Novak Djokovic Risks Political Controversy at French Open
Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic, ranked world No. 3, may have stirred up a political controversy at the French Open on Monday. Following his first-round victory, he wrote a message about Kosovo on a camera lens. Djokovic wrote in Serbian, “Kosovo is the heart of Serbia. Stop the violence.”
The situation in Kosovo is tense, with ethnic Albanian mayors taking office in northern Kosovo’s Serb-majority area after elections the Serbs boycotted. This move led the US and its allies to rebuke Pristina on Friday. Serbs, who comprise a majority in Kosovo’s north, have never accepted its 2008 declaration of independence from Serbia and still see Belgrade as their capital more than two decades after the Kosovo Albanian uprising against repressive Serbian rule.
Djokovic, whose father grew up in the town of Zvecan, where 30 NATO peacekeeping soldiers were injured in clashes with Serb protesters defending three town halls, said, “As a son of a man born in Kosovo, I feel the need to give my support to our people and to entire Serbia. My stance is clear: I am against wars, violence and any kind of conflict, as I’ve always stated publicly. I empathise with all people, but the situation with Kosovo is a precedent in international law.”
French Tennis Federation Refuses to Comment on Djokovic’s Message
The French tennis federation (FFT), which organises the event, told Reuters that there were “no official Grand Slam rules on what players can or cannot say. The FFT will not be making any statement or taking any stance on this matter.” Djokovic will hope to avoid another political distraction at a Grand Slam after he defended his father at the Australian Open in January, when a video emerged showing him posing with some fans holding Russian flags amid the war in Ukraine.
Background on Kosovo’s Independence
Ethnic Albanians make up more than 90% of the population in Kosovo as a whole, but northern Serbs have long demanded the implementation of an EU-brokered 2013 deal for the creation of an association of autonomous municipalities in their area. Serbia and its traditional ally Russia do not recognise Kosovo’s independence, and Moscow has blocked the country’s bid to become a member of the United Nations.
Conclusion
Novak Djokovic’s message about Kosovo on a camera lens following his first-round victory at the French Open may have stirred up a political controversy. The situation in Kosovo is tense, with ethnic Albanian mayors taking office in northern Kosovo’s Serb-majority area after elections the Serbs boycotted. The French tennis federation refused to comment on Djokovic’s message, stating that there were no official Grand Slam rules on what players can or cannot say. Ethnic Albanians make up more than 90% of the population in Kosovo as a whole, but northern Serbs have long demanded the implementation of an EU-brokered 2013 deal for the creation of an association of autonomous municipalities in their area. Serbia and its traditional ally Russia do not recognise Kosovo’s independence, and Moscow has blocked the country’s bid to become a member of the United Nations.
