Nationalist Calls and Photo of Putin for Vidovdan

Organised, with many buses and cars, Serbian pilgrims remembered the Battle of Kosovo yesterday at the Gazimestan Monument, about five kilometers from Pristina.

The celebration of this day links with the 628th anniversary of the Battle of Kosovo, which Serbian history recognises as its spiritual victory despite a major loss of Balkan forces and the murder of Serbian Prince Lazarus.

The religious ceremony in Gazimestan is held near the Kosovo Battle Monument, built in the middle of the last century under Yugoslav administration, in an area believed to have been the Battle of Kosovo of the XIV century.

Serbian citizens gathered in Gazimestan have cheered nationalist slogans “Kosovo is the heart of Serbia”, carried Serbian and Russian flags, as well as carried portraits of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Among them were organisations with nationalist overtones such as the organisation “Obraz” (“Fiyra”).

The temperatures of over 30 degrees did not prevent Serbian citizens of all age groups -- from children to the elderly -- from waving Serbia's flags at noon, singing and shouting popular nationalist slogans dedicated to this day for more than two hours.

No doubt Kosovo's “call is Serbia” was the most heard in the marking of this holiday even this year. Trades on the stalls set up for food and drink were also made of dinars, not the official currency used in Kosovo, the euro.

Serbian Orthodox clergy held a ceremony for several hundred pilgrims at the Gazimestan Monument, which marks the site of the Battle of Kosovo, while even in the majority Serbian town of Gracanica, several citizens gathered.

Serbian Patriarch Irinej spoke of this day's history. From Gazimestan he urged Serbs in Kosovo not to sell their lands and homes since this land is washed with the blood of their ancestors.

Following Vidovdan's liturgy at the Gracanica Monastery Gate, the Serbian patriarch said that every part of this land speaks of suffering, while there is a resurrection. Patriarch Irinej spoke with admiration for all Serbs who have chosen to continue living in Kosovo.

We admire the remaining ones. We enjoy their bravery. We've come here for you, who live here, in these spaces to remain. Do not sell the land, for this land is washed with the blood of our ancestors”, the patriarch said. As he put it, Vidovdan speaks of how the Serbian people are God's people, a blessed people who carry God with them.

If there are days when we all think together and that fills us up is Vidovdan's day. The great day when the Serbian people experienced the Big Friday, their intersection. This intersection lives all day. As a people, we must carry the cross that our Lord has kept, and the patriarch has said, among other things.

Serbia's “People have experienced their cross and the grand Friday”, he said, adding that “after the Big Friday comes the resurrection. We are the people who live on earth, but we look to heaven”.

On the other hand, the director of the so-called Office for Kosovo Marko Djurovic, yesterday during a speech for Vidovdan Day in Gracanica, has said Serbia would never give up on Kosovo. According to him, the Serbs' biggest weapon is perseverance.

Even this year there was Kosovo Police in co-ordination with KFOR those who cared for the safety of Serb pilgrims. This whole organization went without incident. A day before Vidovdan's holiday, Kosovo Police spokesman Daut Hoxha has said that Kosovo police must confirm their duties and have undertaken an operation to manage the situation.