Tito’s Death and His Political Legacy, 1980 441
keep this in mind.”^55 Those who derided him did not realize that this was his
“last battle cry,” as his interpreter, Ivan Ivanji said, aware as Tito was of the
collapse that Yugoslavia would face.^56
The most vivid description of Tito’s physical decline was given by a friend
from his youth, Rodoljub Čolaković, who was tasked by the federal council to
go to Brioni in 1978 as a member of the delegation that would congratulate
Tito on his eighty-sixth birthday. He said, “I would prefer not to go. The old
man is dilapidated, he moves with fatigue, he speaks with fatigue, but in spite
of this, he sports his white uniform and his decorations, which look sad. But
the party went on, as if he were well and healthy. Actually, he is seriously ill with
diabetes, his legs are failing him, but he thinks that this is sciatica.... The old
man’s right hand is trembling, his lower lip is drooping, but he continuously
clenches his teeth, conscious that his mouth is slackening.”^57
The awareness that his days were numbered mainly influenced relations with
Italy. The government in Rome reached the conclusion that the still unresolved
border question between Zones A and B of the former Free Territory of Trieste
should be dealt with while Tito was still alive, because if not, then Russian
tanks could appear on the streets of Trieste. After years of tension, which the
Yugoslavs interpreted as imperialist pressure dictated by Washington, the two
governments engaged in secret negotiations that concluded on 10 November
1975 with the signing of the Osimo Treaty. Apart from modest tweaks to the
border, the division of the contested territory was confirmed as enshrined in
the 1954 London Memorandum. Tito, who was directly involved in the diplo-
macy, considered the treaty his personal success, likely without realizing how
Italian willingness to solve the longstanding issue was the result of Washing-
ton’s influence.^58
In spite of his health troubles, the marshal did not cancel his journeys to
Latin America, Sweden, Greece, Portugal, Turkey, or Finland. He played an
important role at the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, held
in Helsinki in July 1975, trying to overcome the tensions that still lacerated the
continent, knowing better than the other statesmen present of “the terrible Cal-
vary of Fascism and war.”^59 Since Yugoslavia was surrounded by seven states,
two of which were members of NATO and three of the Warsaw Pact, it was in
his interest to contribute to collective security and play mediator. To this end,
he favored strengthening the contacts between the four neutral European states
(Austria, Finland, Sweden, and Switzerland) and creating the “N-N group”
(neutrals and non-aligned). The latter group supported the détente between
the blocs reached in Helsinki and tried to add a military dimension to the
agreements as well.^60 The following year he took part in the Congress of Euro-
pean Communist Parties in East Berlin on 29 and 30 June 1976, which their