ZAGREB, 25 Sept, 2021 - The 30th anniversary of the liberation of Varaždin was marked on Saturday with a parade of veterans, soldiers, police and fire-fighters, and President Zoran Milanović saying that fighting for the rights and living standards of all citizens was the only way for Croatia to succeed.
Varaždin was liberated with the surrender of the Yugoslav People's Army's 32nd Corps on 22 September 1991. The seized weaponry increased the Croatian defenders' firepower seven times, marking a watershed in the Homeland War.
President Milanović said Croatia's task now was to ensure a decent life for every person and to make the most of its EU membership. "That's what we owe Croatian boys and girls, Croatian defenders... They would be happy if they saw that living here is safer, better, freer."
Varaždin Mayor Neven Bosilj said the liberation of the town in 1991 marked a watershed in the Homeland War, creating the prerequisites for the creation of the independent and free Croatia.
Varaždin County head Anđelko Stričak said Varaždin's war days in 1991 were as important for the Homeland War as the 1995 Operation Storm. He recalled that the first free area in Croatia was on the territory of present-day Međimurje and Varaždin counties and that 175 defenders from there were killed in the war.
The parliament speaker's envoy, MP Damir Habijan of the ruling HDZ, said Croatian defenders fought for an independent and free state and that now was the time to fight for a successful Croatia and for the Croatian future.
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