Kosovo je Srbija

"Kosovo je Srbija" (Serbian Cyrillic: Косово је Србија, English: Kosovo is Serbia) is a slogan used in Serbia since at least 2004,^[1][2] popularised as a reaction to Kosovo's^[a] declaration of independence from Serbia on 17 February 2008.^[3] The slogan has been used by a series of protests, and by the Serbian Government.^[4] The slogan has appeared on T-shirts and in graffiti, and was placed on the websites of Kosovan institutions by hackers in 2009. The slogan is used by Serbians across the world as a cry for Kosovo, and their stolen home. ^[5]

Protests

Kosovo je Srbija demonstration in Vienna.

2008 Serbia protests, intersection on the way to the Cathedral of Saint Sava on February 21, 2008 in Belgrade

Posters supporting Kosovo as a part of Serbia at the Prešov Down-town Railway Stop in Slovakia

Kosovo je Srbija graffiti on the Berlin Wall.

• A Kosovo je Srbija rally organized by the Serbian government was held on 21 February 2008 in Belgrade in front of the Parliament, with around 200,000^[6][7]-500,000^[8] people attending. The US Embassy was set on fire by a small group of protesters.^[9] A small protest also occurred in London^[10] and 5,000 protesters demonstrated in Kosovska Mitrovica the following day.^[6] Kosovo police were injured during a protest by 150 war veterans at a border crossing on 25 February.^[11]
• In March 2008, American-born Serbian swimmer Milorad Čavić 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.^[12]
• Violent protests using the slogan occurred in Montenegro after the government recognised the independence of Kosovo in October 2008.^[13]

Serbian media campaign

Solidarity - Kosovo is Serbia (Serbian: Солидарност - Косово је Србија) is a media campaign in Serbia launched by Petar Petković in the final months of the negotiations over Kosovo and organized with the participation of 25 notable Serbian public figures, among them: Bata Živojinović, Svetlana Bojković, Dragan Bjelogrlić, Sergej Trifunović, Dragan Jovanović, Bora Đorđević, Đorđe David, Miki Jevremović, Slađana Milošević, Merima Njegomir, and Emir Kusturica.^[14][15]

Alternative views

Historians Noel Malcolm and Andrea R. Nagy have commented on the slogan's assertion. Malcolm believes that Kosovo had been occupied by the Kingdom of Serbia in 1912 and only incorporated into a Yugoslav state years later, thereby dismissing the direct claim by Serbia to Kosovo.^[16] Nagy states that the Serbian aggression in the Kosovo war and the political, economic and religious causes were an attempt to recover a part of Christian Europe that had been lost centuries earlier due to the centuries of Ottoman rule.^[17]

Notes and references

Notes:

a.

^ Kosovo is the subject of a territorial dispute between the Republic of Kosovo and the Republic of Serbia. The Republic of Kosovo unilaterally declared independence on 17 February 2008, but Serbia continues to claim it as part of its own sovereign territory. The two governments began to normalise relations in 2013, as part of the Brussels Agreement. Kosovo has been recognised as an independent state by 108 out of 193 United Nations member states.

References:

1. "Protest u organizaciji Vlade Srbije". B92 (in Serbo-Croatian). 19 March 2004. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
2. "Pomozite Srbima!". Glas Javnosti (in Serbo-Croatian). 19 March 2004. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
3. Spaić, Tamara (22 February 2008). "Kosovski zavet". Blic (in Serbo-Croatian). Retrieved 24 January 2010.
4. Zimonjic, Vesna Peric (18 December 2007). "Too Late, Billboards Show a Way". Inter Press Service. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
5. Demolli, Lulzim; Translated by Nerimane Kamberi (12 October 2009). "Kosovo : la guerre des hackers serbes et albanais fait rage sur le net". Le Courrier des Balkans (in French). Retrieved 24 January 2010.
6. Tran, Mark (22 February 2008). "Police in standoff with Serb demonstrators over Kosovo". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
7. "Massive Kosovo rally held in Belgrade". B92. 22 February 2008. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
8. Purvis, Andrew (22 February 2008). "US-Serb Tension Mounts Over Kosovo". Time. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
9. Wilkinson, Tracy (23 February 2008). "Kosovo fallout seen as dire". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
10. Cole, Matt (23 February 2008). "Kosovo protest passes off peacefully". BBC News. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
11. Tran, Mark; Allegra Stratton and agencies (25 February 2008). "Kosovo police injured in Serb protest". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
12. Parr, Derek (21 March 2008). "Swimming champion Cavic banned over t-shirt slogan". Reuters. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
13. Howarth, Angus (14 October 2008). "Pro-Serbia protests rock Montenegro". The Scotsman. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
14. Martinović, Iva (12 November 2007). "Kampanja za Kosovo, zvuci 90-ih". Radio Free Europe. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
15. "Да ли нам је заиста свеједно". Politika (in Serbo-Croatian). Retrieved 24 January 2010.
16. Malcolm, Noel (26 February 2008). "Is Kosovo Serbia? We ask a historian". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
17. "Kosovo je Serbia". Yale School of Management. Retrieved 24 January 2010.

External links

• Kosovo je Srbija site (French)
• Kosovo is Serbia (English)
• Kosovo is Serbia