While the authorities in Belgrade are boasting about the arrival of Hollywood star Jean-Claude Van Damme and photos of President Aleksandar Vučić with the famous actor, little is being said about one rather inconvenient fact: the Belgian actor has had very good relations with politicians and public figures from Kosovo for years and has publicly displayed symbols associated with Albanian national identity. Van Damme arrived in Serbia as a special guest of the International Film Festival in Niš, while Vučić hosted him in Belgrade with a message that his arrival would help promote Niš and Serbia around the world.
The problem for the authorities, however, arises when Van Damme’s history of relations with Kosovo is examined. During his visit to Pristina in 2023, the actor met with Ramush Haradinaj, a former KLA commander and former prime minister of Kosovo. Haradinaj then published photos of the two together, accompanied by a message that Van Damme represented a “friend of Albanians and Kosovo” and that through his attitude he had supported Kosovo and Albanians. On that occasion, Van Damme was also photographed wearing a gold necklace featuring the symbol of the Albanian double-headed eagle.
An even more direct scene occurred during the same visit, when Van Damme was photographed making the double-headed eagle sign with his hands. The photo was also published by Ramiz Lladrovci, the mayor of Drenas, who wrote alongside it that Van Damme was a “friend of Albanians and Kosovo” and thanked him for his support. The Albanian double-headed eagle is the official symbol of Albania and is featured at the center of its flag, so the photographs were not simply a neutral gesture without political or national context.
And it is precisely such a guest that the authorities are presenting today as a major promotion of Serbia. At a time when Belgrade has for years refused to recognize Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence, Vučić is publicly embracing and taking photos with a man whom Kosovo politicians have publicly presented as their friend. To make things even more interesting, Van Damme’s arrival is not merely a festival story: Pink owner Željko Mitrović announced that the actor would be his guest and that there is a possibility he could shoot his latest film precisely in Serbia, through Mitrović’s production company.
All of this is happening at a time when Niš is hosting two parallel film events. The traditional festival, which has brought together actors for decades, is being organized this year by the Association of Film Actors of Serbia, while the City of Niš has launched its own International Film Festival, whose most prominent guest is Van Damme. The festival begins on August 25, and Van Damme will appear on the red carpet and be presented as a special guest at the opening.
Of course, Van Damme has the right to socialize with whomever he wants, wear whatever he wants and visit whomever he wants. But the citizens of Serbia also have the right to ask the authorities why a man who has been publicly photographed with political leaders from Pristina and who has publicly displayed an Albanian national symbol is being brought in as a major state guest. The problem is not one actor, but the hypocrisy of a policy that turns a single photograph with a world-famous star into the “promotion of Serbia,” while at the same time concealing everything in that photograph that could be politically uncomfortable for it. Because if the authorities already like talking so much about the national interest, perhaps before the big spectacle in Niš they should explain exactly what Serbia’s interest is in this story.
MORE TOPICS:
Source: Serbian Times; Foto: Printscreen X