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| Massive Kosovo rally held in Belgrade |
| 21 February 2008 | 10:30 -> 18:43
| Source:
B92, Beta |
BELGRADE --
Hundreds of thousands of Serbians gathered today in Belgrade for a Kosovo protest.
 | A scene from the start of the rally (Beta)
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The rally, called by the country's top officials in protest of the Kosovo Albanians' unilateral declaration of secession, started at 17:15 CET, with a choir rendition of the national anthem, Bože Pravde (God of Justice).
The stage background was a huge Serbian national flag and a banner reading, Kosovo Is Serbia.
The plateau and surrounding streets in front of the Parliament Hall were filled with protesters, who were first addressed by Prime Minister Vojislav Koštunica, followed by the deputy leader of Serbia's largest opposition party, the Radicals (SRS), Tomislav Nikolić.
President Boris Tadić was on a one-day visit to Romania today and did not attend.
MPs from G17 Plus and the Liberal-Democrats (LDP) were also absent.
Koštunica told the crowd that Serbia will never recnognize the unilateral declaration "for as long as it exists as a state".
"For as long as we live – Kosovo is Serbia and our brothers in Kosovo are not alone and forgotten! While we reject ultimatums and accept friendship – Serbia is free! The pledge has been made, and the whole world has heard it. And everyone knows the value of a Serbian pledge," the prime minister said.
He continued by saying that Serbia is not alone, and that it will not forget the friendship and principled policy of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The mention of Putin's name drew loud cheers from the crowd.
"Kosovo – this is Serbia's first name. Kosovo belongs to Serbia. Kosovo belongs to the Serb nation. This is how it has been since the dawn of time. This is how it will be forever. There is no force, no threat, no punishment severe and horrible enough to make any Serb, anywhere, ever say otherwise but – Kosovo is Serbia!", the prime minister said.
Koštunica also said that Serbia must not resist under pressure to recognize Kosovo's independence since that would mean it gave up on its very identity.
"They are asking us to forsake our brothers in Kosovo. They are telling our brothers in Kosovo that they have, without leaving their homes, their fields, gone to another state. They have not and they never will! They tell them we are separated. We are not and never will be," Koštunica said.
He added that Serbia did not break any human, divine or European law, but that it instead reached out to everyone, "and yet, this was not enough".
"It will suffice, they say, that you Serbs accept to be humiliated. To sign your own humiliation. No one will ever win a mandate from the Serbian people to accept such an ignoble trade-off. Never, and no one!", Koštunica told the rally.
He also said Serbia will seek its place in the family of nations under the same conditions guaranteed to other countries.
"You can deal with us, Serbs, in a friendly manner, but you can never deal with us by force. This is what we inherited from our ancestors. If we agree to [succumb to] force and fear, every sacrifice of everyone who created Serbia will have been in vain. If we accept this violence, each battle won by our ancestors, will be lost by us today," Koštunica said.
He repeated that Serbia has annulled and will continue to annul each act of the illegal and false state on its territory.
Koštunica ended his speech with an exclamation, "Kosovo is Serbia!" to cheers from the huge crowd.
His speech was several times interrupted by chanting of, "Kosovo in the heart of Serbia", and, "Russia".
"I will not rest until Kosovo and Metohija is under Serbia's control," Tomislav Nikolić said as he started his speech.
"On behalf of all the citizens of Serbia, I promise I will not rest until Kosovo and Metohija is under Serbia's control. Hitler couldn't take it away, these nowadays won't be able either. We owe it to ourselves and our children," he said.
"We grieved for two days only, and on the third, Serbs set outposts on fire, on the fourth, they organized a rally that Serbia has never seen before," he continued.
Nikolić added that Serbia will remember who recognized Kosovo's independence, but also those who did not, and urged Europe to reconsider and return to the path of friendly relations with the Serbian nation.
"Serbs know how to forgive, but they better not prompt us to show how we fight for Kosovo, they don't want that. They better not force us to go to Kosovo to hold a rally like this," he concluded.
Students and deans from the universities in Belgrade and Priština also addressed the mass rally, as well as RS Prime Minister Milorad Dodik.
Serbia's best tennis player Novak Đoković spoke in a previously recorded message, to say that he and his family are with Serbia in this difficult time, and that Kosovo belongs to Serbia.
The Serb people are ready defend what's theirs, Đoković said.
He regretted not being able to be with the protesters and added he thanked everyone who came to show the world that "Serbia is not small, that it is united and that we are ready to defend that which belongs to us".
"Kosovo is Serbia and it must remain this way forever," Đoković ended his address.
A number of other well-known athletes and actors also addressed the crowd.
After a speech given by film director Emir Kusturica, the choir sang Vostani Serbie, (Rise Up Serbia), a song from the country's 19th century revival, after centuries of Ottoman occupation.
The mass of people, which according to the estimates numbered 250,000, then proceeded toward the St. Sava Temple, where a prayer for the safety of the Kosovo Serbs was held.
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