Virijevic: March 17, 2004, carries the stamp of the suffering of the Serbs

It can be said that March 17, 2004, is the most tragic date in the history of the Serbs in the 21st century so far, Professor Vladan Virijevic from the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Pristina with a temporary seat in Kosovska Mitrovica assessed for Kosovo Online, adding that the scars from the events of March were still present and alive.

According to Professor Vladan Virijevic, March 17 bears the stamp of the suffering of the Serbs.

"We can freely say that March 17, considering only the 21st century, is certainly the most tragic date in the history of the Serbs in the 21st century so far. I hope there won't be any more tragic ones, and in recent history, excluding the Second World War, the suffering in the Second World War, certainly March 17 bears the stamp of the suffering of the Serbs, which was caused by extremely aggressive chauvinistic impulses based on a national ideology whose far-reaching consequences we still feel in these areas in an extremely destructive and radical context," Prof. Dr. Virijevic assessed.

The Serbs in Kosovo, Virijevic emphasizes, still feel the scars and consequences of March 17.

"Unfortunately, the scars of March 17 are still present and alive today, and not only physical scars but also, most tragically, the scars felt by every individual belonging to non-Albanian communities in the area of Kosovo and Metohija today, especially the Serbian community in Kosovo and Metohija. This discrimination and the vigorous marginalization of non-Albanian communities, making everyday life for the Serbian community in these areas more difficult in various ways, is undoubtedly a recurrence, or a subtle continuation of what happened on March 17, 2004. Unfortunately, two decades later, the modality seems to have changed, but the continuity of the idea is still there, perhaps even gaining intensity and sharpness," Virijevic said.