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Serbian extremists threaten one of the organizers of the "Mirëdita, dobar dan" festival! They send a pig's head in a box (Photo)

2024-06-28 21:20:44Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
Serbian extremists threaten one of the organizers of the "Mirëdita,
The protest of Serbian extremists for blocking the festival

One of the organizers of the "Mirëdita, dobar dan" festival, Sofija Todorovic, was threatened through a letter sent to her address, a day after the Serbian state authorities banned the holding of this festival in Belgrade.

The threatening letter was also accompanied by a box, inside which was placed the severed head of a pig. The letter stated that "the situation in the world is changing and other times are coming".

The threatening letter was signed by the "People's Patrol". This is an unregistered far-right organization known for its actions against migrants and its ideological ties to groups from the Russian Federation.

Initially, Todorovic wrote on X - formerly known as Twitter - that a person called him on the phone and introduced himself as a courier and brought the package with the letter. She then called the police, who opened the box.

"This is human destiny and the state stands behind them. Don't forget, this is how they protect Kosovo", she wrote in another post.

The "People's Patrol" that took over the threatening message is an organization that became known to the public in Serbia in 2020, when a video showed 20 young men dressed in black blocking migrants and refugees in a center in Belgrade . Among them was Damjan Knezhević, who says he is the leader of the organization.

This group is also known for messages against the LGBT community, but also for spreading hatred on national, racial and religious grounds. Otherwise, the "Mirëdita, dobar dan" festival has been organized since 2014 by non-governmental organizations from Kosovo and Serbia.

The purpose of the festival is to improve the cultural cooperation between the artists of Kosovo and Serbia. This event, which is held sometimes in Kosovo and sometimes in Serbia, has constantly faced protests in Belgrade.

On June 27, at the venue where the festival was scheduled to open, far-right groups and fans blocked the entrance for festival organizers and guests. Shortly after, Serbia's Ministry of Internal Affairs ordered a ban on the festival, citing security concerns.

However, the organizers said that with this ban, the state aligned itself with the hooligans, as the ban on the festival was also criticized by the European Union and officials in Kosovo.

During the time when the rightists were protesting, some of the organizers, who remained trapped in the area where the festival was supposed to be held - and who left only in the late hours of June 27 after the protesters dispersed - told Radio Free Europe that there there were only four or five members of the police.

The spokesperson of the European Union, Peter Stano, has stated on June 28 that the state authorities have a duty to provide safe conditions for the participants in the "Mirëdita, dobar dan" festival.

The Prime Minister of Serbia, Miloš Vučević, has defended the decision to ban the festival and even said that there is "no reason" for such a festival to be held in Serbia.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, has stated that with the decision of the Serbian authorities to ban the holding of the festival, Serbia showed "again its implacable hostility towards everything that has to do with peace and reconciliation"./REL


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