President Milanović: The world could not ignore the will of the Croatian people to have their own independent state because it was won and defended in the just and defensive Homeland War

Statement of the President of the Republic of Croatia Zoran Milanović on the occasion of the Day of the International Recognition of the Republic of Croatia and the Day of the Peaceful Reintegration of the Croatian Danube River Region:

“The Day of the International Recognition of the Republic of Croatia, which we celebrate today together with the Day of the Peaceful Reintegration of the Croatian Danube River Region, is one of the dates in recent Croatian history that has significance for the modern confirmation of Croatian statehood. I say, modern confirmation, because Croatian statehood goes back a long way in history, the state of the Croatian people has been known and recognized for centuries.

However, the Croatian state lacked independence, which it finally achieved in the Homeland War, independence won by the Croatian defenders to whom we owe eternal gratitude. The modern world could not ignore the will of the Croatian people to have their own independent state because it was won and defended in the just and defensive Homeland War with huge human and material sacrifices.

The international recognition of the Republic of Croatia, which we are celebrating today, was also a moral debt of the largest part of the international community, which left Croatia alone when it experienced the toughest of times. Therefore, on this memorial day, I extend thanks first of all to all the Croatian defenders without whom the international recognition of the Croatian state would not be possible, and then to all those who, with their actions, contributed to the full affirmation of the Republic of Croatia as a full-fledged member of the international community.

And precisely the peaceful reintegration of the Croatian Danube River region, a few years later, confirmed that the modern Croatian state, since the beginning of the Homeland War, had one goal only – to confirm its statehood, achieve independence, live in peace, and develop for the well-being of the Croatian people and all its citizens”.