Gudzic: Serbs in Kosovo are afraid to display the Serbian flag due to potential unpleasant consequences

In Kosovo, there is an unofficial ban on displaying state, national, and religious symbols—anything that comes from Serbia, historian Aleksandar Gudzic stated for Kosovo Online on the occasion of the Day of Serbian Unity, Freedom, and National Flag.

The goal and symbolism of this holiday, according to Gudzic, is to highlight Serbian unity and to foster the flag as one of the most important state symbols.

"Serbs in Kosovo are afraid to display the flag of Serbia due to the unpleasant situations they may face. For months and years now, we have witnessed young people from Gracanica being detained at police stations simply for wearing shirts with the Serbian flag. At Gazimestan in previous years, people were forced to remove shirts with national or religious symbols. Unofficially, there is a ban in Kosovo on displaying state, national, and religious symbols—anything that comes from Serbia," Gudzic said.

He points out that in some cases, he himself witnessed unpleasant scenes.

"In Prizren, I witnessed an incident where a man was harassed simply because he had the Russian flag on his shirt. Simply put, in Kosovo, there is an unofficial ban on national, state, and religious symbols from Serbia, Russia, and some other countries that have not recognized Kosovo," Gudzic emphasized.

However, Serbian flags were displayed today in Gracanica. The Serbian flag was raised on some institutions in that town, in the streets, and on the square in front of the Gracanica Municipality.