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Serbia Strong

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"Karadžić, Lead Your Serbs"
Still from the video showing an Novislav Djajic (right) and Nenad Tintor (left) playing the accordion and trumpet[citation needed]
Songby Željko Grmuša
Released1993
GenreTurbo-folk
Length3:38

Serbia Strong(Serbian:Србија јака,romanized:Srbija jaka) is a nickname given to aSerb nationalist,anti-Croatandanti-Muslimpropagandamusic video[1]from theYugoslav Wars.[2][3][4][5]The song has spread globally amongstfar-rightgroups and thealt-rightas aninternet meme.[2][3][6]

The song was originally called "Karadžić, Lead Your Serbs"(Serbian:Караџићу, води Србе своје,romanized:Karadžiću, vodi Srbe svoje,pronounced[kâradʒitɕuʋǒdisr̩̂besʋǒje]) in reference to theBosnian Serbmilitary leader and convicted war criminalRadovan Karadžić.[7]It is also known as "God Is a Serb and He Will Protect Us"(Serbian:Бог је Србин и он ће нас чувати,romanized:Bog je Srbin i on će nas čuvati,pronounced[bôːɡjesr̩̂biniôːntɕenastʃǔːʋati])[a]and "Remove Kebab".[2][3]

Background

See also:Anti-Croat sentiment,Islamophobia,Anti-Turkism,andGreater Serbia

At the peak of the inter-ethnic wars of the 1990s thatbroke up Yugoslavia,a song called "Karadžiću, vodi Srbe svoje" (English:"Karadžić, Lead Your Serbs") was recorded in 1993.[2][7]The song was composed as a morale boosting tune for Serbian forces during one of the wars.[7]In the video of the song, the tune is performed by four males in Serbian paramilitary uniforms at a location with hilly terrain in the background.[2]Footage of capturedMuslimprisoners in wartimeSerb-run internment campsare featured in a falsified[8]version of the video which is popular on the Internet.[9]

Parts of the tune attempt to instill a sense of foreboding in their opponents with lines such as "The wolves are coming – beware, Ustashe and Turks".[2][3][9]Derogatory terms are used in the song, such as "Ustaše"in reference to ultranationalist and fascist[10]Croatfighters and "Turks"forBosniaks,with lyrics warning thatSerbs,under the leadership ofRadovan Karadžić,were coming for them.[2][3][5][9]

The song's content celebrates Serb fighters and the killing of Bosniaks and Croats along with wartimeBosnian Serbleader Radovan Karadžić, who was on 24 March 2016 found guilty ofgenocide against Bosnian Muslimsandcrimes against humanityduring theBosnian War(part of theYugoslav Wars).[2][9][11]Karadžić was convicted of "persecution, extermination, deportation, forcible transfer, and murder in connection with his campaign to drive Bosnian Muslims and Croats out of villages claimed by Serb forces".[12]On 20 March 2019, his appeal was rejected and his40 year sentencewas increased tolife imprisonment.[13]During the Bosnian War, the song was a marching anthem for nationalist Serb paramilitaries (revived "Chetniks").[14]

The song has been rewritten multiple times in various languages and has retained its militant and anti-Bosnian themes.[2]"Remove Kebab" is the name for the song used by the alt-right and otherultranationalistgroups.[5]

Internet popularity

Between 2006 and 2008, numerous edits of the video, originally made for themockumentaryTV showČetnovizija,[15][user-generated source]were posted on the Internet.[2]Throughout the 2000s, the video was parodied for its aggressivelyjingoisticnature.[16]Meanwhile, aTurkishinternet user parodied the sentiment of Serbian nationalists online, with a satirical incoherentrantbeginning with "remove kebab" and ending with the claim thatTupacis alive in Serbia.[17]Although the rant initially intended to parody racism, the origins were lost once it became a common phrase inalt-rightdiscourse.[18]

