Facts & Circumstances

24.03.2008

Serbian swimmer Milorad Čavić won a golden medal at European Championships and beat the European record in 50m butterfly discipline, but he was banned from competing further at Eindhoven, the Netherlands.

The first place, broken European record and a golden medal are without doubt, FACTS, and the subsequent suspension is a CIRCUMSTANCE, which seemed hard-hitting at first sight. As time passed, however, it turned out to be a fantastic PR coup not only for Cavic, but for the whole Serbia too, which is emerging in the public relations field more and more frequently as a positive case study.

Milorad Cavic was banned from competing further, as he was wearing a t-shirt saying "KOSOVO JE SRBIJA" ("Kosovo is Serbia") during the medal ceremony. LEN (Ligue Européenne de Natation) punished him by suspension and fined the Serbian Swimming Federation with 7000 EUR, as it considered this as a political view shown at a sport competition. LEN decided to react in a strict manner only after the medal ceremony. Be it on purpose or accidentally, yet Cavic was not warned that he could be suspended, nor did anyone prevent him from wearing a t-shirt. Thus, LEN did a favour to Cavic, since this fantastic young man of Serbia managed to remind the whole world public whom Kosovo belongs to.
In the Netherlands it is clear that the law regarding sports should be respected and that is why Cavic was punished. International law, however, can be breached and that is why the Netherlands recognized unilateral independence of Kosovo. The question is: Can disrespect of basic principles of International law in the Netherlands be compensated by diligent respect of law in sport? It seems it cannot.

Can suspension from further competition by LEN change the fact that Cavic is the best swimmer? Can the recognition of Kosovo by the most powerful countries in the world change the fact that Kosovo is a part of Serbia? It seems they cannot.

Even if he did not continue competing, Cavic proved to be the best swimmer and European recorder in his category and it is this FACT that will enter history. Despite CIRCUMSTANCES in which Kosovo adopted a certain declaration and no matter how many countries and in which way recognized this illegal and illegitimate act and thus accompliced in it, thanks to thousand years' Serbian history and culture in Kosovo the FACT is that Kosovo is Serbia.

Those who held a lecture of law and democracy during this sport event - reacted politically. For what does the act of suspension of competitors due to a factual t-shirt slogan represent, if not a political act? Expressing the simplest factual state in a democratic country where the sport competition took place was obviously not desirable and Cavic felt that. On the other hand, should not disrespect of international law in this same state be at least a bit less desirable, and not a popular democratic measure tacitly accepted and those who oppose it publicly punished?

When the breach of international law is punished proportionately to the temporary break of sport rules or when this breach is at least stopped, we will start believing in honest intentions of democratic countries including the Netherlands. In the meantime, we ask for your forgiveness if some of our fabulous sportsmen use certain chances to point out the facts (including those of non-sport character), which certain powerful countries in the world tend to « forget ».

And you, yourself, don't forget - the rich and powerful have changed in history, papers had or did not have political weight in certain political environments or moments, but a thousand years' history and culture of Serbia in Kosovo is immune to papers, which in perspective, (and despite the CIRCUMSTANCES), represent only a well organized banality. Because « Kosovo je Srbija » as a matter of FACT.