2 posts from March 2008

Analysis:

Serbian nationals are prevalent around the Balkan region, but majorities still reside in the Serbian capital of Belgrade.

The Serbian Orthodox Church plays a large role in the identity of Serbians. Serbians grasp firmly to the ideals of the Orthodox religion.

Ethnic peoples are extremely family oriented. Those who live outside of the large cities still farm and remain dedicated to the traditional way of living. Horse drawn plows and wagons can be seen tending to the land.

When outside of the city, there are numerous roadside cafes where locals congregate to have coffee, a Serbian favorite. Passersby sometimes can see an animal being roasted outdoors to be shared with friends and family.

Serbs are very proud of their nationalism and this has led to the current issues in the country.

When Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia many ethnics were outraged and asked that other countries join them in not recognizing Kosovo as an independent state.

Serbian blogger Ljubisa Bojic wrote about the governments outrage as Kosovo made the announcement:

"In reaction Vojislav Kostunica, prime minister of Serbia, criticized America for inspiring these acts against a sovereign country. He said:

'The United States have also humiliated the European Union, and forced it to trample on the principles it is built upon,' Ko_tunica added, and warned that Europe, “which has lowered its head”, will be responsible 'for all the serious consequences that Kosovo's independence carries with it.'"

The U.S. supported Kosovo in its decision to succeed from Serbia, as well as many other European nations.

Serbia is trying to gain membership into the European Union, but after the Kosovo announcement, the Serbian parliament proposed to suspend ties with the EU in protest.

The government of Serbia is now urging President Boris Tadic to call a special parliamentary election because ministers have failed to agree upon a stance for EU relations. The hope of an election is to create a parliament that can agree on EU membership.

As well, bloggers in Serbia have been speaking out regarding Kosovo and the media's portrayal of Serbs.

When Serbians attacked the United States Embassy in Belgrade, many Serb bloggers were outraged with the international media for not giving the whole side of the story.

Serbian Blogger Rosemary Bailey Brown wrote:

"Yet again Serbia's image and much of its political and economic future  is being decided vividly in headlines in the Western press. For example, the hugely influential and (usually) highly credible Washington Post just ran an editorial headlined, 'Serbia's Thugs'.

"As if the headline is not bad enough, the editorial is completely one-sided and simple-minded, basically saying Serbs Yet Again Suck, but not giving any reasons why or background into how the US government may have (heartily) contributed to the problems."

The Washington Post article compared the prime minister to Slobodan Milosevic saying that Kostunica allowed police to retreat from Belgrade allowing "thugs" to destroy the U.S. embassy.

Serbian blogger Viktor Markovi of Belgrade 2.0 gave the account of what happened:

"Riots that happened tonight were directly provoked, encouraged and fueled by the government. The government also did almost nothing to stop this obvious madness from happening – on the contrary. In comparison to an average number of policemen we had on protests during Milosevic regime, you could practically say that the streets of Belgrade were policies today."

"Unfortunately, Western medias choose to show the rioting and not the “peaceful and dignified” protest meeting in front of the parliament. And the rioting is not where the real evil was coming from tonight."

Bloggers of Serbia focus a lot on the portrayal of Serbs in the Western media. They often feel as though their is only one side of the story. These bloggers give the story of the people, not the sensationalism that is brought on by Western media outlets.