Beckovic: The song doesn't endanger anyone; is calling for the joy of the Serbs a provocation?

The song "Veseli se srpski rode" has quickly become one of the anthems of the Serbs, film director and screenwriter Danilo Beckovic says to Kosovo Online. What provokes, Beckovic adds, comes from the title itself, which is an invitation to joy and celebration.

Neither the song nor the lyrics are controversial, Beckovic states. However, those who seek a reason for criticism will find it, many already in the title.

"I think that joy, that invitation to rejoice, is something that provokes because we have learned in the last 20 years that we are not allowed to have the right to joy. That we have the right to apologize, that we have the right to guilt, to a kind of ash-spreading. But the right to pride and joy, I think that's what provokes. On the other hand, it's a song that says: Let the Serbian flag fly. Then it lists cities and places where that flag flies every time those athletes achieve some success. Actually, they didn't lie about anything; they didn't say anything wrong. Indeed, from Prizren to Rumija, the Serbian flag flies with every victory of Novak Djokovic, basketball players, any of our athletes", Beckovic says.

Members of other nations are not even mentioned in the song. On the other hand, historical figures and dynasties significant to the Serbs are celebrated. This, evidently, annoys many, but according to Beckovic, it does not threaten anyone.

"It speaks exclusively about the Serbs, about Serbian lands, and, in the end, about some historical figures - Obilici, Petrovici, Nemanjici. I don't see that any of these dynasties, any surname, is controversial in any way and can be controversial for anyone", our interlocutor explains.

There is no song that would be more fitting for the events where "Veseli se srpski rode" gained prominence because the greatest joy is brought to us by athletes, he believes.

"There is no song that suits them more. It has become one of the anthems of the Serbs. It has become that in a very short time, and it is an anthem that precisely corresponds to what our athletes bring", Danilo Beckovic concludes.