ZAGREB, Oct 8 (Hina) - Five years ago on 8th of October 1991, Parliament of the Republic of Croatia made a historic decision to break with the old Yugoslav federation and sever all ties on the ground of which Croatia, as well as other
republics and provinces, had created the then Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRJ). At the 5th anniversary of that event, a Croatian Parliament deputy speaker, Vladimir Seks, gave an interview with the Croatian Television news broadcasting this evening.
ZAGREB, Oct 8 (Hina) - Five years ago on 8th of October 1991,
Parliament of the Republic of Croatia made a historic decision to
break with the old Yugoslav federation and sever all ties on the
ground of which Croatia, as well as other republics and provinces,
had created the then Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRJ).
At the 5th anniversary of that event, a Croatian Parliament
deputy speaker, Vladimir Seks, gave an interview with the Croatian
Television news broadcasting this evening. #L#
Five years ago it was Seks who read that historic decision on
the break-up with the ex-Yugoslavia.
This evening Seks reminded the television audience that on the
25th of June 1991 the Parliament proclaimed the independence and
sovereignty of Croatia, and began the process of disassociation
with the former Yugoslav federation. The Parliament did so after
the then Yugoslav Peoples' Army (JNA) took Serb rebels' side
against Croatia by launching attacks on the country, he added.
"Afterwards the so-called international community arrived on
the scene to demand a three-month moratorium on the (Croatian)
Parliament's decision. The veiled motivation of the international
community was to give more leeway to the so-called JNA and a
Greater Serbia's Yugoslav plans to crush Croatia in the period.
Then the severest attacks and suffering followed - from Vukovar to
Dubrovnik," Croatia's high-ranking official said.
He added that on the 2nd August i991 the Parliament concluded
the JNA and Serbia had launched an aggression against Croatia, and
asked the world also to name the aggressors.
"That has never been done, and after the end of the three-
month moratorium on the 7th October, those episodes were brought to
a head by an assassination attempt on the life the President of
the Republic, Franjo Tudjman, in the presidential court as well as
by perfidious attempts to neutralize the Government and the
Parliament. Thus, on the 8th of October the Croatian Parliament
decided to break all state and legislation connections with
republics and provinces that had created the former SFRJ," Seks
said.
The Normalization Agreement with the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia (Serbia/Montenegro) proved that Serbia's conquest
politics had been totally defeated.
"Croatia has been recognized within its international border,
and the continuity of Croatia's statehood has been acknowledged.
Croatia is a UN member-state, and is getting near step-by-step to
Europe's and Atlantic's integration processes," he said.
"We are to struggle successfully for a Croatia as a welfare
law-governed state. I hold that we will achieve those goals in this
period of peace," he said.
(hina) jn mš
082315 MET oct 96