[In Croazia, tredici anni di regime nazionalista ed anticomunista non
sono riusciti a scalfire la memoria e l'immagine di Tito. Un recente
sondaggio dimostra che la maggioranza della popolazione tuttora
considera Josip Broz la piu' grande figura storica mai prodotta dalla
Croazia. Naturalmente, nel fare queste considerazioni si tace sia il
ruolo di Tito come simbolo di tutti i popoli jugoslavi, non solo di
quello croato, sia il fatto che egli non poteva definirsi semplicemente
"croato", essendo peraltro di origini famigliari miste, ma piuttosto
"jugoslavo". Curiosamente, anche il secondo posto nella classifica dei
"grandi croati" e' detenuto da un personaggio (Nikola Tesla, noto
scienziato originario della Krajna) la cui "croaticita'" e' a dir poco
controversa...]
http://balkanreport.tol.cz/look/BRR/
article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=9&NrIssue=1&NrSection=1&NrArticle
=11440
12 January 2004
The 'Greatest Croat'
ZAGREB, Croatia--Josip Broz Tito, the former communist leader of
Yugoslavia, is the greatest Croat in history, according to a recent
poll conducted by a leading local weekly, Nacional.
Almost a quarter of a century after his death, Tito has once again
reappeared among his people, winning 2,055 of the nearly 8,000 votes
cast to determine who is the greatest Croat in history.
Second and third places went to world-renowned scientist Nikola Tesla,
the "master of lightning," and 18th-century physicist, astronomer, and
mathematician Rudjer Boskovic, respectively. Also earning spots among
the top five were writer Miroslav Krleza and late Croatian President
Franjo Tudjman, who shares his position with late basketball star
Drazen Petrovic.
The poll, which aimed to determine whom Croats consider their greatest
compatriot of all time, was conducted over a five-week period. It was
clear from the start that the numbers would swing in favor of the late
leader of Yugoslavia, who led the struggle against fascism during World
War II.
The poll's results sparked much public debate in Croatia. Some claimed
that the survey methods were unreliable, citing the use of votes cast
on the Internet and via mobile phone text messages, among other things.
Others criticized what they felt was an inadequate selection of
candidates to begin with. Still, during the entire five-week process,
Tito's status was not once in jeopardy.
Nacional listed 100 nominees in the poll--among them politicians,
artists, scientists, singers, actors, and many others, some of whose
national origin was questionable.
Writer Ivo Andric, who won the Nobel Prize for literature, for example,
was born in Bosnia and Herzegovina and spent most of his life in the
Serbian capital of Belgrade.
Though the inclusion of certain candidates was predictable, there were
some unexpected ones--among them Stevo Karapandza, a famous chef, who
finished a surprising 10th place in the poll.
Former Prime Minister Ivica Racan, whose coalition government lost the
general elections in November to the center-right Croatian Democratic
Union (HDZ), made a poor showing, at 54th place.
Far ahead of him was General Rahim Ademi, who is accused by the
Hague-based International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
(ICTY) of committing war crimes during the 1991-1995 homeland war in
Croatia. Ademi garnered 135 votes, putting him in 12th place.
Ademi's colleague, fugitive General Ante Gotovina, who has been on the
run since the ICTY unsealed the indictment against him in 2001, took
30th place.
According to sociologist Drazen Lalic, Tito's triumph in the poll is
not related to any kind of nostalgia for the old Yugoslavia.
"This is a natural reaction from people who have come to terms with
their history," Lalic said. "Participants did not cast their votes
based on ideological criteria, but rather on global recognition. They
remembered that Tito was well-known across the globe, that he was on
the winning side in World War II, and that he said 'no' to Stalin."
Croatian President Stjepan Mesic, who won 266 votes in the poll to end
up in seventh place, agrees that Tito played a great role in fulfilling
Croatia's national interests.
"He led the resistance against Nazi Germany and Italian fascism and
helped in ousting the monarchy. He ruled post-war Yugoslavia with an
iron fist but maneuvered it away from Stalin. On a number of occasions,
despite obvious ruthlessness when dealing his political opponents, Tito
managed to prove he was a great statesman," Mesic told local media.
TITO'S COMEBACK
Following the bloody 1990s war for independence, Croatia worked quickly
to dismantle all symbols of communism, including the legacy of Tito.
However, regardless of prevailing public resentment of Tito, his
diehard followers have never been discouraged.
Several thousand people still gather each year on 4 May in Kumrovec,
the small northern Croatian village where Tito was born, to mark the
anniversary of his death. The sirens wail at 3:05 p.m., the exact time
of his death, and mourners honor the late leader with flowers and old
partisan songs. Many file through the wooden cottage where Tito spent
his childhood.
Many of those who attend the commemoration are elderly World War II
veterans who served under Tito's command.
Evaluating the results of the Nacional poll, some analysts pointed out
that many citizens now regard Tito as a symbol of more peaceful and
relatively prosperous times, when the former Yugoslavia enjoyed
considerable prestige in both the East and the West.
