Croatian Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandrokovic on Tuesday offered his best wishes on Independence Day to Croatian citizens who gathered in the parliament hall as part of an Open Day event, stressing that Independence Day was one of the most important days in Croatia's modern history.

Citizens attending the event were joined by Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and many government ministers as well as by President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic.

Jandrokovic recalled that on 8 October 1991 the Croatian Parliament decided to sever all state and legal ties with the former Yugoslavia after on October 7 Yugoslav People’s Army jets bombarded Banski Dvori, the residence of the then Croatian leadership headed by President Franjo Tudjman.

“The Yugoslav occupying army carried out an attempt on President Tudjman’s life. Had it been successful, Croatia’s history would have taken an entirely different course, but it was not and owing to President Tudjman and Croatian defenders and all the others who gave their lives for the homeland, we have today freedom, democracy and a multiparty system and can proudly tell our children about those days,” said Jandrokovic.

A large number of citizens, notably young people and children, visited the parliament for today’s Open Day, which Jandrokovic welcomed.

That is good, it confirms that there is great interest in the parliament’s work, Jandrokovic said, adding that around 25,000 citizens passed through the parliament annually and that at the last Open Day event alone, around 1,500 citizens visited the Sabor.