In an emotional show of defiance against the outside world, the Serb Prime Minister has insisted that Kosovo will always belong to the Serbs. | You can always count on the Serbs |
Vojislav Kostunica made his declaration outside a 14th century monastery on Wednesday, the holiday of Vidovdan or St Vitus' Day when Serbs remember a centuries-old battle. | Does anyone hold a grudge longer than a Serb? |
He spoke to an anxious crowd of about 1000, some of the few Serbs remaining in the province since NATO invaded in 1999 to rescue the Albanian majority. "Kosovo has always been and always will be part of Serbia," he said to cheers in the town of Gracanica, in a Serb enclave of Kosovo. However, he emphasised his "willingness to talk, to negotiate and to compromise".
Serbia is in the midst of a diplomatic offensive aimed at retaining sovereignty over the province, which it regards as the cradle of the nation. Mr Kostunica, a nationalist but also a sincere democrat, has just been in London to meet British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Belgrade's offer of autonomy has failed to attract any support from the 90 per cent Albanian population, who are increasingly frustrated at their lack of progress towards full independence.
The Serb Government has been accused by the UN, which administers the province, of promoting ethnic tensions in an attempt to hang on to Kosovo. | Serbia - promoting ethnic tension since 1400 |
On the grimmest day in the Serb calendar, one Bosnian Serb recalled his nation's epic defeat more than 600 years ago as if it occurred within his memory. "We were defending all of Europe, trying to save Christianity," Dejan said of the 14th-century battle of Kosovo, at which the Balkans fell to the Turks. "We were betrayed." Montenegro abandoned its union with Serbia last month and declared independence. Kosovo is also being taken away. The country's negotiations to join the European Union have been suspended. The country is at a crossroads. |