[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 82 (Thursday, June 10, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1224]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      IN HONOR OF THE NINTH ANNIVERSARY OF CROATIAN STATEHOOD DAY

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. DENNIS J. KUCINICH

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 10, 1999

  Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, today I rise, as a Croatian-American, to 
join my fellow brothers and sisters in honor of the ninth anniversary 
of Croatian Statehood Day.
  Nine years ago Croatia took a monumental step towards democracy and 
independence, fulfilling the life-long dream of many, by declaring 
statehood. With the fall of the Berlin Wall, Communism's grip over 
Eastern Europe began to crumble, and by the late 1980's democratic 
movements developed in many countries. In Croatia, a progressive 
movement was started with the goal to form an alternative to the 
Communist Party which had been in power since 1945.
  In April of 1990 elections were held in which the Communist Party was 
defeated in a landslide, and representatives from many new political 
parties were elected to the Parliament. The first meeting of this new 
democratically elected Parliament was on May 30, 1990. This occasion is 
a reason for Croatians all over the world to celebrate their country's 
historic movement towards independence and democracy.
  I ask my fellow colleagues to join me, and my Croatian brothers and 
sisters, in celebrating Croatia's Statehood and congratulating them on 
nine years of independence.

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