Friso Keuris over Tito

Over Tito

An island, a few residences, a war tribunal and numbered archive photos. What’s the connection? This book is about a country that was once called Yugoslavia and was ruled by a charismatic leader, Josip Broz ‘Tito’. From the 1950’s onwards Tito spent his summers at Brijuni, a small archipelago along the west coast of the Istrian region of Croatia. This former summer residence embodies the beginning and the end of the Yugoslavian dream, in which Tito firmly believed. His private dwellings, which are still kept in order on a daily basis, are strictly forbidden to the public.

But this book also shows images of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, which is another page of the history of this country. This UN court with its prosecutors, judges, registrars, security personnel, translators, defence lawyers, journalists dealt with the war crimes which were committed during the civil war from 1991 - 2000. A story of the destruction of the edifice Tito built, with a ruinous war as its final act.summer residence embodies the beginning and the end of the Yugoslavian dream, in which Tito firmly believed.