But for others, he remains a tyrant whose failure to begin
democratization in the 1960s ultimately led to the rise of Serbian
strongman Slobodan Milosevic and the tragedies of the 1990s. There are
still many angry voices that caution against forgetting that Tito was
responsible for such evils as the opening of notorious labor camps for
political prisoners.
Speaking for Nacional, professor Zorica Stipetic, a former researcher
at the Institute of the History of the Worker's Movement, said that
globally, Tito was celebrated as one of the most important statesmen of
the 20th century.
In the late 1980s, foreign diplomats put him on a level with Winston
Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt, calling him "the last historical
leader from the era of World War II," one who "rejected the Kremlin's
ultimatums and Washington's courting."
"The situation is different in the republics that rose from the ashes
of the old Yugoslavia," Stipetic said. "The emotions here are still
strong, whether positive or negative, because both the negative and
positive consequences of Tito's rule directly influenced and determined
people's destinies."
Like Lalic, Stipetic is convinced that Tito's victory has nothing to do
with a possible comeback of the communist ideology he represented.
"Election day is the only poll that really matters," she said. The
Croats recently voted against the leftist political options that share
common values with Tito's doctrine. According to Drazen Lalic, the
voters who--in the general elections--chose the conservative right-wing
option to rule Croatia in the next four-year term were not guided by
ideology.
"Their arguments against the Social Democratic Party [SDP] were
economic. The SDP-led coalition government simply did not fulfill their
expectations," Lalic said.
Tito's appeal, according to Lalic, lies in the fact that he was not a
"typical" communist.
"He had a bourgeois style of living," he said. "He drove expensive cars
and lived in luxurious houses. He projected an image of a bon vivant
who enjoyed king-size cigars, good whisky, and the company of Hollywood
celebrities such as Richard Burton and Liz Taylor. He was a true
jet-setter."
--by Barbara Peranic
Related Stories:
BRR News: Reincarnating Tito
Celebrations of Tito's 111th birthday in Croatia's Kumrovec are a sign
of the times.
2 June 2003
http://balkanreport.tol.cz/look/BRR/
article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=9&NrIssue=1&NrSection=1&NrArticle
=9659
BRR Features: ‘Revolution Is a Process, the Struggle Continues’
Dead 23 years, worshipped, then scorned, and now worshipped again, the
communist leader of the former Yugoslavia is making a comeback.
by Goran Tarlac
16 May 2003
http://balkanreport.tol.cz/look/BRR/
article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=9&NrIssue=1&NrSection=4&NrArticle
=9519
Copyright © 2004 Transitions Online. All rights reserved.
sono riusciti a scalfire la memoria e l'immagine di Tito. Un recente
sondaggio dimostra che la maggioranza della popolazione tuttora
considera Josip Broz la piu' grande figura storica mai prodotta dalla
Croazia. Naturalmente, nel fare queste considerazioni si tace sia il
ruolo di Tito come simbolo di tutti i popoli jugoslavi, non solo di
quello croato, sia il fatto che egli non poteva definirsi semplicemente
"croato", essendo peraltro di origini famigliari miste, ma piuttosto
"jugoslavo". Curiosamente, anche il secondo posto nella classifica dei
"grandi croati" e' detenuto da un personaggio (Nikola Tesla, noto
scienziato originario della Krajna) la cui "croaticita'" e' a dir poco
controversa...]
http://balkanreport.tol.cz/look/BRR/
article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=9&NrIssue=1&NrSection=1&NrArticle
=11440
12 January 2004
The 'Greatest Croat'
ZAGREB, Croatia--Josip Broz Tito, the former communist leader of
Yugoslavia, is the greatest Croat in history, according to a recent
poll conducted by a leading local weekly, Nacional.
Almost a quarter of a century after his death, Tito has once again
reappeared among his people, winning 2,055 of the nearly 8,000 votes
cast to determine who is the greatest Croat in history.
Second and third places went to world-renowned scientist Nikola Tesla,
the "master of lightning," and 18th-century physicist, astronomer, and
mathematician Rudjer Boskovic, respectively. Also earning spots among
the top five were writer Miroslav Krleza and late Croatian President
Franjo Tudjman, who shares his position with late basketball star
Drazen Petrovic.
The poll, which aimed to determine whom Croats consider their greatest
compatriot of all time, was conducted over a five-week period. It was
clear from the start that the numbers would swing in favor of the late
leader of Yugoslavia, who led the struggle against fascism during World
War II.
The poll's results sparked much public debate in Croatia. Some claimed
that the survey methods were unreliable, citing the use of votes cast
on the Internet and via mobile phone text messages, among other things.
Others criticized what they felt was an inadequate selection of
candidates to begin with. Still, during the entire five-week process,
Tito's status was not once in jeopardy.
Nacional listed 100 nominees in the poll--among them politicians,
artists, scientists, singers, actors, and many others, some of whose
national origin was questionable.
Writer Ivo Andric, who won the Nobel Prize for literature, for example,
was born in Bosnia and Herzegovina and spent most of his life in the
Serbian capital of Belgrade.
