Kosovo je Srbija
Encyclopedia
"Kosovo je Srbija" is a slogan used in Serbia
since at least 2004, popularised as a reaction to Kosovo's
declaration of independence
from Serbia
on 17 February 2008. The slogan has been used by a series of protests, and by the Serbian Government. The slogan has appeared on T-shirts and in graffiti, and was placed on the websites of Kosovan institutions by hackers in 2009.
, Svetlana Bojković, Dragan Bjelogrlić, Sergej Trifunović
, Dragan Jovanović
, Bora Đorđević, Đorđe David, Miki Jevremović, Slađana Milošević, Merima Njegomir, and Emir Kusturica
.
is the seat of the Serbian Orthodox Church
; Kosovo's monasteries hold the relics of 14th-century Serbian saints; Kosovo's "Field of Blackbirds" marks the place where Serbs lost their influence in the region. Kosovo is considered by Serbs to be the heart of their country, central to their history and sense of nationality. Nevertheless, a Serbian Kosovo remains as elusive as a mirage, because in fact it has been part of Serbia for only brief periods in Balkan history. Although the Kosovo conflict was aroused by a complex mix of political, economic, and religious causes, to some extent Serbian aggression was an attempt to recover a part of Christian Europe that had been lost for centuries.""
Oxford historian Noel Malcolm
responded to the slogan "Kosovo is Serbia, ask any historian" on placards at protests in Brussels by stating that "the claim that Kosovo was the "cradle" of the Serbs is untrue". He notes that "legally, Kosovo was not incorporated into the Serbian kingdom in 1912; it remained occupied territory until some time after 1918. Then, finally, it was incorporated, not into a Serbian state, but into a Yugoslav one."
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
since at least 2004, popularised as a reaction to Kosovo's
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
declaration of independence
2008 Kosovo declaration of independence
The 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence was adopted on 17 February 2008 by individual members of the Assembly of Kosovo acting in personal capacity and not binding to the Assembly itself...
from Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
on 17 February 2008. The slogan has been used by a series of protests, and by the Serbian Government. The slogan has appeared on T-shirts and in graffiti, and was placed on the websites of Kosovan institutions by hackers in 2009.
Protests
- A Kosovo je Srbija rally organized by the Serbian government was held on 21 February 2008 in BelgradeBelgradeBelgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
in front of the Parliament, with around 200,000-500,000 people attending. The US Embassy was set on fire by a small group of protesters. A small protest also occurred in London and 5,000 protesters demonstrated in Kosovska MitrovicaKosovska MitrovicaKosovska Mitrovica , is a city and municipality in northern Kosovo. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous district....
the following day. Kosovo police were injured during a protest by 150 war veterans at a border crossing on 25 February. - In March 2008, American-born SerbianSerbsThe Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
swimmer Milorad ČavićMilorad CavicMilorad Čavić is an American-born Serbian swimmer.-Swimming career:...
won the European championship in the 50m butterfly, setting the new European record, a result briefly quashed when the European Swimming Federation (LEN) disqualified the swimmer for wearing a T-shirt at the medals ceremony that read “Kosovo is Serbia” in Cyrillic. Shortly afterwards the disqualification was lifted and recognition of his record reinstated. - Violent protests using the slogan occurred in MontenegroMontenegroMontenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
after the government recognised the independence of Kosovo in October 2008. - Similar protests were held in the Greek and Russian capitals of AthensAthensAthens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
and MoscowMoscowMoscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, respectively.
Serbian media campaign
Solidarity - Kosovo is Serbia is a media campaign in Serbia started by Petar Petković in the final months of the negotiations over Kosovo and organized with the participation of twenty-five notable Serbian public figures, among them: Bata ŽivojinovićBata Živojinovic
Velimir "Bata" Živojinović is a Serbian actor and politician.-Biography:Živojinović was born in the town of Koraćica, Mladenovac, Serbia , under the Kosmaj mountain...
, Svetlana Bojković, Dragan Bjelogrlić, Sergej Trifunović
Sergej Trifunovic
Sergej Trifunović is a popular Bosnian Serb movie actor.-Biography:...
, Dragan Jovanović
Dragan Jovanovic
Searching Football manager - Dragan Jovanović see Dragan Jovanović Dragan Jovanović was a Serbian and Yugoslav football forward....
, Bora Đorđević, Đorđe David, Miki Jevremović, Slađana Milošević, Merima Njegomir, and Emir Kusturica
Emir Kusturica
Emir Nemanja Kusturica , is a Serbian filmmaker, actor and musician, recognized for several internationally acclaimed feature films...
.
Response outside Serbia
Andrea R. Nagy noted that "In some sense this slogan is true: Kosovo's town of PećPec
Peć or Pejë is a city and municipality in north-western Kosovo and Metohija - Serbia, and the administrative centre of the homonymous district. Governor of city is Ali Berisha....
is the seat of the Serbian Orthodox Church
Serbian Orthodox Church
The Serbian Orthodox Church is one of the autocephalous Orthodox Christian churches, ranking sixth in order of seniority after Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Russia...
; Kosovo's monasteries hold the relics of 14th-century Serbian saints; Kosovo's "Field of Blackbirds" marks the place where Serbs lost their influence in the region. Kosovo is considered by Serbs to be the heart of their country, central to their history and sense of nationality. Nevertheless, a Serbian Kosovo remains as elusive as a mirage, because in fact it has been part of Serbia for only brief periods in Balkan history. Although the Kosovo conflict was aroused by a complex mix of political, economic, and religious causes, to some extent Serbian aggression was an attempt to recover a part of Christian Europe that had been lost for centuries.""
Oxford historian Noel Malcolm
Noel Malcolm
Noel Robert Malcolm FBA FRSL is a modern English historian, writer, and columnist.-Life:Malcolm was educated at Eton College , read History at Peterhouse, Cambridge, wrote his doctorate dissertation at Trinity College, Cambridge, and was for a time Fellow of Gonville and Caius College,...
responded to the slogan "Kosovo is Serbia, ask any historian" on placards at protests in Brussels by stating that "the claim that Kosovo was the "cradle" of the Serbs is untrue". He notes that "legally, Kosovo was not incorporated into the Serbian kingdom in 1912; it remained occupied territory until some time after 1918. Then, finally, it was incorporated, not into a Serbian state, but into a Yugoslav one."