21 Feb 2008 - Beograd/Belgrade

(Now also with English texts.)
PS: Dette visste jeg ikke. (Og ville neppe fulgt det heller, naar sant skal sies... Men dog.)

Dette var temaet for demonstrasjonen, for alle innlegg og i det hele tatt: 'Kosovo er Serbia'. I tillegg til dette digre banneret bak scenen som var montert foran parlamentstrappa var det ogsaa en storskjerm paa hver side av scenen, hvor samme tekst sto paa flere spraak.
This was the theme of the demonstrations yesterday, for all posters and banners and even the speakers: 'Kosovo is Serbia'. In addition to this large banner behind the stage, which btw was erected in front of the parliament steps, there was one widescreen on each side of the stage. The background image was the Serbian flag, and the theme text was repeated in English, French, Spanish, German and Serbian.

Det var ikke alle som var like engasjert i det politiske som utspilte seg; mange var der bare for aa vaere der, lot det til.
Not everyone at the demonstration were too engaged by the politicans; many people seemed to be there just to observe what was happening and had already resigned, I think.

Bengalbluss og andre ting skapte litt fotballkamp-stemning egentlig...
Bengal lights and other things made the whole demonstration remind me of a football match, really...

Disse guttene har vaert med paa aa herpe en McDonalds paa Slavija. Etter at restauranten hadde brent, var de blant all poebelen som gikk inn i restauranten og rasket med seg det de saa og ville ha. Og saa tok de trofebilder etterpaa. Bak dem ser du foroevrig en bil som ble snudd paa hode og satt i brann, og som brant fullstendig ut.
These guys had contributed to setting McDonalds on Slavija on fire. After the restaurant had nearly burned out they were among those of the mob who entered and looted the restaurant. And after that they took trophy pictures outside, as you see. Behind them is a car that was turned upside down and turned on fire as well.

Jeg undersoeker gata ved mitt gamle kontor og blir rammet av taaregass. Litt lenger ned i gata bak meg ligger den amerikanske ambassaden, som paa dette tidspunktet hadde vaert i brann ei stund.
I'm on the street outside my old office, and teargas lies heavy in the streets. Down the road behind me lies the American embassy that at the time of the picture was still burning. I decided against walking down there.

Dette er rett utenfor 'kontoret mitt'. Politiet hadde ikke gassmasker, saa de maatte ogsaa trekke seg unna det verste omraadet mens de venta paa at lufta skulle klarne saa de kunne puste igjen...
This is once again outside my old office. The police did not have gas masks, so when the streets were heavy with tear gas they too had to withdraw until it was possible to breathe again...

En butikkeier er raskt paa plass for aa fjerne glass fra knuste vinduer og sikre varene sine som best han kan. Dette er paa hovedgata som gaar fra parlamentet til St.Sava.
A shop owner quickly emerged on the scene of his shop with completely broken facade windows. He cleaned up the mess and appeared to try and protect his stock, if possible. This is along the main street that runs from parliament to St. Sava Church.

Dette butikkvinduet ble spart. Sannsynligvis pga oppslaget. Fakta.
This shop window was not broken. Most probably because of this poster. Fact.

MC-klubber var synlig tilstede hele dagen og stoettet aksjonen 'Kosovo er Serbia', og 'Kosovo er vaart'. De kjoerte i kolonner med dunder og brak gjennom byen hele dagen, om kvelden kjoerte de de i stroeket rundt demonstrasjonene og enkelte var ogsaa til fots foran parlamentet. De minnet mye om diverse mc-bander (ikke klubber!) hjemme i Norge. Me not like.
MC gangs were visibly and audibly present in the city all day and marked their support with and sympathy for 'Kosovo is Serbia', and also 'Kosovo is ours'. They drove in parade-like groups around the city all day, and in the evening they drove around the areas where the demonstrations were. Some them were also on foot at the parliament for a short while. They reminded me much of MC gangs (not peaceful mc clubs) back in Norway and the rest of Scandinavia. And I don't like it.

Noen hadde hatt det veldig travelt med aa komme seg unna taaregassen.
Apparently someone had been in a real hurry to get away from the tear gas.

Disse guttene knuste vinduene i en liten kiosk. Saa tente de paa aviser og ukeblad. En mann som kom forbi stoppet brannen og jaget guttene vekk. Naar han hadde gaatt, kom guttene tilbake og plyndret kiosken for det de fikk med seg innenfor jakkene. De to guttene i svart har en kompis i graa jakke inne i kiosken som lastet jakken full og ogsaa forsynte dem. De ga blaffen i at jeg fotograferte. Etterpaa satte de seg i en park (!!) like ved og spiste sjokoladen.
These boys broke the windows of a small kiosk and put its newspapers and magazines on fire. A man passing by chased them away and put out the fire. When he had left the boys returned and looted the kiosk; taking with them whatever they could carry in their jackets. The two boys in black have a friend dressed in a grey jacket inside the kiosk, he loaded his jacket full and then delivered to them. The did not care at all that I took pictures. Afterwards they sat down in a nearby park and ate their loot-chocolate!