Kosovo: New Clinton Photo Angers Prishtiners
Text by Balkan Insight
But the huge billboard along Bill Clinton Boulevard has had a makeover, and it is not to the taste of many Prishtiners.
The new official photo (in the above photograph) has angered neighbours in the Dardania area, who claim the new picture shows a stuffy, formal former president.
“We were used to seeing the old photo in which the president seems to greet us every day. I can’t get used to this new photo,” said Shaqir Dibrani, from the Dardania neighborhood.
According to him, if residents had been asked whether to replace the photo, nobody would have accepted the change. “When I saw the old photo, I felt that the president was saying to me: ‘Enjoy the freedom’,” added Dibrani.
But Muhamed Gashi, spokesperson for Pristina’s Municipality, said that the photo was changed because the old one was getting tatty. “It’s important to have the president there, no matter what the posture is,” said Gashi.
Kosovo’s authorities have also decided to put up a statue of Bill Clinton in the Dardania neighborhood, very close to the centre of Pristina.
Clinton’s popularity stems from his support for NATO bombing against Serbia in 1999.
This article is courtesy of Balkan Insight, the online publication of the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, which contains analytical reports, in-depth analyses and investigations and news items from throughout the region covering major challenges of the political, social and economic transition in the Balkans.
Read more about Kosovo on BalkanTravellers.com
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