Though the inclusion of certain candidates was predictable, there were
some unexpected ones--among them Stevo Karapandza, a famous chef, who
finished a surprising 10th place in the poll.
Former Prime Minister Ivica Racan, whose coalition government lost the
general elections in November to the center-right Croatian Democratic
Union (HDZ), made a poor showing, at 54th place.
Far ahead of him was General Rahim Ademi, who is accused by the
Hague-based International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
(ICTY) of committing war crimes during the 1991-1995 homeland war in
Croatia. Ademi garnered 135 votes, putting him in 12th place.
Ademi's colleague, fugitive General Ante Gotovina, who has been on the
run since the ICTY unsealed the indictment against him in 2001, took
30th place.
According to sociologist Drazen Lalic, Tito's triumph in the poll is
not related to any kind of nostalgia for the old Yugoslavia.
"This is a natural reaction from people who have come to terms with
their history," Lalic said. "Participants did not cast their votes
based on ideological criteria, but rather on global recognition. They
remembered that Tito was well-known across the globe, that he was on
the winning side in World War II, and that he said 'no' to Stalin."
Croatian President Stjepan Mesic, who won 266 votes in the poll to end
up in seventh place, agrees that Tito played a great role in fulfilling
Croatia's national interests.
"He led the resistance against Nazi Germany and Italian fascism and
helped in ousting the monarchy. He ruled post-war Yugoslavia with an
iron fist but maneuvered it away from Stalin. On a number of occasions,
despite obvious ruthlessness when dealing his political opponents, Tito
managed to prove he was a great statesman," Mesic told local media.
TITO'S COMEBACK
Following the bloody 1990s war for independence, Croatia worked quickly
to dismantle all symbols of communism, including the legacy of Tito.
However, regardless of prevailing public resentment of Tito, his
diehard followers have never been discouraged.
Several thousand people still gather each year on 4 May in Kumrovec,
the small northern Croatian village where Tito was born, to mark the
anniversary of his death. The sirens wail at 3:05 p.m., the exact time
of his death, and mourners honor the late leader with flowers and old
partisan songs. Many file through the wooden cottage where Tito spent
his childhood.
Many of those who attend the commemoration are elderly World War II
veterans who served under Tito's command.
Evaluating the results of the Nacional poll, some analysts pointed out
that many citizens now regard Tito as a symbol of more peaceful and
relatively prosperous times, when the former Yugoslavia enjoyed
considerable prestige in both the East and the West.
But for others, he remains a tyrant whose failure to begin
democratization in the 1960s ultimately led to the rise of Serbian
strongman Slobodan Milosevic and the tragedies of the 1990s. There are
still many angry voices that caution against forgetting that Tito was
responsible for such evils as the opening of notorious labor camps for
political prisoners.
Speaking for Nacional, professor Zorica Stipetic, a former researcher
at the Institute of the History of the Worker's Movement, said that
globally, Tito was celebrated as one of the most important statesmen of
the 20th century.
In the late 1980s, foreign diplomats put him on a level with Winston
Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt, calling him "the last historical
leader from the era of World War II," one who "rejected the Kremlin's
ultimatums and Washington's courting."
"The situation is different in the republics that rose from the ashes
of the old Yugoslavia," Stipetic said. "The emotions here are still
strong, whether positive or negative, because both the negative and
positive consequences of Tito's rule directly influenced and determined
people's destinies."
Like Lalic, Stipetic is convinced that Tito's victory has nothing to do
with a possible comeback of the communist ideology he represented.
"Election day is the only poll that really matters," she said. The
Croats recently voted against the leftist political options that share
common values with Tito's doctrine. According to Drazen Lalic, the
voters who--in the general elections--chose the conservative right-wing
option to rule Croatia in the next four-year term were not guided by
ideology.
"Their arguments against the Social Democratic Party [SDP] were
economic. The SDP-led coalition government simply did not fulfill their
expectations," Lalic said.
Tito's appeal, according to Lalic, lies in the fact that he was not a
"typical" communist.
"He had a bourgeois style of living," he said. "He drove expensive cars
and lived in luxurious houses. He projected an image of a bon vivant
who enjoyed king-size cigars, good whisky, and the company of Hollywood
celebrities such as Richard Burton and Liz Taylor. He was a true
jet-setter."
--by Barbara Peranic
Related Stories:
BRR News: Reincarnating Tito
Celebrations of Tito's 111th birthday in Croatia's Kumrovec are a sign
of the times.
2 June 2003
http://balkanreport.tol.cz/look/BRR/
article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=9&NrIssue=1&NrSection=1&NrArticle
=9659
BRR Features: ‘Revolution Is a Process, the Struggle Continues’
Dead 23 years, worshipped, then scorned, and now worshipped again, the
communist leader of the former Yugoslavia is making a comeback.
by Goran Tarlac
16 May 2003
http://balkanreport.tol.cz/look/BRR/
article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=9&NrIssue=1&NrSection=4&NrArticle
=9519
Copyright © 2004 Transitions Online. All rights reserved.