Congrats to Ana Ivanovic for winning her first Grand Slam in the French Open yesterday.
Photo source: FutureTennisStars.com
Go, Ana, Go!
June 7th, 2008 Great Serbs
Eurovision 2008
May 26th, 2008 Current Events
From my friend in Belgrade… thanks, Petar, for the pictures and narrative!
Russia’s Dima Bilan won the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest held in Belgrade. Maria Serifovic, last year’s winner from Serbia, handed him the flowers. Next year, Moscow will host the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time ever. An unusual thing is that Bilan sang barefoot and (almost) shirtless. In Russia, he has already become a national hero.
The Eurovision fireworks in Belgrade were spectacular - at Branko’s bridge, Kalemegdan, in front of the City Hall, outside the Belgrade Arena, and even inside the Belgrade Arena.
Thousands of people partied in front of the Belgrade City Hall. Eurovision 2008 was held on the 20th, 22nd, and 24th of May in Belgrade and about 20,000 foreigners came to the Serbian capital, and Belgrade became a city of major social events for those few days. All this took place at the White Palace, at the Communist-styled building known now as the Palace of Serbia (Palata Srbije - ex-Palata federacije), at the Sava Center, and at various embassies and clubs. Everyone had a good time and no incidents were reported.
In His Own Words…
April 5th, 2008 Personal Stories
My friend, [Petar], wrote a very eloquent email about what Serbia, Kosovo, and being a Serb means to him. Several have asked permission to republish it. He has graciously consented to that and I want to share with you his story, in his words. [Some personally identifying information has been omitted to protect privacy.]
Walter has asked a bit more about me so here it is. Okay. My name is [Petar], last name not important. I am [36], I was born in Belgrade, SFR Yugoslavia, and since then I have changed 4 countries: SFR Yugoslavia (Tito and post Tito); FR Yugoslavia (Milosevic); Serbia & Montenegro (post-Milosevic); and now Serbia (full name Republic of Serbia). That’s 4 countries in 18 years. It was not just the name that had changed. The borders changed, and the country is now much smaller than the country I was originally born in. The street names changed. The passports changed. The ID cards changed. The license plates changed. The holidays changed. The national symbols changed. The currency changed. Everything changed. Basically, the system changed from a fully closed Communist state to a more open Socialist state, to a mixture of dying Socialism and emerging Nationalism, to what we have today - what most of the world refers to a young democracy, or a country in transition. I believe we have made a lot of progress since the fall of Milosevic. Of course, there is so much more to be done. I remain to be an optimist, that is the only thing keeping me going. I could have chosen to live in Canada or [Austria] because some of my close and distant family members live there. But, precisely because I love my country, I decided to stay and face the music, as Americans say. And I faced the music alright….
NATO: World’s Biggest Bully
March 19th, 2008 Articles, Protests
Svetlana calls it as she sees it over at the Byzantine Blog. Read about NATO’s latest attempts to bulldoze over the remaining Serbs in Kosovo. Can you say ethnic cleansing? I knew that you could.
A Voice of Reason in the Fog
March 18th, 2008 Politics
Jonathan Davis puts forth a rare positive view of the Serbian people in this Kosovo conflict. Bravo, Jonathan. Among the gems of wisdom in this article:
For the last 15 years decent Serbs have been in exactly the same position as that of decent Muslims since 9/11. In the case of Muslims the actions of Islamists and other terrorists acting in the name of Islam have led to the majority of Muslims — completely innocent people — being unfairly branded as extremists and mass murderers.
The fact that all sides committed atrocities during the Balkan wars, and that the Serbs also suffered terribly, is obscured by the West’s unbalanced focus on Serbian war crimes in both the media and the ICTY, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. The Western media have consistently under-represented or ignored crimes against Serbs, while uncritically reporting even the most ludicrous of anti-Serb allegations.
The fact of the matter is that most Americans don’t really know what happened there, what the real motives were for the 1999 bombings and our other unwarranted and uninvited forays to the Balkans. Reading up on history, and not taking U.S. media at face value will go a long way toward putting yourself on the path to enlightenment. Once there, you’ll see that the U.S., the U.N. and NATO have no moral legs to stand on.
On the Fall of the Serbian Government
March 8th, 2008 Politics
Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica offered his resignation today, and the resignation of the entire Serbian Government, because “the Government of Serbia no longer has a united policy on the issue of Kosovo and Metohija.”
