I came here to pay tribute to those who gave their lives for Croatia. We had agreed about all elements of the protocol. However, one of the participants who was supposed to lay a wreath before me, appeared in the T-shirt with the message ‘Ready for the Homeland’, Milanovic said explaining why he had left abruptly the commemorative event and was not among the state officials during the wreath-laying ceremony.

Milanovic considers the whole situation as an act of provocation.

“I find that this was an act of trampling on the sacrifice and on the memory of this (liberating) operation., Milanovic said.

“I will not participate in any commemoration in the future with such events. I understand the prime minister and the parliament speaker. They have to,” Milanovic said alluding to the fact that the commemoration was held as planned with the PM Andrej Plenkovic and Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandrokovic.

Operation Flash was launched on 1 May 1995, and within 31 hours Croatian military and police forces liberated about 500 square kilometres of territory occupied by Serb insurgents and restored control over the A3 motorway.

Milanovic later wrote on his Facebook profile that his attitudes were well known.

“My office did not participate in the organisation of the (Okucani) commemoration, this was organised by the Ministry of War Veterans’ Affairs and we had acceded to all the elements of the protocol whereby war veterans and families of the fallen soldiers should be the first to lay a wreath, and after that prime minister and the president. It was all right,” he explained in his statement.

However, after one of those participants in the protocol appeared in a T-shirt with the salute concerned and the HOS insignia, Milanovic left the scene.

He wrote in his Facebook post that all that was the matter of organisers.

“I am sorry this was an intentional act of provocation. It was something on which we had counted. That happened. I find this an act of trampling on the sacrifice and on the memories of that (liberating) operation,” wrote Milanovic insisting that there is no place for insignia which includes the said salute in Okucani and other sites.