Gandhi

"We must become the change we wish to see in the world" - Mahatma Gandhi

Vidovdan

I have just learnt a little about June 28th, and its significance in this region particularly.
Vidovdan, St Vitus' day is a religious holiday on the Serbian and Bulgarian Orthodox calendar.

More importantly, it is the date that the following events occured:

• on June 28, 1389 the Ottoman Empire fought against Serbia in the Battle of Kosovo.
• on June 28, 1914 the assassination of the Austro-Hungarian Archduke triggers the First World War.
• on June 28, 1919 the Treaty of Versailles was signed, ending the First World War.
• on June 28, 1921 the Serbian King Alexander I of Yugoslavia proclaimed the new Constitution of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, known thereafter as the Vidovdan Constitution (Vidovdanski ustav.)
• on June 28, 1948 the Cominform published, on the initiative of its Soviet delegates Shdanov, Malenkov and Suslov, in a "Resolution on the State of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia" their condemnation of the Yugoslavian communist leaders - this happening is seen as the date that marks the final split between the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia.
• on June 28, 1989 — the 600th anniversary of the battle of Kosovo — Serbian leader Slobodan Milošević delivered the Gazimestan speech at the site of the historic battle.
• on June 28, 1990 draft amendments to the Constitution of Croatia, which deleted references to the Serbs as a constituent nation of Croatia, were revealed by Croatian President Franjo Tuđman.
• on June 28, 2001 former Yugoslav leader Milošević was deported to The Hague to stand trial. (He died while imprisoned.)
• on June 28, 2006 Montenegro was announced as the 192nd member state of the United Nations."[wikipedia]
  

Tim Judah wonders if it can really be a coincidence that, "with uncanny regularity, the most momentous events of Serbian history have often taken place?" (guardian.co.uk).

What will happen this year? Will they take the occasion to make a point about the status negotiation process?
At least one group has set off on a march from Belgrade to Kosovo for the occasion wearing t-shirts that say "Vidovdan march 2007" [reuters.com]
though the request to march to Gazimestan (the site of the Battle of Kosovo) was rejected in favour of bussing people there.

The reason I have just now leant of all this day and its significance? I have been told to stay in my apartment for the next three nights between 7pm and 8am "for my safety". Those staff not already living in Mitrovica have been restricted in coming up north.

I am currently feeling something between fear and fascination as to the likelihood of any trouble surrounding this 'holiday'. Fear of unrest and a need to evacuate, fascination with the possibility of being caught up in such unrest (as wrong as that sounds). Something tells me all will be calm, but should there be any trouble I'm sure I'll be hightailing my way out of here quick smart, I'm no war tourist.

Culture Week, Kosovan Stars

It is Culture week in Mitrovica south and last night there was a free concert in the city centre featuring a competent backing band and a rotating list of local female singers, as well as a somewhat disturbing display by the local karate club.

One of the singers was Rona Nishliu, who I have been seeing on local tv a lot recently. A pretty daggy video (you can see on YouTube here - watch for some terrible dance moves and worse outfits) has been playing, I've seen her sing 'live' on a show reminiscent of Countdown, seen her in a kind of game show, and popping up on things that look like variety shows.

So you can imagine that after this much exposure I had it in my head this chick was a bit of a celebrity, so it was fun to see her up close and personal singing her hits and some rather cheesy cover versions of american songs both solo and with the other singers at the concert. It was almost Kosovo's answer to the Young Divas.
Anyway, it turns out this girl is some kind of over achiever, go-getter, and the more Kosovo can get of them, the better!

"Rona Nishliu was born in Mitrovica and attended high school in Pristina, both in Kosovo. In the top 1 percent of the student body at the American University in Kosovo, Nishliu is also a well-known singer in the Kosovo, Albania and Macedonia regions and was one of five finalists among seven thousand participants in an Albanian Pop Idol show. She is the host of a daily radio show for one of Kosovo’s most popular radio stations, Bluesky Radio. She participates in various volunteer activities, including initiating and organizing Kosovo Remembers, a concert to support the Bush-Clinton Hurricane Katrina Fund. She also works with movie and documentary companies and collaborates with international artists visiting Kosovo." rit.edu

Click and feel good...

Some cool Melbourne peeps have put together this click to donate website - reminds me of the old click once a day hunger site for the world food program - which, it seems (as I just looked it up), is still going...

Anyway, go ahead and click away, add a button to your site, spread the word... and help in some small way some worthwhile (mostly Aussie) charities.

In this day and age?

Can this be true?

“The Serbian government is prepared to choose Kosovo over Europe”, says Sabine Freizer, Director of Crisis Group’s Europe Program. “The West needs to prepare to live with an isolationist and nationalistic Serbia in the coming years.” ICG

and everyone is just asking "why?".....