Today Croatia celebrates Statehood Day. It was on this date, exactly 31 years ago, that the first democratic and modern multi-party Croatian Parliament was constituted, proclaiming Croatia a sovereign and independent state.
After the independence referendum held on May 19, 1991, in which 94 percent of the citizens decided Croatia should separate from Yugoslavia, on June 25 Croatian Parliament adopted the Constitutional Declaration on the sovereignty and independence of the Republic of Croatia thus proclaiming Croatia an independent state. To this day, the referendum remains one of the most significant Croatian historical events.
After a three-month moratorium on the implementation of the decision the Croatian Parliament cut all remaining ties with Yugoslavia on October 8, 1991. In December 1991, Germany independently recognized Croatia and in January 1992 so did the rest of Europe, followed by the rest of the world.
Photo: Srećko Niketić
