Official opening of Tito's wartime cave
1. Josip Broz Tito's cave
2. Memorial house
3. Sign: Tito's cave
4. People walking around the site
5. Photo of Tito
6. People gathered below the cave
7. World War II veterans
8. Medals on veteran's chest
9. SOUNDBITE: (Serbo - Croatian) Ibro Junuzovic, former Tito comrade and partisan soldier from World War II:
I admire this, I admire the people of Drvar to have rebuilt this site. There was a big attack here and we won. I wish to thank the people of Drvar to bring this back again.
10. Pan from Tito's picture to Junuzovic's face
11. Various of Eduard Humka, director of USAID cutting the ribbon in front of the cave
12. Memorial site
13. Sign to Tito's cave
14. Various of cave, people looking through
15. Crowd gathered on site
16. SOUNDBITE: (English) Eduard Humka, Director of USAID:
And we began to work with the tourism association of Drvar, and their highest priority was to do this cave because its potential for helping to build the economy of Drvar, and so it was their idea and our motivation was the continuing rebuilding of the economy here, in particular the refugees who have returned can have a good and economically solid life.
17. Various of war veteran at site
18. Various of traditional folk dance
19. Various of Tito statues and souvenirs
STORYLINE:
Thousands of people from all over the former Yugoslavia gathered in Bosnian town of Drvar to attend official opening of famous cave of Yugoslav partisan commander from World War II - Josip Broz Tito, on Thursday, the day of his birthday anniversary.
Drvar, 300 kilometres (186 miles) from Sarajevo is famous for a partisan victory over an elite unit of German paratroopers.
Tito and his brave partisans hid out in a cave.
German surveillance recorded no sign of resistance and when the paratroopers landed they were met by the partisans and defeated.
Drvar was successfully defended and this battle became the highlight of the partisan recruitment scheme which asserted that the Germans could be defeated by heart and wit.
Today, Tito's Cave is the only tourist attraction in the sleepy town of Drvar.
The American humanitarian organisation USAID has donated money to rebuild and reopen the famous cave after decades of being left to rot.
People of the former Yugoslav republic gathered on Thursday to witness the opening of the historical cave which brought back the memories of a united country that was run by communist leader Josip Broz Tito.
Former world war two veterans and fans of Tito attended the opening, some wearing pictures of Tito, and celebrated the anniversary of his birth with the performance of traditional folk songs from Croatia, Serbia and Bosnia.
Many former Yugoslavs consider Tito as the greatest leader of his time, and can not forget the peace and prosperity while he was in power from 1945 until 1980 when he died.
Analysts consider death of Tito as a start of a break up of former Yugoslavia that eventually led into bloody Balkan wars during the 1990s, which left more than 200,000 people dead in the region.
keyword-WWII
You can license this story through AP Archive:
Find out more about AP Archive:
SFOR 16 Bosnia The Road to Drvar
The Road to Drvar
Titova pećina - Drvar 14. 05. 2019
Titova pećina - Drvar 14. 05. 2019
Residents of town with low birth rate and high death rate symbolically lay their town to rest
SHOTLIST
1. Wide of road sign reading: Drvar with the town in the background
2. People standing by the street holding banners reading (Bosnian): We are hungry and We want to work
3. Close of obituary notice for the Town of Drvar 1883-2013
4. People standing on the street, holding orbituary notices
5. SOUNDBITE (Bosnian) Mladen Popovic, local resident:
This protest is a death prayer of the people who are tired of watching this city dying at the beginning of the 21st century. This town has ceased to exist long before its funeral.
6. Wide of gathered people holding banners and signs
7. Close of man holding a sign reading (Bosnian): Drvar is dead. Come out leaders and let's give it a decent burial.
8. Wide of people with signs and banners
9. Close of sign reading (Bosnian): Drvar 1991 census - 17.126 residents. 2012 - 27 born, 119 died. Drvar 2013 - ?
10. Wide of entrance of last factory that closed down two months ago
11. Wide of deserted factory
12. Various of damaged building and interior
13. Wide of the destroyed factory
14. Close of sign reading (Bosnian):Municipality Drvar, Mayor:
15. SOUNDBITE (Bosnian) Stevica Lukac, Mayor:
People are not happy here. They are expressing their dissatisfaction in different ways through various performances that are supposed to show the degree of their dissatisfaction. I do not believe that the times are that bad and that the town is dying.
