ZCZC
BFF-37
FRANCE-FIRE-NOTRE-DAME-SERBIA
Notre-Dame fire was ‘God’s punishment’ Serb tabloids say
BELGRADE, April 16, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – The fire that has devastated Notre-
Dame is “God’s punishment” two Serbian tabloids said Monday, linking it to
tweet saying a Kosovo flag was displayed in the Paris cathedral for World War
I centennial commemorations last year.
“God’s punishment caught them,” read headlines of Alo and Informer tabloids
online editions late Monday.
However, the two outlets, both close to Serbia’s rulers, withdrew the
articles later.
Alo called the blaze was punishment for “spitting on Serb victims” in the
1990s war in Kosovo, a breakaway province of Serbia where ethnic Albanians,
with US and NATO backing, won self-rule in 1999.
Serbia has rejected Kosovo’s 2008 claim to independence, and is sensitive
to any international recognition of Kosovo as a standalone state.
A tweet attributed to Serbia’s ambassador to Paris posted last November
said that Kosovo’s flag was among those of other countries decorating the
inside of Notre-Dame Cathedral for a ceremony marking the centenary of the
end of World War I.
Although there was no confirmation of that from the cathedral or French
authorities, the assertion — picked up by Serbian media — further strained
French-Serbian relations already taut because of the presence of Kosovo
President Hashim Thaci at the commemorations near to Serbian President
Aleksandar Vucic.
Serbia is currently marking the 20th anniversary of the NATO bombing
campaign that forced its troops out of Kosovo in 1999, a period that evokes
national trauma and humiliation.
Vucic, however, joined other world leaders in expressing solidarity with
France over the Notre-Dame fire, saying on Twitter that “all Serbian citizens
are sad” and are with their “French friends” and that his country was
prepared to help with the cathedral’s reconstruction.
BSS/AFP/RY/1620 hrs