In Belgrade, demonstrations continue against Europride. Thousands of people marched on Sunday against the holding in the Serbian capital of this pan-European gathering of the LGBTQ community.
Tension has risen a notch in recent weeks in Serbia, where the organizers of Europride are determined to organize a pride march next Saturday, the culmination of a week of events and festivities, while the authorities seem to want prohibit its holding.
Many religious signs in the procession
Demonstrators, including many clerics from the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC), marched through the center of Belgrade at the call of traditionalist, far-right groups and even the SPC. They carried icons, religious flags and crosses, and some promised to stage a counter-protest if Europride organizers went ahead with their plan to march.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, who announced in late August that the parade would be “postponed or canceled”, said Saturday that the police would finally announce 96 hours before the event, namely Tuesday, whether or not it can be organized. He mentioned “security” reasons, linked to a new rise in tensions in Kosovo, a former Serbian province with a majority Albanian population, which declared its independence in 2008, which Belgrade does not recognize, but also problems related to energy.
Europride organizers criticized the move, saying the government had no right to cancel the Pride march. The first two Belgrade Pride Marches, in 2001 and 2010, were marred by violence. The parade has been organized regularly since 2014, but with a large presence of law enforcement.