Kosovo Police Halt Children's Magic Show in Lesak

Kosovo police officers halted a magic show for children on Tuesday evening, September 15, that had been scheduled at the Cultural Center in Lesak. The program was due to start at 6 p.m. and featured magician Bokac and clown Paja.

Veton Eljshani, deputy Kosovo police commander for the North region, said the organizers did not have a municipal permit for the gathering, and that this was the reason the show was called off.

“The municipality issues the permit. They didn’t have one, so the show did not take place,” Eljshani said.

He added that police are currently stepping up permit checks on all large gatherings in northern Kosovo, saying the situation at the moment calls for heightened attention. He confirmed the connection himself: the tighter measures are tied to an operational plan ahead of the verdict at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague, scheduled for Wednesday, September 16, at 10 a.m., when large demonstrations of support for four former leaders of the so-called KLA have also been announced in Pristina.

The Lesak program was the first of five performances announced across northern Kosovo. A show was scheduled the same evening in Socanica at 8 p.m., followed by Leposavic on Wednesday at 6 p.m., and on Thursday, September 17, by performances in Zubin Potok at 6 p.m. and Zvecan at 8 p.m. According to N1, organizers received the program announcement from an individual email address. Whether the remaining shows will go ahead is not yet known.

Petar Petkovic, director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, said around a hundred Serb children had been waiting for the Lesak performance, and described the incident as an example of Pristina’s double standards.

“Pristina’s policy of double standards is clear: a gathering of tens of thousands of Albanians in support of the so-called KLA criminals is allowed, yet a gathering of about a hundred Serb children who just wanted to enjoy a fun show is banned!” Petkovic wrote on X.

The cancellation came on the eve of one of the most politically sensitive days in northern Kosovo this year. The verdict against the four former KLA leaders in The Hague is set for Wednesday morning, and the planned support rallies in Pristina and other cities have further raised Kosovo police security measures, which, according to Eljshani, also affected how the announced children’s program in Lesak was handled.