Mimoza Kusari-Lila, the Mayor of Gjakova/Djakovica municipality, wrote on her Facebook account today about the announced protest by Gjakova residents against a visit by Serb pilgrims to the city on Orthodox Christmas. Kusari-Lila argued that the right to protest is equal to the right for freedom of movement. “Gjakova has paid a high cost for all processes in Kosovo, but we need to gradually resort to normality. It is essential to continue to search and identify missing persons and to bring to justice those responsible for these crimes.

The news site reports that a group of Gjakova/Djakovica residents gathered today in front of the Orthodox Church to protest against a visit by Serb pilgrims for Orthodox Christmas. Protesters said they did not want people who took part in the Kosovo conflict to return to Gjakova where many crimes were committed in 1999. “I will stay here. Gjakova is the same as Srebrenica. I will not allow Serbs to pass here because they killed my 17 year-old son,” a protester told the news site. Kosovo Police, who were present at the site the whole time, arrested one of the protesters.

The Government of the Republic of Kosovo issued a press release on Saturday greeting “the incident-less accomplishment of Serbian pilgrims’ visits at the church in Gjakova, as well as in churches, monasteries and cemeteries in several other towns in Kosovo”.