Kosovo Gone, Serbia Faces ‘Separatist’ Tensions Elsewhere

Calls for greater independence and comparisons with Spain's Catalonia are dismissed out of hand by authorities in Serbia, a country yet to come to terms with the Western-backed secession of its former southern province of Kosovo.

More than a decade after majority-Albanian Kosovo declared independence, the issue of 'separatism' still haunts Serbia. And Vojvodina is not alone: a recent call for 'special status' for the southwestern Sandzak region, where many mainly Muslim Bosniaks live, was a red rag to the conservative government in Belgrade.

"We are growing every day," Young Vojvodina told BIRN.

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NO PASARAN! VOJBODINA NAZI FREE ZONE! #smrtfašizmu, #nećeproći, #vojvodinanovisad #vojvodinavojvođanima

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The group, which keeps the identity of its members secret but agreed to respond to questions via e-mail, said it operated in 23 towns and cities in Vojvodina, its members masked to protect their anonymity.

Besides graffiti calling for the creation of a republic, Young Vojvodina is known for its anti-fascist street slogans and for burning posters glorifying convicted Serbian war criminals.

"Usually, our actions are subversive, and because of the danger of arrest or street clashes, we usually carry them out when there are not many people on the streets," the group said.

The ultimate aim is a referendum on the status of Vojvodina. "If the idea of a federal state is extremism, then we are extremists," it told BIRN.

'Colonialism'

Vojvodina = Catalonia graffiti in Novi Sad. Photo: Facebook/Young Vojvodina

A region of some two million people, Vojvodina is...