The meme gained popularity amongstfansofHearts of Iron IVandEuropa Universalis IV,grand strategycomputer games byParadox Interactive,[16][19]where it referred to the player aiming to defeat theOttoman Empireor otherIslamic nationswithin these games.[16]The word "kebab" was eventually banned from Paradox Interactive's officialforumsdue to frequent use by the alt-right and otherultranationalists.[19]Shortly after theChristchurch mosque shootings,the meme was also banned fromRedditcommunities based around Paradox Interactive games.[18]The meme also appeared in over 800 threads in ther/The_Donaldsubreddit.[4][20]

The song's popularity rose over time with radical elements of many right-wing groups within theWest.[2][3]The song is far more famous in the rest of the world than in theBalkans.[21][22][23]Novislav Đajić, the song's alleged accordion player, has since become a widespread4chanmeme and is called "Dat Face Soldier"or the image itself as" Remove Kebab ".[2][3][4][24][20]Đajić had been convicted inGermanyfor his part in the murder of 14 people during the war, resulting in 5 years imprisonment and deportation to another country following his jail sentence in 1997.[2]

Academic research found that in a dataset obtained by scrapingKnow Your Memein 2018, "Remove Kebab" constituted 1 of every 200 entries per community in a data set sampled for political memes.[25]"Remove Kebab" was particularly common onGab,analt-techsocial media platform known for its far-right userbase.[25]

Christchurch mosque shootings

See also:Christchurch mosque shootings

Brenton Harrison Tarrant, the Australian gunman in theChristchurch mosque shootings,had the phrase "Remove Kebab" written on one of his weapons.[2]In his manifestoThe Great Replacement(named aftera far-right theory of the same nameby French writerRenaud Camus), he describes himself as a "part-time kebab removalist".[3][24]He alsolivestreamedhimself playing the song in his car minutes before the shooting.[2][5][26][27]

Following the shootings, various videos of the song were removed fromYouTube,including some with over a million views. Users quickly re-uploaded the tune, saying it was to "protest censorship".[28]In an interview following the shooting, the main singer of the song, Željko Grmuša, said, "It is terrible what that guy did in New Zealand, of course I condemn that act. I feel sorry for all those innocent people. But he started killing and he would do that no matter what song he listened to."[7][21]

Notes

  1. ^
    It is sometimes simply abbreviated to "God Is a Serb"(Serbian:Бог је Србин,romanized:Bog je Srbin,IPA:[bôːɡjesr̩̂bin]).

