This ill-tempered ‘football war’ between Serbia and Albania will end like every other Balkan conflict – with no clear winner and arguments over who started it

All in all, it was just another brick in the wall of good old Balkan nationalism. But this time, it came with the twist: the dark, medieval ideology was launched on a hi-tech gadget. It is certainly not the worst way that drones can be used – as people in Pakistan and Afghanistan, living in fear of blue skies and US drone-bombers, might confirm – but the drone that flew across Belgrade’s Partizan Stadium during a football match between Serbia and Albania on Tuesday was still intended to do harm. The game, a Euro 2016 qualifying match, was the first time Albania’s national side had visited Belgrade since 1967. Tensions were running high because of the Serbian-Albanian conflict over Kosovo, which has a majority Albanian population and declared independence from Serbia in 2008.

First reports said that the drone came from the roof of a nearby church. It was carrying the flag of “Greater Albania”, the dream of Albanian nationalists. Greater Albania is supposed to comprise today’s Albania and Kosovo, but also to include parts of four more independent Balkan states: Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia. It’s pretty much the same concept as the notorious Greater Serbia project – “all Serbs/Albanians in one ethnic state” – the reason the Balkans was burning two decades ago. So, if anyone thinks that the Balkans is tired of nationalist madness, destruction and the confirmation of so-called Balkan stereotypes … well, we’re not. It seems that the Balkans never fail to prove the theory that the one willing to bet on the worst in men will always win.

According to Wikipedia, quoting the Gallup Balkan Monitor 2010 report, “the idea of a Greater Albania is supported by the majority of Albanians in Albania (63%), Kosovo (81%) and the Republic of Macedonia (53%), although the same report noted that most Albanians thought this unlikely to happen”. The crowd attending the game in Belgrade, however, seemed to sense an immediate threat. After the flag of Greater Albania was caught by a Serbian player, Albanian players tried to take it from him and then Serbian fans broke on to the pitch.

Soon, the match was suspended. From the very beginning, trouble was hanging in the air. In order to avoid riots, it was declared that supporters of the Albanian team were not allowed to enter the stadium.

Serbian media reported that the drone was operated by Olsi Rama, brother of the Albanian prime minister, Edi Rama. It claimed that Rama was arrested. He was not. After he came back to Tirana airport, where he was welcomed by thousands as a national hero, Rama told journalists that he had nothing to do with the drone.

Edi Rama last night stated that he is “proud because the red-and-blacks [the Albanian team] have won a football war. At the same time, I am sorry because of the neighbours [the Serbs] who sent an ugly image to the world.”

Montenegrin media reported that Albanians in Ulcinj, Plav and Tuzi were “celebrating” on the streets after the game was suspended.

There was hardly a thing to celebrate. The flag incident came at the worst possible moment. There had been a glimpse of hope for the normalisation of relations between Serbia and Albania. It was announced that on 22 October Edi Rama will visit Belgrade and meet Aleksandar Vučić, the Serbian prime minister. It was supposed to be the first visit of the Albanian prime minister to Belgrade in 70 years. But will Rama still come?

Karl Bildt, the Swedish foreign affairs minister, stated on Twitter that what happened in Belgrade was “irresponsible provocation”. But he hoped that the Albanian and Serbian prime ministers would see a need for “improvement of bilateral relations”.

But Serbs and Albanians immediately saw a need to kick each other. After the game, there was a fight between Albanians and Serbs in Vienna. Police intervened.

In Tuzi, Montenegro, a huge fight broke out in a high school this morning. The pupils were fighting over last night’s football game. Montenegro wasn’t even playing.

And the result of the Serbia-Albania game, if anyone is interested? This “football war” ended like every other war in Balkans. It was a goalless draw. There is never a clear winner. There is always more then one historical truth about who started it. And at the end of every single war, it says: to be continued.

Source: http://www.theguardian.com