Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Gordan Grlić Radman in the capacity of the prime minister’s envoy attended the commemoration of the 31st anniversary of the death of five members of the European Commission’s Monitoring Mission. Italian officers Enzo Venturini, Marco Matta, Silvano Natale and Fiorenzo Ramacci, and French officer Jean Loup Eychenne were killed in the attack.
On 7 January 1992, the EC observers were flying from Hungary towards Zagreb in two unarmed white helicopters when they were attacked by a MIG-21 of the Yugoslav Air Force. A swift reaction from the pilot of the second helicopter prevented an even bigger tragedy. Witnesses confirmed that the rocket had missed it by less than a meter.
“This was an observing mission, a part of wider efforts by the European Community and other countries to establish peace and stability based on mutual recognition of new state realities,” underscored Grlić Radman.
The minister recalled that ceasefire was in effect at the time, established by the Implementation Agreement on 2 January 1992, obliging both sides to cease all military activities. “The truce was a precondition for the start of the UN peacekeeping operation in Croatia, in accordance with the Vance Plan,” he added.
Concluding his address, Grlić Radman reflected on the role of the European Community during the Homeland War. “I’m saying all of this to underline the importance of that moment and the European Community’s peace engagement, as well as the significance of all those who risked and, unfortunately, lost their lives for peace and wellbeing of other nations. These five officers, whose lives were cut short by the barbaric act of the Yugoslav Air Force, are woven into Croatia’s freedom and, subsequently, the vision of a united Europe. More than three decades have passed since, and major headway has been made in Europe in terms of mutual understanding, solidarity, cooperation and progress in general. One of these steps, a major one for Croatia, was its joining the eurozone and the Schengen Area on 1 January. This wrapped up our integration into the European Union.”
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