Daciq does not want Kosovars and Serbs to socialise with each other, calls for cancelling the festival “Good afternoon, Dobar dan” in Belgrade

Serbia's Interior Minister, Ivica Dacic, said on June 18th that he believes that the <x0-day festival, Dobar dan”, which is expected to be held in Belgrade in late June, should be cancelled.

The festival has been organised since 2014 and aims to establish a platform for co-operation and dialogue between the citizens of Serbia and Kosovo.

Dacic said the event is not being organised “in state space” and that it cannot say at this moment what the state will take over.

Police have authority when it comes to underground gatherings, but when it comes to gatherings in closed environments we have no role. I think it's generally a high-risk rally and we appeal to cancel the whole event”, he said on Pink television.

The festival presents Kosovo's cultural and social scene to the public, and this year it is organised from 27 June to 29 June.

Earlier, festival organisers announced that the programme will be modified this year so there will be no public events when Vidovdani is celebrated in Serbia on 28 June.

Parasely, Belgrade Mayor Aleksandar Shapiq's task counsel, declared on June 15th that the city administration would not give any approval to hold this festival, while organisers charged that “has pointed fingers in the eyes of the Serbian state” as “Goodday” is being held in Vidovan.

Vidovdan is a religious holiday, marking the Serbian Orthodox Church as commemorating the suffering of Serbs in the battle against the Turkish Army in Kosovo in 1389.

On the same day, Serbia's deputy prime minister, Aleksandar Vulin, said holding the Kosovo Culture Festival in Vidovdan is “ -- whose purpose the state of Serbia must respond to”.

“If the state doesn't respond, there will be room for citizens to say what they think of such disgust”, Voulin said.

According to organisers' reports, the edition this year “will represent a combination of art, contemporary cultural scene, but also the initiative of important issues involving the past and the future in time presenting a major challenge to relations between Serbia and Kosovo”.

The festival has been associated with calls and efforts by right-wing organisations and parties in Serbia for its ban.

The “Good afternoon festival, Dobar dan”, was held for the first time at full capacity in Pristina in 2021.

It is organised by Integre NGO Youth Initiative for Human Rights, ZFD Forum, Festival DAM and Civic Initiatives, with the support of the Kosovar Foundation for Open Society. / REL