The Serbs are a heavenly people

It was a time of disorder, turmoil, and darkness in Yugoslavia, Nikola Kalinic, in 1991, came to the world. Almost everywhere in the multi-ethnic state, the nationalists gained the upper hand, it began a decade of bloody decay, and the children saw on the television probably more often the grumpy face of the Belgrade violence ruler Slobodan Milosevic as a harmless animated films. From the rubble of Yugoslavia's seven successor States are created. Meanwhile, Nikola Kalinic has become, in spite of the political turmoil – a basketball star. He plays for the Turkish club Fenerbahçe and for the Serbian national team.

Serbia is a basketball crazy country. In 2002, its players won the world Cup (Serbia was, at the time a state Union with Montenegro), 2014 Vice-world champion title. Since Kalinic. However, the great success of his previous career of the athletes did not want to speak recently. In a brilliant Interview with the daily newspaper "Blic" said he about the situation in his home country. Kalinic criticized first of all the lack of tolerance, openness and friendship between the people. Who is responsible in Serbia has a different opinion, will be excluded and laughed at. Blame it on a "Selfie-culture", which make self-centered and lonely. It was basically to set the mood.

Then several timpani strokes followed. "It pleases me that the people finally stood up against the injustice and stupidity of rebelling," said Kalinic. In several Serbian cities, thousands of against the autocratic Regime of the country's leader, Aleksandar Vucic, of the cover-up of corruption scandals, almost all of the media controlled, and political opponents as traitors made a mockery of protesting for weeks.

Vucic – from WARBRINGER to Prime Minister

Really angry Kalinic made not only to the nationalists with his attitude to the Kosovo conflict. Since he could remember, there was in Serbia in the dispute over the 1999 Belgrade-dominated Albanian province. "Let's solve the Problem", and called on Kalinic. You can't live of the past. The battle on the Blackbird field have finally taken place more than 600 years ago, and in Kosovo no longer has long belonged to Serbia. To his countrymen of the basketball players appealed, and in the world around and around. The Serbs are "a heavenly people", no chosen Nation, but "a small and insignificant dot on the world map".

Eternal victim nation

Kalinic is not the first Serb who casts a critical glance in the past. But he is the first sports star that appeals to such a controversial topic. He describes the fierce national pride of many Serbs as backward-looking, questioning your self-understanding as the eternal victim nation and the Balkans reminds peoples that Germany and France have sealed in January, a new friendship Pact – exactly 56 years after the signing of the Elysée Treaty. After so many war crimes and Victims of the two peoples would have viewed that you would come only through cooperation forward, said Kalinic.

"Kosovo is Serbia."Novak Djokovic

So he is clearly distinguishing itself from Novak Djokovic, of Serbia to the rank of national saints. The tennis star is wearing the St. Sava medal, the highest award of the Serbian Orthodox Church, because he's setting itself up as a fighter for the preservation of Kosovo, and the historic monasteries. "We are ready to defend what belongs to us. Kosovo is Serbia," he said after Kosovo's Declaration of independence in 2008. His video message has brought over 150'000 Serbs in the boil, which were at that time in Belgrade against the secession of the Amselfelds on the road.

nationalists smearing-family house

Nikola Kalinic for such campaigns are not exploited. After the Interview in the "Blic" exploded in the social media Shitstorm about the athletes. He was a Serb with a subjects mentality, wrote a self-proclaimed Patriot with a Twitter account, others wanted to throw Kalinic from the national team out, or asked him whether he would soon convert to Islam. Unknown muddle-headed waste of the house of the family Kalinic lubricated in the multi-ethnic city of Subotica on the border with Hungary: The vertürkte athletes, so the vulgar message, should satisfy the Serbs with oral intercourse.

"nationalism is something for people who earn 300 francs a month."Cult singer Rambo Amadeus

Kalinic will not be intimidated. The hate brigades, he answered with a quote from Antonije Pusic, alias Rambo Amadeus. The Balkans is well-known in cult, singer writes, the nationalism is something for those who earned the equivalent of only about 300 francs a month. The poisonous food will served to the people by politicians to incite them against each other. Once the wage exceeds 1000 francs, would talk to people about healthy eating and holidays – and "a minimum of 3000 francs each chatter stops. Then people talk about the weather and love".

Or about music and books. Kalinic said that among his favorite musicians, John Lee Hooker, Buddy Guy and B. B. King. And Gabriel García Márquez' "one Hundred years of solitude" was a "brilliant book".

(editing Tamedia)

Created: 14.02.2019, 14:51 PM