References

  1. ^Doyle, Gerry (15 March 2019)."New Zealand mosque attacker's plan began and ended online".Reuters.Archivedfrom the original on 15 March 2019.Retrieved16 March2019.
  2. ^abcdefghijklmnoCoalson, Robert (15 March 2019)."Christchurch Attacks: Suspect Took Inspiration From Former Yugoslavia's Ethnically Fueled Wars".Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.Retrieved15 March2019.
  3. ^abcdefgh"Mosque shooter brandished material glorifying Serb nationalism".Al Jazeera English. 15 March 2019.Archivedfrom the original on 15 March 2019.Retrieved16 March2019.
  4. ^abcWard, Justin (19 April 2018)."Day of the trope: White nationalist memes thrive on Reddit's r/The_Donald".splcenter.org.Southern Poverty Law Center.Archivedfrom the original on 1 February 2019.Retrieved16 March2019.
  5. ^abcdSchindler, John R. (20 March 2019)."Ghosts of the Balkan wars are returning in unlikely places".The Spectator.Archived fromthe originalon 22 March 2019.Retrieved21 March2019.
  6. ^Hemmer, Nicole(2 December 2016)."Tweedy racists and" ironic "anti-Semites: the alt-right fits a historical pattern".Vox.Archivedfrom the original on 5 February 2019.Retrieved16 March2019.
  7. ^abcdNestorović, V. (16 March 2019)."Željko objasnio kako je zaista nastala njegova pesma uz koju je Tarant počinio pokolj na Novom Zelandu!".alo.rs(in Serbian).Archivedfrom the original on 16 March 2019.Retrieved16 March2019.
  8. ^Oğuz, Renan Furkan (9 October 2020)."The Internet's Winding Roads to White Supremacy".Arc Digital.Archived fromthe originalon 9 March 2021.Retrieved7 January2021.
  9. ^abcdGambrell, Jon (15 March 2019)."Mosque shooter brandished white supremacist iconography".Associated Press.Archivedfrom the original on 15 March 2019.Retrieved16 March2019.
  10. ^Tomasevich, Jozo (2001).War and revolution in Yugoslavia, 1941-1945: occupation and collaboration.Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press.ISBN0-8047-3615-4.OCLC45820953.
  11. ^Halilovich, Hariz (19 March 2019)."Long-Distance Hatred: How the NZ Massacre Echoed Balkan War Crimes".Transitions Online.Archivedfrom the original on 13 April 2019.Retrieved13 April2019.
  12. ^Simons, Marlise(24 March 2016)."Radovan Karadzic, a Bosnian Serb, Gets 40 Years Over Genocide and War Crimes".The New York Times.New York.Retrieved24 March2016.
  13. ^"UN appeals court increases Radovan Karadzic's sentence to life imprisonment".Associated Press.20 March 2019.Retrieved23 March2019.
  14. ^"New Zealand mosque shooting: What is known about the suspects?".BBC News.British Broadcasting Corporation. 18 March 2019.Retrieved19 March2019.
  15. ^Karadzicu, vodi Srbe svoje (Video 1995) - IMDb
  16. ^abcKatz, Jonty (13 March 2017)."Video games of the alt-right".Honi Soit.University of Sydney. Archived fromthe originalon 13 February 2019.Retrieved23 March2019.
  17. ^"Serbia Strong / Remove Kebab".Know Your Meme.21 June 2010.Retrieved14 June2024.
  18. ^abKhan, Rumi (6 July 2019)."The Alt-Right as Counterculture: Memes, Video Games and Violence".Harvard Political Review.Archived fromthe originalon 3 September 2021.Retrieved3 September2021.
  19. ^abWinkie, Luke (6 June 2018)."The Struggle Over Gamers Who Use Mods To Create Racist Alternate Histories".Kotaku.Archived fromthe originalon 28 February 2019.Retrieved23 March2019.
  20. ^abSixsmith, Ben (15 March 2019)."Guns Internet Life Media: The dark extremism of the 'extremely online'".The Spectator.Archived fromthe originalon 19 August 2020.Retrieved16 March2019.
  21. ^ab"Autor pjesme koju je napadač slušao prije pokolja:" Kakve veze pjesma ima s terorističkim napadom? "".Dnevnik.hr(in Croatian). 16 March 2019.Retrieved16 March2019.
  22. ^"Autor četničkog pjesmuljka kojeg je Tarrant slušao prije masakra živi kod Knina: Naravno da se osjećam ugroženo".hrvatska-danas(in Croatian). 16 March 2019.Retrieved17 August2020.
  23. ^"Zašto je ubica slušao krajišku pesmu pre masakra? Šta se krije iza pokreta" Remove kebab ", koji poziva i na ubijanje muslimana (VIDEO)".telegraf.rs(in Croatian). 16 March 2019.Retrieved17 August2020.
  24. ^abWeill, Kelly; Sommer, Will (15 March 2019)."Mosque Attack Video Linked to 'White Genocide' Rant".The Daily Beast.Retrieved15 March2019.
  25. ^abZannettou, Savvas; Caulfield, Tristan; Blackburn, Jeremy; De Cristofaro, Emiliano; Sirivianos, Michael; Stringhini, Gianluca; Suarez-Tangil, Guillermo (31 October 2018).On the origins of memes by means of fringe web communities(PDF).ACM. pp. 5, 9.{{cite book}}:|work=ignored (help)
  26. ^Koziol, Michael (15 March 2019)."Christchurch shooter's manifesto reveals an obsession with white supremacy over Muslims".The Sydney Morning Herald.Archivedfrom the original on 15 March 2019.Retrieved15 March2019.
  27. ^Zivanovic, Maja (15 March 2019)."New Zealand Mosque Gunman 'Inspired by Balkan Nationalists'".BalkanInsight.Balkan Investigative Reporting Network.Retrieved15 March2019.
  28. ^Covucci, David (18 March 2019)."YouTubers keep uploading racist meme anthem played by New Zealand shooter".The Daily Dot.Retrieved22 March2019.

External links

Look upserbia strongin Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
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