October 8, 1991: Croatian Parliament severed all ties with Yugoslavia

A day after the rocket attack on Banski Dvori, as Croatia was facing armed aggression, members of the Croatian Parliament gathered at a secret location in Zagreb on October 8, 1991, and unanimously adopted a historic decision to sever all state and legal ties with Yugoslavia.

“Yugoslavia as a community of states no longer exists,” was the message delivered at a moment that marked a key turning point on Croatia’s path to independence.

During the dramatic days of the Homeland War, the Croatian Parliament unanimously adopted the Resolution on the Severance of Ties with Yugoslavia, invoking the will of citizens expressed in a referendum and the decision on sovereignty and independence adopted in June 1991.

Historic session held at secret location

The historic session was held at a secret location because Banski Dvori had been hit by rockets the previous day, October 7, while the Parliament building itself had also come under attack.

It is now known that the MPs gathered in the INA building in Zagreb.

Parliament Speaker Žarko Domljan said that, following a three-month moratorium, Croatia had “waited long and suffered greatly,” adding that freedom was a matter of survival.

Vladimir Šeks read out the historic resolution, confirming that Yugoslavia, as a community of states, no longer existed.

Through the Resolution and separate conclusions, the Croatian Parliament established that the Republic of Croatia no longer recognized the validity of any legal act issued by bodies acting on behalf of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

It also emphasized that, as a sovereign and independent state, Croatia guaranteed fundamental human rights and the rights of national minorities.

The Parliament further established that Croatia had been subjected to armed aggression by the Republic of Serbia and the Yugoslav People's Army, or JNA, and that the country was compelled to defend itself by all available means.

The JNA was declared an aggressor and occupying army, and the Parliament demanded its withdrawal from Croatian territory.

Call for international recognition

The Croatian Parliament called on all states—particularly the member states of the then-European Community and the United Nations—to establish diplomatic relations with the Republic of Croatia.

At the historic session on October 8, fifteen laws essential to the functioning of the independent and sovereign Republic of Croatia were also enacted.

The decisions made several months earlier had now reached their final constitutional conclusion: Croatia severed all ties with Yugoslavia and continued on its path as an independent state.