The ban on the festival comes a day after EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said no progress had been made during talks in Brussels to implement an EU-backed deal to normalize ties between Belgrade and Pristina .
Serbian police he banned a festival promoting cultural exchange with Kosovo following a far-right protest outside the event site.
In a statement, the Belgrade police mentioned safety concerns as a justification for preventing the event from taking place, stating that they wanted to prevent ‘dangers to the safety of people and property, as well as to public order on a wider scale’.
The police statement also stated that the protest against the festival, which was attended by several dozen right-wing extremists gathered outside the festival site, waving Serbian flags and banners reading ‘No surrender’was banned.
Several Serbian government officials have strongly criticized the festival in recent days, describing him as anti-Serbian.
While the festival has been alternately hosted in Serbia and Kosovo for the past ten yearsthis year’s ban in Serbia highlights a general hardening of the government’s stance towards its critics.
The Mirëdita festival, dobar dan, whose name means ‘hello’ in Albanian and Serbian, is organized by youth groups from Serbia and Kosovo and was due to open on Thursday with a theatre performance from Kosovo.
According to the festival’s website, the event, which was supposed to last two days, aims to “enrich regional perspectives and promote cooperation and peacebuilding.”
No progress on agreement between Belgrade and Pristina
The ban on the festival came a day after EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said no progress was made during talks in Brussels to implement an agreement between Belgrade and Pristina.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti had met to discuss an EU-backed plan to normalise ties. However, unresolved issues, including Pristina’s demands that Belgrade hand over the alleged organizers of the Banjska attack, they blocked further progress.
Speaking after the meetings, Borrell said that The European Union will continue to make all necessary efforts to normalize relations between Belgrade and Pristina.
“Kosovo was not ready for this, they were not willing to participate in this trilateral meeting. Serbia was ready, but it takes two to tango and we need two to sit around the table and continue the dialogue,” he added Borrell.
Borrell said on Wednesday, before the meeting, that a new series of dialogues between Belgrade and Pristina “hopefully it will send a different message and end on a different note.“
Brussels has warned both Belgrade and Pristina that refusing to compromise jeopardises the chances of Serbia and Kosovo to join the Union.
Il Kosovoa former Serbian region, declared independence in 2008, a move not recognized by Belgrade.
