On October 8, 1991, the Croatian parliament unanimously adopts the decision terminating state-legal ties between Croatia and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The vote legally ends the country's participation in the federation and establishes Croatia as an independent and sovereign state.
The historic session is not held in the parliament building. It is convened in the building of the INA oil company at “Šubičeva“ 29 in Zagreb due to the danger of new air strikes. The day before, Yugoslav People's Army planes attack Banski Dvori – the building housing the state leadership, including President Franjo Tuđman.
The decision comes after a three-month moratorium
The path to final separation began with the referendum on 19 May 1991. In it, 93.24% of voters supported the possibility of Croatia being a sovereign and independent state, while 92.18% rejected its remaining in Yugoslavia as a single federal state. On 25 June, the parliament adopted a Constitutional Decision on Sovereignty and Independence, but its implementation was postponed for three months by virtue of the Brijuni Declaration of 7 July.
After the moratorium expired on 8 October, the parliament declared that Croatia no longer recognized the bodies of the former federation as legitimate and lawful, nor the legal acts issued in its name. The wording is more accurate than the claim that the country had simply “terminated contacts“ with Yugoslavia: the decision severed constitutional and legal ties, but provided for the possibility of relations with the other republics on the principle of reciprocity.
“On 8 October 1991, a united Croatia adopted the last important constitutional and legal decision on the road to full independence“, said the Speaker of Parliament, Josip Leko later.International recognition and UN membership followed
The military confrontation in Croatia continued after the parliamentary decision. International recognition came on 15 January 1992, when the countries of the European Community recognized Croatia as an independent state. On May 22, 1992, the country was admitted to the United Nations.
The date of October 8 has long been the official Independence Day of Croatia. After a change in the holiday calendar from 2020, it is celebrated as the Day of the Croatian Parliament, while June 25 is designated as the Day of Statehood. Both dates are part of the same process: first the political decision to secede, and then its final implementation.
Sources: hina.hr, washingtonpost.com, upi.com