VZCZCXRO6699
PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHNP RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSK RUEHSL RUEHSR RUEHVK
RUEHYG
DE RUEHBW #0633 1871300
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P R 061302Z JUL 09
FM AMEMBASSY BELGRADE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0048
INFO EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RUEHBW/AMEMBASSY BELGRADE
RUZEJAA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK

UNCLAS BELGRADE 000633 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
DEPT FOR EUR/SCE (P. PETERSON) 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KS SR
SUBJECT: SERBIA LARGELY IGNORES 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF MILOSEVIC'S 
GAZIMESTAN SPEECH 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1.  (SBU) The twentieth anniversary of Slobodan Milosevic's infamous 
speech at Gazimestan on the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Kosovo 
passed with little notice in Serbia, generating only a handful of 
press stories and one passing mention by President Tadic.  Serbia's 
leaders appear to have missed a valuable opportunity to use the 
anniversary as a chance to spur public dialogue and reflection on the 
price the country continues to pay for Milosevic's disastrous 
destruction of Yugoslavia.  End Summary. 
 
Rally of a Million Serbs 
------------------------ 
 
¶2.  (U) June 28, 2009, marked the twentieth anniversary of former 
Serbian dictator Slobodan Milosevic's infamous speech at the site of 
the Battle of Kosovo.  Speaking on St. Vitus' Day (Vidovdan) to a 
crowd estimated at over a million Serbs, Milosevic declared himself 
their undisputed leader and promised the restoration of Serbian 
identity and national pride.  He referred to the possibility of 
"armed battles," generating cries of "Kosovo is Serbia" from the 
crowd.  Historians and analysts see that day as the beginning not 
only of the Milosevic era but also as the beginning of the breakup of 
Yugoslavia. 
 
Minimal Press Coverage 
---------------------- 
 
¶3.  (U) Despite the historical significance of the speech, the 
twentieth anniversary received little attention in the Serbian media. 
 Most media noted only that Gazimestan, once a symbol of national 
unity, was now under heavy KFOR protection.  Some Belgrade press 
reported that the local Kosovo Serbs remember the Vidovdan of 1989 
with melancholy, as their high hopes for the future had been dashed. 
 
 
¶4.  (U) Only two weekly news magazines highlighted the anniversary in 
their June 25 editions.  Liberal weekly 'Vreme' reprinted the text of 
Milosevic's speech and invited readers to respond to a series of 
related questions, promising to run the responses in a future 
edition.  Conservative weekly 'NIN' carried an editorial lamenting 
the Serbian public's feeling of "resignation" on the anniversary and 
criticizing the DS-led government.  It also carried an interview with 
Milosevic-era Foreign Minister Vladislav Jovanovic and an article on 
the rally entitled "Serbia's Awakening or Manipulation with History," 
complaining that two lines in Milosevic's speech have caused many to 
blame Serbia for the break-up of Yugoslavia ("Six centuries later, 
now, we are being again engaged in battles and are facing battles. 
They are not armed battles, although such things cannot be excluded 
yet"). 
 
Tadic Condemns Consequences of Speech 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (U) In an interview published in the June 28 edition of daily 
'Vecernje Novosti,' President Boris Tadic emphasized that leaders 
must be conscious of the "consequences of our words and actions."  In 
response to a question about why he would not attend this year's 
gathering, Tadic said "Nobody can take Vidovdan from Serbia and from 
Serbs.  But Serbia should never again celebrate like it did in 1989, 
after which, due to erroneous and irresponsible policy, it was 
followed by blockages, sanctions, wars, death, robbery of citizens 
and their poverty, and on top of it all, we were bombed, and the same 
Kosovo which they spoke about so much became a  protectorate." 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) The twentieth anniversary of Milosevic's infamous 
Gazimestan speech could have been a useful opportunity for Serbian 
leaders to encourage the public to reflect on the events of the 1990s 
and the consequences of Milosevic's disastrous campaign to create a 
"Greater Serbia," which resulted in the deaths of close to a quarter 
of a million on the territory of former Yugoslavia and millions of 
displaced persons and refugees.  Tadic's brief reference to the event 
in a newspaper interview, while constructive, is unlikely to spur the 
kind of self-reflection that Serbia so desperately needs.  End 
Comment. 
BRUSH