British-Croatian Cultural Links Talk at the Croatian Embassy

The Croatian Embassy hosted a talk on 13 February by its Minister Counsellor
Dr Tomislav Sunic. Entitled “British-Croatian Cultural Links: A Brief History”,
Dr Sunic’s short talk ranged over many topics. In particular, he discussed three
individuals who made their mark with the British. He spoke about the Croatian
Latinist Marko Marolic, whose work left a good impression on Henry VIII. Secondly,
Croatian Protestant Marko Antun de Dominis. He had fled to England, and was
hospitably received by King James I. Marko Antun de Dominis subsequently tries to
reconcile the Catholic and Anglican church during his time in England.

The third person discussed was the Croatian scientist Rudjer Boskovic. He had
visited England and his theory of atomism had an impact on, amongst others,
Michael Faraday.

Dr Sunic also elaborated on other items of interest, pointing out the role of the
Catholic church as custodian of Croatian heritage, which is why it has respect from
those of other faiths and none in Croatia. The communist role in suppressing
Croatian culture in Croatia was mentioned - in particular, the Croatian Orthography
of which all copies were incinerated by the authorities in the early 1970’s. One copy
survived and ended up safely in London. Indeed, it is now a standard text in Croatian
embassies, and referred to as “Londonac”.

Many other British-Croatian links were mentioned: The writer Evelyn Waugh’s interest in Croatia, the London based communist era dissident newspaper Nova Hrvatska and the British-Croatian Review. The audience also joined in, with it being pointed out that there is a Croatian cricket team on the island of Vis!

The event was very successful, with the room for the event being packed and others having to sit in an adjoining area. CIL spoke to a number of people afterwards, and it was clear they had enjoyed the event, gaining an insight into Croatia-British links.

Dr Sunic intimated that there may well be more talks of this nature. He will also be giving a talk in Cambridge on Croatia and the European Union. Details in the Noticeboard section below.

The Croatian Ambassador Writes to the Financial Times

Croatian Ambassador to the UK, Josko Paro, wrote to the Financial Times on 17 January. The FT had suggested that Croatia might join the European Union in 2015. Ambassador Paro stated that “As many experts have pointed out, it is entirely possible that Croatia would be able to close negotiations in 2007” with even the most conservative estimates being no further than 2009. Further, that in view of the FT’s reputation, “the message this is sending to the business community is at best misleading and at worst damaging.”

How UK Croats voted at the Presidential Elections

The following figures show how Croats based in the UK voted at the London embassy in the January Presidential elections.

Round One, 2 January 2005:
Candidates ..................................................... Votes
Djurdja Adlesic .................................................... 1
Miroslav Blazevic ................................................. 2
Ljubo CesiC, dipl.ing.prometa ............................... 0
Mladen Keser ...................................................... 0
Jadranka Kosor, dipl.iur. ...................................... 26
Doris Kosta ..........................................................1
dr.sc. Anto Kovacevic .......................................... 2
dr.sc. Slaven Letica ............................................. 1
Stjepan Mesic, dipl.iur. ....................................... 57
Boris Miksic ...................................................... 11
Ivic Pasalic, dr.med. ............................................ 0
dr.sc. Tomislav Petrak ......................................... 0
Miroslav Rajh ...................................................... 1

Invalid votes: ....................................................... 1

Total ballots: ..................................................... 103

Round Two, 16 January 2005:
Candidates ..................................................... Votes
Stjepan Mesic, dipl.iur. ...................................... 108
Jadranka Kosor, dipl.iur. ...................................... 66

Invalid votes: ....................................................... 2

Total ballots: ..................................................... 176

Noticeboard

Only events run by known and reputable bodies will be listed here.

16 February: Croatia’s EU accession: Political Opportunities and Challenges. Talk by Dr Tomislav Sunic, Minister Counsellor, Croatian Embassy - London

Time: 5PM, Sidney Sussex College, Knox-Shaw Room, Cambridge. Contact : Josip Glaurdic - jg426@cam.ac.uk

Presented by the Croatian Society, Central European Society and the European Union Society

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