16. Wide of derelict sports centre with abandoned swimming pools
17. Wide of residential buildings in Drvar
18. People selling their clothes and other items by the side of the street
19. Wide exterior of the Serb Orthodox Church
20. People entering churchyard carrying candles
21. People holding candles approaching the church
22. Varios of people lighting candles
23. Mid of Popovic lighting candles
24. SOUNDBITE (Bosnian) Mladen Popovic, local resident:
This is a quiet town that is dying for years. We have decided to bury the town now because it is not possible to live in these circumstances, without jobs, without the basic conditions for a normal life. We are not burying people alive, we are burying the situation this town has found itself in. It is unbearable.
25. Close of lit candles
STORYLINE
With candles, speeches and an obituary plastered on the walls reading Town of Drvar 1883 - 2013, residents symbolically laid a small west Bosnian town to rest on Monday.
Two months ago, the last company in Drvar closed down, sending the town's unemployment rate skyrocketing to 80 percent _ double Bosnia's average.
What Bosnia's 1992-95 war has not destroyed in Drvar, the global financial crisis and Bosnia's interethnic bickering seems to be finishing off.
Some 200 people came to the mock funeral, lighting a candle in the local Serb Orthodox church for the soul of their hometown.
We have decided to bury the town now because it is not possible to live in these circumstances, without jobs, without the basic conditions for a normal life, said local resident Mladen Popovic.
We are not burying people alive, we are burying the situation this town has found itself in. It is unbearable.
This town had 17,000 residents before the war, including metal, wood and textile industries that employed over 6,000 workers.
During the war, the mainly Bosnian Serb population fled when the town fell to the Bosnian Croat army.
The peace agreement then divided the country in two ethnic-based regions, one run by Bosnian Serbs, the other shared by Muslim Bosniaks and Croats.
Drvar ended up in the half run by the Bosniaks and Croats - and many residents see this as a reason for the town's neglected status.
Last year, deaths in Drvar outnumbered births 119 to 27.
Lukac feels the situation is not as dismal as people say.
You can license this story through AP Archive:
Find out more about AP Archive:
Bosnia Elderly Serb couple found dead
T/I: 10:59:13
An elderly Bosnian Serb couple who had recently returned to their pre-war home in western Bosnia were found dead Thursday (16/4) in their burned house. A UN spokesman said the couple had been shot in the back and the man also had stab wounds. Both victims had previously complained to police about intimidation by Croats, according to a Western diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity.
SHOWS:
DRVAR BOSNIA, 16/04
WS street,
CU destroyed house,
SFOR troops on street,
People on bus,
WS house,
Soldiers on side of road,
Soldier standing alongside tank,
WS valley;
SOT Alexander Ivanko, UN Spokesman in English Early this morning we were informed by SFOR that they came across a burning house in Drvar. Before the fire spread they entered the house to look for any survivors and they found two bodies. These were an elderly Serb couple who have recently returned to Drvar. Initial assessment is that this couple was shot in the back and also the male had stab wounds on his body. The local police reported to the scene and they conducted and investigation. The UN takes a very grave view with regard to this crime and we demanded a suspension of the chief of police in Drvar as well as minister of interior of the canton.
CA UN sign;
SOT Alexander Ivanko, UN Spokesman in English The problem is that we had a meeting two days ago with Vice president Soljic and Federation minister of interior Leutar where we specifically requested from them to establish a multiethnic police force in Drvar. They have refused to do so and our view is that if there was a multiethnic police, this crime may have been avoided.
WS UN flag.
2.18
You can license this story through AP Archive:
Find out more about AP Archive:
Izvorne pjesme Gracanica Akron, Ohio
Original Serbian songs from Unac, Drvar, Serb Republic of Bosnia & Herzegovina
TURISTIČKI ROTOR TURIZAM PLUS EMISIJA BR. 8