On 6 May, the Gorani community traditionally gathers on the hills and in the villages of the Gora region to celebrate the beginning of spring. This day is considered the national holiday of the Gorani and has been recognised as a memorial day by Kosovo Law.

Ahead of the memorial day, a delegation of the Gora Community Network was received for a brief meeting with PM Isa Mustafa. Besides a representative of the Consultative Council for Communities within the Office of the President, however, no official representative of the Kosovo government or the local municipality of Dragash/Dragaš attended the 6 May festivities. This is a missed opportunity for the Kosovo institutions, as it would have been a strong symbolic gesture that the government is actually concerned about the difficult position of the Gorani community in Kosovo.

A noted guest at the festivities was Serbian Minister Aleksandar Vulin, who opened two employment offices in the area. Vulin’s visit symbolizes the continuing efforts of the Serbian Government to maintain strong links with the Gorani community. Serb politicians have repeatedly propagated the establishment of the current parallel Municipality of Gora within the Kosovo system as well as its subsequent inclusion in the Association/Community of Serb-Majority Municipalities. Many members of the Gorani community support this move, as it would guarantee the continued functioning of Serbian institutions while allowing them to enter into more direct cooperation with the central Kosovo institutions.

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