Members of the Serbian Gendarmerie performed a nationalist song about Kosovo in the presence of Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and Interior Minister Ivica Dačić.
The song performed was “The Anthem of the Heroes of Kosovo,” a Serbian patriotic song dedicated to the 1389 Battle of Kosovo, which in the past was also used as the anthem of the Special Operations Unit (JSO), commonly known as the “Red Berets.” The performance includes lyrics such as, “We are setting off for Kosovo,” while the song contains religious and nationalist references tied to the Serbian narrative about Kosovo.
The JSO was a special unit of Serbia’s State Security Service that operated during the 1990s and also took part in the war in Kosovo. The unit has been mentioned in court proceedings and international reports in connection with war crimes committed during the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia. Following the assassination of Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Đinđić in 2003, in which former members of the unit were implicated, the JSO was dissolved by the Serbian authorities.
In Kosovo, these actions are viewed as part of the continuation of Belgrade’s state narrative, which denies the reality of Kosovo and cultivates historical and political myths. At the same time, the European Union and Western partners have repeatedly called for avoiding nationalist rhetoric and statements that could increase tensions in the region, urging a focus on dialogue and the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia.
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