Status: 08/27/2022 5:15 p.m
The Serbian government wants to prevent a Pride parade planned for September. President Vucic cited crises in the country and economic problems as the reason. The organizers see the ban as a violation of the constitution.
Serbia’s government has canceled the Europride parade planned for September 17 in Belgrade, in which people wanted to demonstrate for the rights of non-heterosexuals. However, the organizers immediately said that the parade would still take place because the government had no right to ban it.
President cites current crises as the reason
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic justified the decision with current crises in the country, including the dispute with neighboring Kosovo, which Serbia does not recognize as an independent country. In addition, the authorities could not cope with such an event in the coming month due to economic problems.
“This is a violation of minority rights, but the state is under pressure from numerous problems at the moment,” Vucic said. In agreement with the government of Prime Minister Ana Brnabic, who herself lives with a woman, the decision was made to cancel the Pride.
Organizers refer to the constitution
“The state cannot cancel Europride – it can only try to ban it, which would be a clear violation of the constitution,” said Marko Mihailovic, one of the Pride organizers, on Twitter. There are clear judgments of the Constitutional Court.
As part of its EU accession efforts, Serbia has committed to protecting the rights of LGBTQ people – the English acronym LGBTQ stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer. It is one of the few countries that has an openly lesbian head of government in Brnabic.
But many members of sexual minorities in the country continue to face taboos, prejudice and violence. In a survey by human rights organizations Ideas and Glic published in 2020, almost 60 percent of members of sexual minorities surveyed reported experiences of physical or emotional abuse.
Church and right-wing organizations against parade
Three years ago, the organizers of Europride chose the Serbian capital to host the annual celebrations. The organizers stated that the Serbian authorities must ensure sufficient protection against people who threatened the parade and tried to discredit it. Right-wing extremist organizations and representatives of the Serbian Orthodox Church had previously caused a stir against the event.
Europride was first celebrated in London in 1992. According to the organizers, Belgrade should be the first city in Southeastern Europe to host this event.