| "Karadžić, Lead Your Serbs" | |
|---|---|
 Still from the video showing the trumpeter Nenad Tintor and the accordionist whose identity is unverified | |
| Song by Željko Grmuša, Slobodan Vrga, Nenad Tintor and unknown accordionist | |
| Language | Serbian |
| English title | Karadžić, Lead Your Serbs |
| Released | 1993 |
| Genre | Turbo-folk |
| Length | 3:38 |
Serbia Strong orSerbia Stronk (Serbian:Србија јака,romanized: Srbija jaka) is a nickname given to aSerb nationalist,anti-Croat andanti-Muslimpropaganda music video[1] from theYugoslav Wars.[2][3][4][5] The song has spread globally as aninternet meme, including amongstfar-right groups and thealt-right.[2][3][6]
The song was originally called "Karadžić, Lead Your Serbs" (Serbian:Караџићу, води Србе своје,romanized: Karadžiću, vodi Srbe svoje,pronounced[kâradʒitɕuvǒdisr̩̂besvǒje]) in reference to theBosnian Serb military 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[bôːɡjesr̩̂biniôːntɕenastʃǔːvati])[a] and "Remove Kebab".[2][3]
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 capturedMuslim prisoners in wartimeSerb-run internment camps are 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, Ustashas and Turks".[2][3][9] Derogatory terms are used in the song, such as "Ustashas" in reference to ultranationalist and fascist[10]Croat fighters 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 wartimeBosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadžić, who was on 24 March 2016 found guilty ofgenocide against Bosnian Muslims andcrimes against humanity during 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 sentence was 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 otherultranationalist groups.[5]
Between 2006 and 2008, numerous edits of the video, originally made for themockumentary TV showČetnovizija,[15][user-generated source] were posted on the Internet.[2] Throughout the 2000s, the video was parodied for its aggressivelyjingoistic nature.[16] Meanwhile, aTurkish internet user parodied the sentiment of Serbian nationalists online, with a satirical incoherentrant beginning with "remove kebab" and ending with the claim thatTupac is alive in Serbia.[17][user-generated source?] Although the rant initially intended to parody racism, the origins were lost once it became a common phrase inalt-right discourse.[18]
The meme gained popularity amongst fans ofHearts of Iron IV andEuropa Universalis IV,grand strategy computer games byParadox Interactive,[16][19] where it referred to the player aiming to defeat theOttoman Empire or otherIslamic nations within these games.[16] The word "kebab" was eventually banned from Paradox Interactive's officialforums due to frequent use by the alt-right and otherultranationalists.[19] Shortly after theChristchurch mosque shootings, the meme was also banned fromReddit communities based around Paradox Interactive games.[18] The meme also appeared in over 800 threads in ther/The_Donald subreddit.[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] The accordion player (who was speculated to be Novislav Ðajić, however this remains unverified) has since become a widespread4chan meme and is called "Dat Face Soldier" or the image itself as "Remove Kebab".[2][3][4][24][20] Đajić himself had been convicted in Germany for 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 Meme in 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-tech social media platform known for its far-right userbase.[25]
Brenton Harrison Tarrant, the Australian gunman in the Christchurch 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 name by French writerRenaud Camus), he describes himself as a "part-time kebab removalist".[3][24] He alsolivestreamed himself 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]
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