An editorial note re: The 42’s reporting on the Uefa Nations League matches between Ireland and Israel is available to read here.
LUNCHTIME IN PRISTINA and the sun is shining.
Along Mother Teresa Boulevard, the main thoroughfare in Kosovo’s capital city, there are elderly men smoking cigarettes and drinking coffee.
Some enjoy an ice cream from one of the numerous shops or stalls. Grilled corn on the cob and mini doughnuts are also popular.
There are stragglers in green, white and orange, although it seems that some of the travelling Republic of Ireland supporters have mostly dipped down some of the side streets for a drink instead.
The mood is relaxed. Ten minutes away and about an hour earlier, some Ireland fans waited outside the Fadil Vokrri Stadium, where Ireland will face Kosovo in their opening Nations League Group B3 game on Thursday. They greeted Packie Bonner warmly.
He is the international and high performance chairperson as well as an independent director on the FAI board, and he departed with fellow independent board member Laura Finnegan O’Halloran, chairperson Tony Keohane, president Paul Cooke, and director of football John Martin.
Israel was not on their agenda.
Heimir Hallgrímsson had spoken of being “grateful” to Taoiseach Micheál Martin for his support over the Israeli FA’s personal attack.
The FAI have stayed silent since their counterparts accused Hallgrímsson of “ignorance, hypocrisy and stupidity” but it has become clear that this issue is by no means the only example of sports and politics mixing.
Protests in Pristina last week. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
Back on Mother Teresa Boulevard, or Bulevardi Nëna Terezë, two bald men in their late 50s or early 60s walk side by side. One wears an army green t-shirt that states he is a veteran of the UÇK, which in English translates to the Kosovo Liberation Army.
His friend is decked out in a white top with the crest of the UÇK and pictures of former Kosovo President Hashim Thaci and three other former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) leaders, Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selimi and Jakup Krasniqi.
They have been found guilty of war crimes during the 1998-1999 war of independence from Serbia, with a special court in The Hague handing down sentences of 25 years.
Thaci and the other KLA leaders are being held in The Hague for not stopping rank-and-file members from allegedly targeting ethnic Serbs, as well as Albanians deemed to be collaborators, with persecution, imprisonment, abduction, torture and murder in more than 100 locations.
The verdicts have led to protests throughout the country and the sentiment written on the man in white’s back sums up the feeling in very basic terms.
“Jo ne emrin tim!” is plastered throughout Pristina. “Not in my name.”
“Bring them home” is another message sprayed and painted on walls in English.
There are more protests due tonight from 9pm, lasting one hour and taking in speeches and songs.
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The show of support for jailed former leaders. David Sneyd
David Sneyd
“It will be peaceful, nobody does anything bad, we are just protesting for our people,” Diona Krasniqi, a journalist with the TV station Kanal 10, tells The 42 along Mother Teresa Boulevard.
“They don’t have proof that they did the crimes. We are protesting all day long and all night long.”
As our colleague from Kosovo speaks, a softer, persistent chant drifts along the road.
“UÇK, UÇK, UÇK, UÇK.”
“The children, I am so happy to see them. This is their mini protest because it will be too late for them at night.”
The statue of Mother Teresa in Pristina.
Around 100 kids aged between eight and nine walk up the boulevard, with 10 rows of UÇK flags draped across lampposts stretching a few hundred yards above them, as well as red and black flags in the trees, ice cream shops, bars and coffee houses.
The blue and gold of the Kosovo flag and national team is not as prevalent.
The children walk in pairs, holding hands and messing as they enjoy a break from their usual lunchtime routine. Some wear Cristiano Ronaldo t-shirts, others black tops with the letters UÇK and face of former president Thaci who was sentenced at The Hague.
Halfway up the boulevard, just a few yards away from the bronze statue of Mother Teresa, is a large stone sculpture of an open book resting on a brain. Etched into it is the following message in both Albanian-Kosovan and English.
“Students who read extracurricular books have a better psychological well-being and are more emotionally intelligent.
“Active reading has a positive effect in children’s psychological well-being and emotional intelligence.
“Children who read more books within a year, and those who are registered in a library have a better psychological well-being and are more emotionally intelligent.”
Some of the UCK flags in Pristina.
Some of the children marching towards the top of the square are allowed to break from their lines. Some rub the sculpture with both hands and then rub their temples before racing back into line where their teachers wait.
The kids continue to chant “UÇK” with smiles and encouragement from some adults looking on as they headed to the meeting point in the square where the nighttime protests have been taking place.
It is there that there is one large banner with the faces of Thaci, Veseli, Selimi and Krasniqi beside the message “Ne Emer Te Popullit, Shpalleni Te Pafajshem” (In the name of the people, declare innocent).
A few feet away there are four 30ft posters of each man with a stage and screen in the middle. The UÇK crest is beside the words “Liria ka emer”, or “Freedom has a name.”
The next sound is of the children standing in unison to sing the Kosovo national anthem.
They will soon be back in class and then it will be the adults taking to the same streets to continue their own protests.
