ŠTO JE ZNAČIO NIXONOV USKLIK “ŽIVJELA HRVATSKA”?
Richard M. Nixon was the first American president to visit Yugoslavia (September 30 to October 2, 1970). During his two-day stay with Tito, Nixon also visited the Croatian capital – Zagreb and Kumrovec, the birth place of Josip Broz. The decision to visit another city during his official stay in Belgrade was unprecedented. In the early seventies Croatian society was increasingly demanding the democratization of relations within the Yugoslav Federation, more favourable economic relations etc. During the reception prepared by the Croatian officials the President of the United States exclaimed “Long live Croatia!”, which caused many to interpret this courteous phrase (forgetting that the exclamation “Long live Yugoslavia!” immediately ensued) and the visit itself as unequivocal support of Croatian endeavours. In the text, the author analyses the course of the American President’s visit and the relevant features of American foreign policy based on accessible, secondary data (from Croatian and American daily and weekly newspapers, electronic recordings and memoirist writing).
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