Right-wing opposition parties in Serbia gathered on the evening of June 28 in Belgrade in a show of support for Serbs from Kosovo.

The rally was organized by the “Movement for the Defense of Kosovo and Metohija” with the support of right-wing parties, including the parliamentary opposition parties: Dveri and Zavetnici.

Nationalist songs about Kosovo were played, and a banner stating “Stop the terror against Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija” has been displayed.

The participants waved Serbian flags, chanting slogans such as “No surrender”, which also feature maps of Kosovo.

The protesters sought Russia’s support for Serbia’s policy towards Kosovo.

Among their demands is the release of Serbs arrested in northern Kosovo, whom the Kosovo Police have identified as organizers of incidents in the area in the past month.

Hate speech against Albanians and criticism of Aleksandar Vučić

Speakers at the protest directed insults and hate speech towards Albanians.

They also criticized the President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić, calling for his resignation.

The Serbian government was called a “traitor”, and the Ohrid Agreement on the normalization of Kosovo-Serbia relations was heavily criticized.

According to the protesters, with this agreement, “the Serbian government has surrendered the southern region”.

This protest comes at a time of high tensions in northern Kosovo, an area predominantly inhabited by Serbs, and diplomatic pressure on Pristina and Belgrade to calm the situation.

The situation has worsened since the end of May when Albanian mayors entered their offices in the face of resistance from local Serb residents.

The Serbian community in the north boycotted the elections held on April 23, which resulted in Albanian mayors being elected in Mitrovica North, Zvečan, Zubin Potok, and Leposavić.

The ongoing protests have escalated into violence between Serbian demonstrators and NATO’s KFOR mission soldiers.

There have also been reports of grenade attacks and other incidents.

The Kosovo Police have arrested several Serbs on suspicion of organizing violence.

The international community is calling on Kosovo to de-escalate the situation, including organizing new elections in the north. Meanwhile, Serbia is seeking to ensure the participation of Serbs in any potential elections.