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'We are protesting all day and all night' - School kids stage lunchtime show of solidarity in Kosovo
An editorial note re: The 42’s reporting on the Uefa Nations League matches between Ireland and Israel is available to read here.
LUNCHTIME IN PRISTINA and the sun is shining.
Along Mother Teresa Boulevard, the main thoroughfare in Kosovo’s capital city, there are elderly men smoking cigarettes and drinking coffee.
Some enjoy an ice cream from one of the numerous shops or stalls. Grilled corn on the cob and mini doughnuts are also popular.
There are stragglers in green, white and orange, although it seems that some of the travelling Republic of Ireland supporters have mostly dipped down some of the side streets for a drink instead.
The mood is relaxed. Ten minutes away and about an hour earlier, some Ireland fans waited outside the Fadil Vokrri Stadium, where Ireland will face Kosovo in their opening Nations League Group B3 game on Thursday. They greeted Packie Bonner warmly.
He is the international and high performance chairperson as well as an independent director on the FAI board, and he departed with fellow independent board member Laura Finnegan O’Halloran, chairperson Tony Keohane, president Paul Cooke, and director of football John Martin.
Israel was not on their agenda.
Heimir Hallgrímsson had spoken of being “grateful” to Taoiseach Micheál Martin for his support over the Israeli FA’s personal attack.
The FAI have stayed silent since their counterparts accused Hallgrímsson of “ignorance, hypocrisy and stupidity” but it has become clear that this issue is by no means the only example of sports and politics mixing.
Back on Mother Teresa Boulevard, or Bulevardi Nëna Terezë, two bald men in their late 50s or early 60s walk side by side. One wears an army green t-shirt that states he is a veteran of the UÇK, which in English translates to the Kosovo Liberation Army.
His friend is decked out in a white top with the crest of the UÇK and pictures of former Kosovo President Hashim Thaci and three other former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) leaders, Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selimi and Jakup Krasniqi.
They have been found guilty of war crimes during the 1998-1999 war of independence from Serbia, with a special court in The Hague handing down sentences of 25 years.
Thaci and the other KLA leaders are being held in The Hague for not stopping rank-and-file members from allegedly targeting ethnic Serbs, as well as Albanians deemed to be collaborators, with persecution, imprisonment, abduction, torture and murder in more than 100 locations.
The verdicts have led to protests throughout the country and the sentiment written on the man in white’s back sums up the feeling in very basic terms.
“Jo ne emrin tim!” is plastered throughout Pristina. “Not in my name.”
“Bring them home” is another message sprayed and painted on walls in English.
There are more protests due tonight from 9pm, lasting one hour and taking in speeches and songs.
“It will be peaceful, nobody does anything bad, we are just protesting for our people,” Diona Krasniqi, a journalist with the TV station Kanal 10, tells The 42 along Mother Teresa Boulevard.
“They don’t have proof that they did the crimes. We are protesting all day long and all night long.”
As our colleague from Kosovo speaks, a softer, persistent chant drifts along the road.
“UÇK, UÇK, UÇK, UÇK.”
“The children, I am so happy to see them. This is their mini protest because it will be too late for them at night.”
Around 100 kids aged between eight and nine walk up the boulevard, with 10 rows of UÇK flags draped across lampposts stretching a few hundred yards above them, as well as red and black flags in the trees, ice cream shops, bars and coffee houses.
The blue and gold of the Kosovo flag and national team is not as prevalent.
The children walk in pairs, holding hands and messing as they enjoy a break from their usual lunchtime routine. Some wear Cristiano Ronaldo t-shirts, others black tops with the letters UÇK and face of former president Thaci who was sentenced at The Hague.
Halfway up the boulevard, just a few yards away from the bronze statue of Mother Teresa, is a large stone sculpture of an open book resting on a brain. Etched into it is the following message in both Albanian-Kosovan and English.
“Students who read extracurricular books have a better psychological well-being and are more emotionally intelligent.
“Active reading has a positive effect in children’s psychological well-being and emotional intelligence.
“Children who read more books within a year, and those who are registered in a library have a better psychological well-being and are more emotionally intelligent.”
Some of the children marching towards the top of the square are allowed to break from their lines. Some rub the sculpture with both hands and then rub their temples before racing back into line where their teachers wait.
The kids continue to chant “UÇK” with smiles and encouragement from some adults looking on as they headed to the meeting point in the square where the nighttime protests have been taking place.
It is there that there is one large banner with the faces of Thaci, Veseli, Selimi and Krasniqi beside the message “Ne Emer Te Popullit, Shpalleni Te Pafajshem” (In the name of the people, declare innocent).
A few feet away there are four 30ft posters of each man with a stage and screen in the middle. The UÇK crest is beside the words “Liria ka emer”, or “Freedom has a name.”
The next sound is of the children standing in unison to sing the Kosovo national anthem.
They will soon be back in class and then it will be the adults taking to the same streets to continue their own protests.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
FAI Kosovo Political Football Republic Of Ireland none