I write this in the Munich airport, on the last leg of my journey back to Belgrade, likely for the last time. Over the past few days I’ve heard about the protests in Belgrade, aimed particularly at the US Embassy and other countries that supported Kosovo’s independence. Reading it in the newspaper is one thing; seeing it on TV escalates the reality more when you see a building personally frequented set on fire and its flag burned. I’m sure once I pass through Knez Miloša street (otherwise known as “Embassy Row” due to the large number of embassies concentrated here) the reality will become even more vivid. I presume the building in which my paintings are exhibited was not affected, but I cannot be sure.
Although I believe that the riots will be short-lived, questions of safety do come up. Will other institutions such as the school be targeted, with its large number of diplomatic students? How about other places frequented by expats? A McDonald’s and Nike store, both symbols of foreign-owned companies, were already vandalized. I hope that the government will step in and take an active role in quelling the violent protests. If it chooses not to or is unable, outside forces such as the UN may intervene – something certainly not palatable to Serbs. Upcoming reactions will determine whether Serbia chooses a path towards increasing nationalism and further isolationism within the international community, or moving towards integration within the EU.
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Back in Belgrade, a taxi driver was waiting for me. He shared with me a bit about the events of yesterday and his reflections. He was fine with the large number of people who gathered outside of the Parliament building to protest peacefully (around 300,000 people). It was only at night that a small number who attacked the embassies. He condemned the attacks and wished that the protesters would have signed petitions or written letters to the western embassies - a much more peaceful action. Watching the events unfold on TV, his memories were taken back to the start of the NATO bombing. With two young children though, he has much more to be concerned about. Although he believed that the unrest would be short-lived, he expressed a recent urge to leave with his family to another country where there was peace and economic opportunity.
I will keep a low profile for the next week or so, just in case. School was canceled today as a precaution. Having said that, I do feel safe.
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Slobodan Samardzic, blamed the United States.
"The U.S. is the major culprit for all troubles since Feb. 17," Samardzic told Tanjug, the state news agency, referring to the date of the declaration of independence by the ethnic Albanian leadership in Kosovo. "The root of violence is the violation of international law." Earlier, he said the torching of UN border posts in northern Kosovo by several hundred Serbian protesters reflected "government policy." He indicated that it was part of the Serbian government's wider goal of entrenching its control of the Serb-majority northern part of Kosovo and creating a de facto partition of the territory.
While I agree, from my understanding, that the disregard of international law and the loss of Serbian motherland is deplorable, I cannot condone the action of the hoodlums that maliciously destroyed portions of several embassies, the unfortunate people who lived next door, vandalized McDonalds and Nike stores. Not to mention the disruption of lives of both expats and Serbians I like. The real losers are the Serbian people, who are vilified again due to the (in)actions of their government which portray Serbia as ultranationalistic and threatens to plunge the country back to isolationism.
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