On the same day, the Serbian community recalls the battle in the plain of Kosovo Polje when in the 1389 the Ottoman army defeated the Balkan alliance led by Prince Lazar.
For the occasion, thousands of people from both Kosovo and Serbia gathered during the last weekend in Gazimestan around the obelisk erected in memory of the battle.
The event was preceded by a religious function that was held in the monastery of Gracanica during which the fallen Serb fighters were commemorated. Numerous cultural events took place in different locations.
The absence of accidents during this important event, which for the Serbian community is much more than a religious recurrence, represents as well as the removal in recent days of the barricades that divided the city of Mitrovica, another important positive sign in the sense of coexistence and integration.
"The important security device deployed with a low profile has allowed us to reassure citizens and prevent inter-ethnic clashes, so this day can also be dismissed as another success of international and local security organizations: KFOR, Kosovo Police and EULEX ”, said General Farina at the end of the operations.
"These three main protagonists in Kosovo", underlined the general in thanking the Kosovo Police, EULEX and all the KFOR staff for the professionalism shown in carrying out their role respectively as first, second and third responsible for security, "in recognizing the right and freedom of all people to celebrate their cultural and religious heritage have worked to ensure that the event took place in a peaceful and orderly way ”.
"We have once again worked side by side in close coordination both in the planning phase and during the deployment of the units on the ground in order to guarantee a safe environment, monitoring the event ready to intervene if necessary".
"In Kosovo, in these 15 years of presence, KFOR has always acted in an impartial, vigilant, prudent but firm and decisive manner when necessary, obtaining the respect and respect of all citizens regardless of their ethnicity. The ultimate aim is to promote dialogue, reconciliation and democratic values that are the foundation of a multi-ethnic, peaceful and progress coexistence. A small step forward towards the true gradual slow normalization of this part of Europe ", concluded General Farina.
Historical notes and curiositiesà
Vidovdan, the day of "St. Vitus", is the religious recurrence in which the memory of the martyrdom of St. Vitus occurs, observed by the Serbian and Bulgarian Orthodox Churches on June 15 in the Julian Calendar and which corresponds to our June 28 in the Calendar Gregorian.
The Vidovdan is also given of significant historical importance:
- June 28, 1389, the religious and national tradition commemorates the Battle of Kosovo Polje that the Serbs fought against the Ottoman Empire in;
- on June 28, 1914, the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and of his wife the Duchess Sofia in Sarajevo is the spark that will ignite the First World War;
- on June 28, 1919, the Treaty of Versailles was signed, putting an end to the First World War;
- on June 28, 1989, on the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Kosovo Polje, Serbian leader Slobodan Milošević gives the famous speech on the Serbian origin of the place where the historic battle was fought.
Source: Public Affairs Office HQ KFOR Film City - Prishtina, Kosovo
