By Tatjana Lazarević
For over a decade of SNS rule, Serbia’s president has cultivated a narrative portraying Kosovo as a tragic, imposed, and ultimately unrealistic issue—an inherited burden awaiting resolution through “compromise.” This Vidovdan, however, he did not utter the word “Kosovo” at all. That silence was, in itself, a message.
The word “Vidovdan” in Serbian collective memory is almost synonymous with “Kosovo.” Yet in the president’s vocabulary, it is fading.
In his nearly seven-minute address to Vidovdan laureates on June 28—before an audience including top guests from Montenegro, Republika Srpska, and North Macedonia—Aleksandar Vučić did not mention Kosovo once.
Last year, around Vidovdan, he made only brief remarks on the subject: how Pristina refuses dialogue and the formation of the Association of Serb-majority Municipalities (ASM); how Serbs are being arbitrarily arrested; and how Serbia prioritizes peace. He also thanked Spain for respecting Serbia’s territorial integrity.
Two days later, posters appeared in northern Kosovo: “We are waiting for you, Supreme Commander.”
In 2023, Vučić also addressed a controversy about whether Kosovo police forced his son to remove a T-shirt reading “Surrender is not an option.” He claimed Danilo refused, stood his ground, and proudly declared: “Aleksandar! That’s my father and your president.”
A year earlier, ahead of Vidovdan, Vučić sarcastically predicted Western officials would come up with a “brilliant idea”: delivering Serbia a draft statute for the ASM without consulting Belgrade. Though he did not elaborate on its contents, the proposal was expected to be a softer version of the 2015 agreement—still unratified by Kosovo’s Constitutional Court.
Meanwhile, his supporters in Kosovo adopted the “Vidovdan Declaration”: it’s time—either the ASM is implemented, or “we’ll know what to do.” What exactly? “We will respond if the oppression continues,” proclaimed Serbs in the north. In Gračanica, the focus was on arrests.
Vidovdan: A Timeline of Shifting Rhetoric
In 2022, Vučić called Vidovdan “the most precise measure of time.” It was the day, he said, that halted the moral decay of the Serbian nation. The symbolism was unmistakable.
The next day, he warned of an “all-out attack” by Albanians on northern Kosovo by October 1. It never happened. That summer, the license plate dispute peaked. Despite promises that KM plates would remain, they gradually disappeared from Kosovo. Serbia allowed vehicles with RKS plates free passage.
In 2021, from Kruševac, Vučić urged Serbs in Kosovo to recognize “who is loyal and who is not.” That Vidovdan, he promised a visit to Kosovo, which has yet to occur.
In a post-Vidovdan 2021 Euronews interview, he flirted with the idea of a referendum on Kosovo: Serbia is ready to compromise, but the people must decide.
During the 2020 pandemic, American actor Jonathan Jackson released a song dedicated to Serbian monasteries in Kosovo—a Vidovdan gift. Meanwhile, Vučić warned of pending war crime indictments against Hashim Thaçi and others.
In 2019, his then-loyalist Marko Đurić opened a water plant in Zubin Potok, declaring “every day is Vidovdan” for Serbs in Kosovo. Six years later, Kosovo authorities took over the water company, removing it from Serbia’s control. The next day, Vučić spoke at the Morava Corridor construction site: “We no longer beg the world not to attack our people in Kosovo—we stand strong.”
That Vidovdan, he lamented how Serbia’s previous governments gave up Kosovo under international pressure, promising his administration was different—seeking compromise not from weakness, but because others finally asked.
“Even One Square Meter Would Be a Gain”
In 2018, Vučić warned against “new Storms” and vowed never to allow another exodus of Serbs. Days later, he famously declared: “We have nothing now. If we could gain even one square meter, it would be a win.”
That summer, Belgrade and Pristina signed several Brussels agreements, integrating Serbian structures into Kosovo’s system. Afterwards, Vučić expressed regret, saying Albanians were violating the deals.
The last Serbian president or prime minister to visit Gazimestan was Tomislav Nikolić in 2014. His speech was interrupted by nationalist protesters accusing him of betrayal. His influence waned as Vučić’s rose.
Kosovo Fades From the Narrative
Vučić’s political reign is deeply tied to Kosovo. Many believe he was the West’s chosen one to “finally solve” the issue—effectively overseeing Serbia’s withdrawal.
During his rule, numerous international agreements were signed—cementing Kosovo’s autonomy from Serbia. From the Brussels Agreement to the Ohrid Annex, the trajectory is clear.
In 2023, Vučić accepted the so-called European Plan. Its implementation, largely driven by Pristina, realized what was long expected: Serbia would step back. Yet instead of Vučić “removing Serbia from Kosovo,” it appears Kurti is “cleansing Serbia from Kosovo.”
Meanwhile, the word “Kosovo” has nearly vanished from Vučić’s speeches.
If there is already a “First Agreement on Principles of Normalization,” and a second—“the Path to Normalization”—one must wonder: Is a third, Final Agreement on the horizon? And if so, will Vučić—or someone from his circle—serve as its witness, guarantor, or sacrificial lamb?
Perhaps we’ll know by next Vidovdan.
Original:
https://kossev.info/kosovo-vidovdan-bez-kosova/
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