President Zoran Milanovic decorated some participants of the Croatian Spring on Monday with the Grand Order of King Dmitar Zvonimir with Sash and the Croatian Morning Star for their outstanding contribution to Croatia's independence and integrity as well as to the building and progress of the Croatian state.

The high decoration was awarded to Dražen Budisa, Ivan Zvonimir Cicak and Goran Dodig and posthumously to Jozo Ivicevic-Bakulic, Ljudevit Jonke, Ante Paradzik, Hrvoje Sosic, and Marko and Vladimir Veselica.

On this day fifty years ago, the arrests had already begun and the repression by the former state was in full swing. Intellectuals, politicians and students were arrested. Of those who were decorated today, only three are still alive, said Milanovic, adding that these decorations have come with a great delay.

You fought for something that was right, beautiful, noble, for yourself but not against others. Not with hate, but with enthusiasm and motivation, he said at the award ceremony.

He thanked them for their courage and for being able to forgive their persecutors and continue living normal lives.

The Croatian state was created and defended with the will, power, enthusiasm and courage by a small group of people, he added.

On behalf of the recipients of the decorations, Ivan Zvonimir Cicak underscored that this represented the decoration of thousands of people who are built into these decorations.

Those were times that cannot be described. It was not just a political movement but a time of enthusiasm that awoke under all the burden thrown onto the back of the Croatian people as being genocidal. We entered the political arena and enabled one wing of the party to reform and did what our hearts told us to, said Cicak.

After that repression followed with the arrest of students, intellectuals and hundreds of other people, he said.