Croats Celebrate Independence Day

A national holiday today marks Croatian Independence Day, a day where Croats celebrates the unanimous decision of the Croatian Parliament – Sabor to terminate the link between Croatia and SFR Yugoslavia….

“Dear citizens of Croatia, I wish you all the best for Independence Day. It is one of the most important days in Croatian history, which we remember with pride. This is also an opportunity to wish the Republic of Croatia, all citizens of our homeland, a prosperous future,” President Ivo Josipović said in an address to mark the occasion.

The Croatian referendum on independence was held in May 1991, with 93% of voters supporting the independence. On 25 June the Croatian Sabor proclaimed the Croatian independence and seven days later, on 7 July, Croatia and Slovenia signed the Brioni Declaration in which the two countries agreed to suspend all declarations and acts passed by the Croatian and Slovenian parliaments related to those states’ secession from Yugoslavia for a period of three months. On 8 October, the Sabor decided to end relations with Yugoslavia, in the Decision on the termination of the state and legal ties with other republics and provinces of Yugoslavia. That session was not held in the House of Parliament but instead in the basement of an INA building, because of the possibility of the repeat of an incident such as the bombing of Banski dvori.