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Behind the Scenes: How and why the Sunny Hill festival left Kosovo and invitations from Tirana 4 years ago

2022-06-15 19:35:32Fokus SHKRUAR NGA DORUNTINA BALIU
Behind the Scenes: How and why the Sunny Hill festival left Kosovo and
I love Lipa performing at Sunny Hill

Unable to use a 17-hectare plot of land in the municipality of Pristina for 99 years, the music festival, Sunny Hill Festival, moved from Pristina to Tirana. At least for this year.

This decision was taken on June 14, less than two months before the time the festival was scheduled to take place, from August 4-7.

In an announcement that sparked a wide debate in Kosovo, Dukagjin Lipa, founder and organizer of this festival and the father of the world star, Dua Lipa, said that the reason for this is the delay in the procedure for taking advantage of a space in the municipality of the capital of Kosovo. It is about a plot in Bërnica i Poshtme.

The procedure for allocating land for the use of the company Sunny Hill (LLC), which organizes the festival, was followed by political objections from the municipal level to the central one.

There were also objections from civil society and activists.

At the time the decision was announced that the festival would be relocated to Tirana, Kosovo institutions have not yet made a final decision on whether or not to grant land for use for the festival.

The departure of this edition of Sunny Hill from Kosovo, in addition to provoking numerous criticisms of politicians and citizens towards the Government, was also called a strategic mistake by the rapporteur for Kosovo in the European Commission, Viola von Cramon.

We bring you how the land-related procedure was conducted.

Controversial agreement between the Municipality of Prishtina and Sunny Hill

The Mayor of Prishtina, Përparim Rama, and a representative of the company Sunny Hill, started negotiations for the use of a plot of land in Prishtina for this festival in March 2022.

After the negotiating meetings held on March 21, April 6 and May 4, Mayor Rama and Sunny Hill reached an agreement that was presented to the Municipal Assembly of Prishtina. The agreement was voted on May 10.

According to this agreement, the company Sunny Hill would be given for use a plot in the village of Bërnica e Poshtme, in an area of ​​17 hectares.

This land would be leased for 99 years.

The law governing the lease of municipal property provides that municipalities may lease property for different periods, from one year to 99 years.

This agreement met with opposition within the municipal opposition.

Gëzim Sveçla, head of the assembly of Vetëvendosje Movement in the Municipality of Prishtina in a statement for Radio Free Europe said that in the meeting on May 10 they asked for this agreement to be reviewed in another later session, as the documentation, according to him, was not completed.

"We noticed that there are many shortcomings, the file was not complete. We were revolted and worried when we saw the terms of the contract, which were negotiated by the mayor ", said Sveçla.

According to him, the biggest opposition has been for the "great duration, 99 years".

"We have given other offers, we have given 10 years with the possibility of extension then", said Sveçla.

The second remark, according to him, had to do with the terms of the contract that prohibit the holding of any festival of a similar character "that competes with the Sunny Hill festival" in this area.

The agreement allowed only classical and jazz music events organized by the Municipality of Prishtina, the Kosovo Philharmonic, or the country to host philharmonic orchestras from around the world.

Behind the Scenes: How and why the Sunny Hill festival left Kosovo and
The plot is planned to be given to the company for the Sunny Hill festival, Bernica.

Further, according to the agreement, only 30 percent of the profits from the municipal organizations will belong to the Municipality of Prishtina. It is not stated to whom 70 percent of the other profits belong.

Despite the objections, the Municipal Assembly that day managed to pass this agreement with 26 votes in favor out of a total of 51 assembly members.

The assembly members of the ruling party in the municipality, the Democratic League of Kosovo, the party from which the mayor comes, and the Democratic Party of Kosovo voted in favor.

On the other hand, the assembly members of Vetëvendosje Movement, Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, as well as the Social Democratic Initiative voted against.

The Municipality of Prishtina did not respond to Radio Free Europe's questions about the claims of the municipal opposition that the file submitted to the Municipal Assembly was incomplete.

They also did not comment on the criticism that the mayor has negotiated harmful agreements for Pristina.

Contested in the second instance

After the Municipal Assembly of Prishtina on May 10 decided to give the land to the company Sunny Hill, according to applicable laws, this decision had to be sent to the Ministry of Local Government Administration (MLGA).

