Todorovic: There will be no public events at "Mirdita" on June 28, and the same amount of misunderstanding still exists

Sofija Todorovic from the Youth Initiative for Human Rights, one of the organizers of the "Mirdita, dobar dan" festival, says that the criticisms received this year regarding the event are not motivated by the date it falls on, and that for the festival’s opponents, any date would have been inopportune.

"It's not chosen for Vidovdan. The festival is from the 27th to the 29th, so we can't say that one specific date was chosen; that really wouldn't be fair or accurate. On the other hand, we already announced last week that there will be no public events on June 28th. We have already moved the festival twice due to elections, so every date is unfortunate. One year, when we had the festival in May, I think the Zavetnici came out with a story about how it was some major holiday and that we had ‘again done it on purpose’. Now, there will be no public events on the 28th and yet you still have the same amount of misunderstanding and falsehoods being spread about the festival. So, I think it’s not about Vidovdan," Todorovic tells Kosovo online.

She adds, as someone who respects her religion, culture, and tradition, she is unsure if it is appropriate to "exploit religious holidays to achieve political goals and agendas and to jeopardize a group of people."

"That is not the purpose of Vidovdan, and it never has been. It is important to me to counter the path that some people have been on for a long time and certain extreme elements of our society, which is to use every segment of Serbian religion, culture, and tradition for destructive goals, to proclaim the demolition of something, the destruction of something as something that will bring us a deserved victory. I think that is not the path we should follow," Todorovic states.

Regarding how successful the festival has been in its ten years of promoting cooperation between Belgrade and Pristina, our interlocutor says it has been very successful.

"A large number of young people, thanks to that festival, have visited both Serbia and Kosovo from all communities. The amount of cultural and artistic creation that we have displayed at the festival over the last ten years is incredible, and just imagine if there had been no 'Mirdita,' nothing would have been shown. The number of festival visitors increases year by year, as does the number of people who are curious and want to learn more. And that is important to me. Is that number sufficient, and are we louder than those who are against the festival? No. But it was never our goal to outshout them, and that's why I think it's important to return to what is actually the basic purpose of this festival. Many collaborations have emerged from this festival; artists and people who met at the festival itself later created together. I would like us to continue in that direction, but in happy circumstances where there will be more understanding," says Todorovic.

People who negatively comment on 'Mirdita, dobar dan' in Serbia, she adds, think that this does not exist in Kosovo when the festival there leads the Serbian contemporary cultural scene.

"Of course, it exists. But the goal of the festival is not to reconcile two extremist currents nor to bring them closer together. Extremist groups should be dealt with by security services, law enforcement, and the state as such, which does not want such types of ideology and behavior to be propagated in society. We had 'Mirdita' in 2017 and 2018, and 2018 was particularly problematic, but in 2022 nothing happened. So, it seems that it is not about the festival, nor the dates it falls on or does not fall on, because in 2018 there were a thousand reasons for the disgraceful image to leave Belgrade, and in 2022 that was not the case, but now it is again. I think all those who participate in that campaign of misuse and the political exploitation of a festival that brings people together should be very ashamed," Todorovic states.