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Protest against Kosovo’s move

— Photo: AFP

Pangs of separation: A Serb with a map of Kosovo during an anti-independence rally in Belgrade on Thursday.

BELGRADE (Serbia): Thousands of angry Serbs converged on Belgrade on Thursday to attend a rally to protest Kosovo’s declaration of independence, raising fears that the gathering could trigger street violence.

Schools were closed and the state railway company made free trains available to bring protesters to the rally. Local media reports on Thursday morning said crowds of thousands were already making their way to the capital for the afternoon rally.

Organisers say the “Kosovo is Ours” event will demonstrate Serbia’s commitment to holding on to the province of 2 million persons.

The demonstrators are scheduled to rally in front of Serbia’s Parliament and then march to the Saint Sava Orthodox temple for an evening service.

More than a dozen nations have recognised Kosovo’s declaration of independence, which was made on Sunday. They include the United States, Britain, France and Germany.

But the move has been rejected by Serbia’s nationalist government along with the ethnic Serbians who populate northern Kosovo. Russia, China and numerous other nations have also condemned the move, saying it sets a precedent that separatist groups around the world will seek to emulate.

There are fears that Thursday’s rally could spark renewed rioting by ultra-nationalists who attacked the U.S. Embassy, McDonald’s restaurants and other Western interests in the capital earlier this week. They also attacked the offices of the pro-Western Liberal Democratic Party in several towns.

“We are convinced that the state organs are behind these attacks,” said the party in an open letter to the government published on Thursday in the media.

Critics say attacks could be a prelude to the silencing of the opposition and pro-Western politicians in the Balkan republic, reminiscent of the era when the country was run by Slobodan Milosevic.

His regime also organised giant rallies by bussing in supporters and schoolchildren to demonstrate public support for the wars Serbia waged in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo.

Germany’s Defence Minister was visiting Kosovo on Thursday, a day after the German Cabinet approved recognition of Kosovo as an independent country.

Franz Josef Jung praised NATO’s role in securing Kosovo’s tense north after the declaration. — AP

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