Happy Croatian Statehood Day!

 

Happy Croatian Statehood Day!

Today, as we mark the thirty-sixth anniversary of Croatian statehood, it is fitting to remember those who believed for decades that Croatia had the right to exist as an independent country. Many of them paid a heavy price, imprisoned, professionally destroyed, socially ostracized, or, in the early 1990s, gave their lives for that idea. For the vast majority of Croatian citizens, the creation of an independent state represented the fulfillment of a deep historical aspiration, regardless of later political disagreements.
However, Statehood Day also serves as a reminder that not all citizens have ever shared this sentiment. Franjo Tuđman, the father of Croatian independence, once estimated that 15 to 20 percent of the population was fundamentally opposed to the idea of a sovereign Croatian state. Although that percentage has decreased over time, a certain unease ,even hostility, toward Croatian statehood has not disappeared. It has merely changed its language and public expression.

In contemporary Croatia, a strange inversion persists: open contempt for the state and its symbols is often rewarded with prestige in intellectual and media circles. Some writers, journalists, and public intellectuals have never truly accepted the Croatian state as a legitimate and positive historical reality. Instead, they treat it with persistent skepticism, discomfort, or thinly veiled disdain, all while positioning themselves as morally and intellectually elevated precisely because of that stance.
This phenomenon is not unique to Croatia, but it remains particularly striking here: in a country that had to fight for its very existence, some still view its success not as a victory, but as something to be subtly undermined.

May this day remind us of the courage, sacrifices, and determination of those who fought for Croatia's right to exist as a free and independent nation. After decades of dreaming and struggling, the establishment of the modern Croatian state remains one of the most significant achievements in our history.
Here's to a stronger, prouder, and more united Croatia, one that honors its defenders, respects its symbols, and continues building on the foundations laid in 1990.

Živjela Hrvatska! ✨