Croatia marks Parliament Day

Croatia on Wednesday marked Parliament Day, commemorating 8 October, 1991, when the first parliament unanimously voted to sever all constitutional and legal ties with the former Yugoslavia.

At the time, parliament declared that Croatia no longer recognised any federal institutions as legitimate or lawful, nor any legal acts adopted in the name of the former federation, which it said no longer existed.

The decision came a day after the expiry of a three-month moratorium on Croatia's constitutional decision on sovereignty and independence adopted on 25 June, 1991, and just one day after Yugoslav Army jets bombed the seat of power in Zagreb in order to wipe out the country's leadership under President Franjo Tuđman.

"It's definitely one of the most important events in modern Croatian history. We are obliged to pay homage to those individuals who made those important decisions, as well as all those who fought for Croatia and gave their lives for us to live in an independent, democratic and free Croatian state," said Deputy Speaker of Parliament Željko Reiner.

Until 2020, the date was observed as Independence Day, a public and non-working holiday. However, under the revised holiday calendar adopted by the ruling HDZ, it is now celebrated as a commemorative working day.