Antonijevic: The flag is not a provocation – I expect a reasonable ruling from the appeals court and Kurti

The flag is not a provocation, but rather an expression of identity, especially on significant dates such as Vidovdan for the Serbian people, stated legal expert Milan Antonijevic, in response to the ruling of the Basic Court in Pristina which declared that the June 2023 decision by the Municipality of Gracanica to commemorate Vidovdan using Serbian symbols and flags constituted “an overreach of legally defined competences.” He added that he expects a reasonable ruling from the appellate court, as well as from Albin Kurti.

“Gracanica today—the flag is here, as you can see, and I hope it will be here on June 28, on Vidovdan. Anything else would represent unnecessary violence against the Serbian community and an open provocation by the Kosovo authorities,” Antonijevic wrote on the social media platform X, posting a photo from Gracanica.

He clarified that the ruling in question came from a first-instance court and reminded that the Council of Europe’s Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities clearly guarantees the right of minorities to publicly display their symbols.

Antonijevic pointed out that although Kosovo is not a member of the Council of Europe, Article 22 of Kosovo’s Constitution explicitly lists international legal instruments that take precedence over domestic laws and are directly applicable—including the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities.

“To conclude: the flag is not a provocation, but an expression of identity, especially on days of special significance such as Vidovdan for the Serbian community. I expect a reasonable decision, primarily from the court of second instance, and then from the Kosovo Police and Albin Kurti,” Antonijevic emphasized.

According to the Basic Court’s interpretation, the decision by the Municipality of Gracanica “seriously undermines the unique and constitutional character of Kosovo” and “gravely endangers public order and interethnic coexistence, potentially inciting interethnic tensions.”

This ruling has sparked widespread reactions, particularly in light of the fact that the Albanian flag is not banned from public gatherings in Kosovo—and was even brought into parliament just days ago by the acting Prime Minister of Kosovo.

Srpska Lista has announced that the Municipality of Gracanica will appeal the decision, while Serbian Prime Minister Prof. Dr. Djuro Macut stated that the court’s ruling represents a continuation of a policy of systemic intimidation and institutional pressure against the Serbian people, who persist in remaining on their centuries-old land in Kosovo.