Beckovic: The region in limbo, fans' passions a "concentrate" of fueling tensions

Director Danilo Beckovic says that the incidents at the European Football Championship are a "concentrate" of everything happening in the region and that the peoples of the Western Balkans are in "limbo" due to the constant heating of tensions.

"Essentially, we didn't need the European Championship to show that passions have not calmed down at all. This is a folklore that is present, and the bigger problem is that our reactions to these kinds of provocations are always exaggerated and somewhat immature. I think it would be much better if such things were not given that kind of attention," Beckovic told Kosovo Online.

Commenting on the numerous incidents during the performances of the regional teams, Beckovic says that it is a "concentrate" of events in those countries.

"What you see in the stadium is actually just a concentrate of what is happening in those countries. And not only there. It is actually a consequence of a constant heating of the political situation in the former Yugoslavia, which we have seen with the UN resolution, with various statements and events in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Metohija, and ultimately in Serbia and Croatia. You constantly have pressure that doesn't come only from within but also from outside, which heats the atmosphere in all those countries. Then it is just most clearly seen in the stadium," Beckovic assessed.

When asked if the region could get out of this kind of pattern, he emphasizes that it is possible only if the "peoples of the Balkans attain some kind of independence."

"The region could get out of this limbo if it turned inward. There is that old phrase 'The Balkans for the Balkan peoples,' which was at one point accepted as policy. Now, no one considers it anymore. Simply put, the Balkan peoples have accepted various patronages from abroad, and no one from abroad is actually concerned with peace in the Balkans. It is simply not their job, it shouldn't have been expected from them. So, the only way to get out of this is for the Balkan peoples to once again attain some kind of independence," Beckovic concluded.