“The Government that does not have a united policy can’t function anymore - that is the end of that Government. That means we ought to give the mandate back to the people“, Kostunica said in the Government building, at a press conference.
He said the last session of this Government will be held on Monday, and has suggested that parliamentary elections be held on May 11, which is also the time for local and province elections, and added:
All parties in Serbia, without an exception, have said that Serbia should go into the EU, with one difference - how - with Kosovo or without it.
Boris Tadic:
We are united over Kosovo, but we do not have a united policy on the European and economic perspectives.
Serbian President Boris Tadic addressed the nation soon after, at the Presidency. Among other things, he said:
I respect the position of the Prime Minister, that he is no longer able to lead the Government of the Republic of Serbia, and as soon as I receive the decision of the Government, I shall schedule new elections in accordance with my Constitutional authority.
I disagree that the Government of the Republic of Serbia no longer has a united policy regarding Kosovo as part of Serbia. Of course Kosovo and Metohija is an integral part of our country; it is a Constitutional obligation of the Parliament, Government and the President of the Republic to defend the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Serbia.
My position is that the Government of Serbia does not have a united policy when it comes to the European and economic perspective of Serbia and her citizens.
The citizens of Serbia deserve a better life and economic perspective, only possible within the European Union, and I am also convinced that we shall defend our Kosovo in the best way possible by being a member of that organization.
I expect the Ministers of the Government to continue doing their jobs until the new elections, for the benefit of all citizens of Serbia.
Reactions
- Democratic Party - DS (Boris Tadic’s party):
- The decision of Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica… is in accordance with democratic principles and democratic values. The Democratic Party thinks this is the best solution.
- Serbian Radical Party - SRS - the largest opposition party:
- The decision of Prime Minister Kostunica was expected, especially since he yesterday said that he no longer trusts his coalition partners.
- New Serbia - NS - Coalition with Kostunica:
- The move of the Prime Minister was good and logical.
- G17 Plus - Coalition with Kostunica:
- The move of Prime Minister Kostunica was honorable, democratic, and the only rational one at this moment.
- Socialist Party of Serbia (of former President Slobodan Milosevic), opposition party:
- This decision is not good for Serbia because Serbia will be without its bodies of state and without a Government at the time we should be struggling on the international scene to defend Kosovo and Metohija and help Serbs in the Province.
- Liberal Democratic Party - LDP - opposition party:
- We want to finish the job we started on 5 October 2000 (when Milosevic was removed from power), and we want to take Serbia from Milosevic’s road that Kostunica took Serbia back on, to the road established by the late Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic (Serbia in the EU).
Most Kosovo Serb leaders have expressed concern that Serbia will “waste precious time on elections, at the time when it should be focused on the number one issue - Kosovo and Metohija” (Milan Ivanovic), and that Kosovo “might not be the first on the agenda anymore” ~~ Marko Jaksic, Oliver Ivanovic.
Translated by Alex.
Clooney in The Congo
March 8th, 2008 Articles, Politics
The Air Medical Evac Team of the Serbian contingent, stationed in Kinshasa, Kongo, Africa, as part of the MONUC mission in that troubled country, has had the honor and the privilege to safeguard the famous Hollywood star George Clooney and Jane Hall, U.N. Assistant Secretary-General.
George Clooney is very popular in Serbia, not just for his acting and charm, but also because he has opposed the independence of the Serbian Province of Kosovo. Rumors say that Robert de Niro, Sharon Stone, Sean Connery and some others have also made the Serbian voice heard in Hollywood.
Thousands March in NYC to Say: ‘Kosovo is Serbia’
March 8th, 2008 Protests
By John Catalinotto
New York: Published Mar 6, 2008 9:22 PM
A march more than five blocks long went from Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, near the United Nations, through Times Square and past Madison Square Garden to protest the U.S. theft of Serbia’s Kosovo. Many New Yorkers and tourists watched with interest as the marchers went on their way to the St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church on 25th Street near Broadway.
For and Against
February 27th, 2008 Politics
Here is a list of countries which recognize Kosovo as independent. And these countries correctly DO NOT recognize Kosovo as independent.
Worldwide Protests
February 27th, 2008 Articles, Politics