The MLGA was foreseen to make a decision indicating whether the decision of the municipality is legal or not.

On June 14, when the news came that the festival was moving to Tirana, the mayor of Prishtina, Përparim Rama, criticized the ministry for trying to interfere in the will and integrity of the majority assembly members of the Municipal Assembly. Prishtina ”.

The decision of the municipality was sent to the MLGA for review, on 16 May. According to a public explanation that this ministry made on June 14, they have requested additional documents in order to make the final decision on the legality or not of this decision.

According to the announcement of this ministry, the case had some "essential documents that were missing in the application".

Respectively, according to the MLGA, this decision lacked: The project presented by the investor and the dynamic investment realization plan, as well as the bank turnover for the previous year.

The Municipality of Prishtina has not responded regarding why these documents were missing in the application and when these documents are expected to be submitted to the MLGA.

Sunny Hill: The duration of the land use has been optional

Although the main objections to the municipality's agreement with Sunny Hill have to do with the duration of the land use, the representatives of this festival say that this has been optional for them.

Shpat Begolli, representative of the Sunny Hill festival, for Radio Free Europe has justified the point where they ask not to hold festivals of the same character in this area.

"This is done to protect the park from destruction that would be done if many events are organized during the year. At the same time, the Sunny Hill park will remain open for recreational use for the citizens during all other days ", it is said in Begolli's response.

He says allocating this land to just one park would have its rationale "without going into the investments and other benefits that Sunny Hill brings."

Begolli has repeated the complaint against the "delays of the Ministry of Local Government Administration".

"Nothing justifies the delay in approval or resolution of the problem by the MLGA to the point that the holding of the festival is endangered, a point that we have emphasized several times that if the start of works is delayed, the festival can not is held ", said Begolli for REL.

Citizens' complaints about the municipality's agreement with Sunny Hill

Radio Free Europe has provided the complaint that was sent to the MLGA by a group of citizens who call themselves the Informal Group for the Protection of Public Property.

In this complaint, citizens have several complaints regarding the agreement approved in the municipality.

Among other things, they complained about the lack of transparency, as this agreement was not published on the website of the Municipality.

In the citizens' complaint, they ask the MLGA to cancel this agreement.

Radio Free Europe learns that the Ministry of Local Government Administration has asked for an opinion on this issue from the Ministry of Agriculture, as well as the Ministry of Spatial Planning, because the plot in question is agricultural land, according to the municipal document.

In a response to REL, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Development said that on June 8, 2022 it received a request from the MLGA for an assessment of legality for this decision.

Behind the Scenes: How and why the Sunny Hill festival left Kosovo and
Sunny Hill Festival held in 2019 in Prishtina.

On June 15, this ministry said that it would respond in writing to the MLGA, without indicating when this response will be returned.

The Ministry of Spatial Planning has not responded to this issue until the publication of this text.

How will the festival be held in Tirana?

"Same dates, same beautiful experience, different location", this is the announcement that the "Sunny Hill" festival made on social media to announce the relocation of the festival in Tirana.

The news was quickly spread by the Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama, and the Mayor of Tirana, Erion Veliaj.

The organizers of the festival have informed REL that the open invitation from Tirana "has been present since 2018 and all parties have been very aware of this."

"The idea has always been for the festival to be held in both capitals," says Begolli.

He also announced that the festival will return to Pristina as soon as the conditions are created for it.

"Sunny Hill has its place in Prishtina. Whenever the conditions are created for Sunny Hill Festival to have access to a maintained property and permanent location, as well as the support of local and central institutions, then Sunny Hill will return to Prishtina. "We very much hope that this will be in 2023 if the preparations for the space continue from now on," he said.

According to Begolli, Sunny Hill will be held on the shores of an artificial lake in Tirana.

"The selected space is beautifully prepared and needs minimal interventions," he said.

The Sunny Hill Festival was held for the first time in Prishtina in 2018 and again in 2019.

Pristina has hosted some of the world's biggest music names, including Miley Cyrus, Dua Lipa, Calvin Harris, Martin Garrix, Action Bronson, and dozens of other artists.

The 2020 edition was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic./ REL

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