The Croatian Navy on Friday celebrated the 20th anniversary of its establishment and Navy Day (18 September), with the main commemorative events being held in Split, with the state leadership, including President Ivo Josipovic and Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor, in attendance.
Addressing the central ceremony in the naval port of Lora, both Josipovic and Kosor emphasised the importance of the modernisation of this branch of the Croatian Armed Forces.
"I am sure that the institutions of the Croatian government will care about the Croatian Navy and the entire Armed Forces and create the necessary conditions so that they can perform their tasks," President Josipovic said.
PM Kosor said that the in the modernisation of the Navy, the government would find possibilities for building naval vessels in the Croatian shipyards and that it was possible to restart the building of naval ships not only for Croatian needs but also for export.
On this occasion, Josipovic, the supreme army commander, promoted 19 armed forces members.
In his written statement on the occasion of Navy Day, Josipovic said that the challenges which the present-day Navy was facing were somewhat different than the challenges when the Navy was established, when the defence of the country and its freedom and sovereignty had been the priority.
However, the level of responsibility necessary for the maintenance and development of the defence system and the Navy remain equally high, Josipovic said in his message, congratulating the Croatian Navy personnel on the occasion of their day.
The Croatian Navy (HRM) was established on 12 September 1991 in accordance with a decision made by the first Croatian President, Franjo Tudjman, when Croatia had not yet been internationally recognised and when its islands and the coast had been blocked by vessels of the enemy Yugoslav People's Army (JNA).
The HRM played a significant role in the defence of the homeland at that time and in the establishment of Croatia's control over its territorial waters.
September 18 was designated as Navy Day in memory of the victory of Croatian sailors led by Duke Branimir over Venetian ships near Makarska on 18 September 887.
The venue of the central ceremonies of Navy Day changes every year so that tribute may be paid to everyone along the coast who contributed to the establishment of the HRM and to the defence of Croatia.
From its establishment in September 1991 to mid-November of that year, the HRM managed to remove the JNA blockade from all Croatian coastal cities and islands, except for the southernmost city of Dubrovnik. By the end of 1991, Croatia's Navy had driven out JNA vessels from Croatia's Adriatic.
