In September, Belgrade was due to host Europride, a pan-European LGBTQI event. But President Aleksandar Vucic canceled the Pride event due to “security concerns”. The rest of Europe is not happy about it.
It should be the first Europride in Southeast Europe. From September 12th to 18th in the Serbian capital Belgrade there should be parades, conferences, theatre, film and arts at this LGTBQI Community Festival, which has been organized in a different European country every summer since 1992. LGBTQI stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex.
But one thwarts the plan: Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic. He said over the weekend: “The Pride parade, or whatever you call it, will be postponed or canceled.”
There are “all sorts of problems,” including bottlenecks in energy and food supplies. But there are also security concerns over recent tensions between Serbia and Kosovo. Vucic said he was “not happy” about the decision to cancel Europride, “but we can’t do everything at once”. “Of course this endangers the rights of minorities and that is a problem for us, but at the moment the state is being pressured by all sorts of problems.”
Lesbian Prime Minister defends rejection
The government of the country also insisted on a cancellation. Prime Minister Ana Brnabic – openly a lesbian and living with a woman – also justified the ban with the threat of tensions with neighboring Kosovo, although both states had actually settled their dispute over the mutual recognition of personal documents.
“Hellish times” are coming to Serbia because there are fears of further steps by Kosovo, said Brnabic, as reported by the Serbian media. It is true that an agreement has been reached with the neighboring country regarding the personal papers. But there are still tensions because no agreement has been reached on how to deal with the license plates of both countries. The task now is to have all the capacities of the security forces ready “to prevent any violence in Kosovo.” There were not enough police forces left to secure Europride, Brnabic continued.
Serbia is in constant dispute with Kosovo because Belgrade does not recognize the independence of its former Serbian province, which was declared in 2008. An agreement on how to deal with personal documents was reached after mediation between the EU and the USA.
Europride still wants to take place
After the cancellation, the organizers immediately stated that they wanted to stick to the date. “The state cannot cancel Europride – it can only try to ban it, which would be a clear violation of the constitution,” said coordinator Marko Mihajlovic.
“It’s quite a defeat for Serbia,” Mihajlovic told the news magazine “politico”. “Now that we are organizing an event of European scale in Belgrade and a lot of people have announced their participation and bought tickets, it will be cancelled.”
The President of the Association of European Organizers of Pride Events (Epoa), Kristine Garina, stated: “Neither the hosts nor we as licensors will cancel Europride”. She denounced the “illegalness of such a ban” and stressed that Europride was “a celebration of human rights and equality”.
EU parliamentarians write an appeal to Vucic and the government
There is also a lack of understanding in the rest of Europe for the cancellation of Europride. Norway’s Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt wrote on Twitter: “We are all born free and equal in dignity and rights, and sexual and gender diversity exists in all countries and communities. I support Europride and encourage Serbia to facilitate Europride 2022 in Belgrade.”
Sweden’s Foreign Minister also wrote on Twitter: “Hosting Europride is an honor and an opportunity to emphasize the principle of non-discrimination, a human right. I regret to hear that Serbia is withdrawing its support for the event. LGBTQI rights are human rights.”
A number of MEPs have asked Vucic to reverse the decision. “Prides was and remains an important tool for the visibility of the LGBTQI community,” said 145 MEPs in a statement on Wednesday Letter to the President of Serbia. Vucic should let the parade “take place as planned” in mid-September.
The European parliamentarians, including German members of the Greens, SPD, Left and FDP, also called for enough security forces for more security at the parade. “We are aware that the safety of the demonstrators is threatened,” but a ban on the event “is not the right solution,” the letter continued. Violent counter-protests at Prides are “unfortunately not new”, which is why the police should “react efficiently and sufficiently”.
LGBTQI face violence in Serbia
The first gay pride marches in Belgrade in 2001 and 2010 were marred by violence. The rally has taken place regularly since 2014, accompanied by a large security presence. Many members of sexual minorities continue to see themselves confronted with taboos, prejudices and violence in the Balkan state. 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.
But there are also supporters of the government’s decision: Thousands of Orthodox Christians took to the streets in the Serbian capital of Belgrade on Sunday to support the government’s cancellation of Europride. As a photographer reported to the AFP news agency, the demonstrators carried icons of saints, crosses and religious flags through the city center, singing and praying.
People hold pictures of Russian President Putin (M) and controversial World War II Serbian leader Mihailovic (l) during a protest against the international LGBT event Europride.
© Darko Vojinovic/AP/DPA
Orthodox Church Openly Against LGBTQI
At the end they gathered in front of the Cathedral of Saint Sava. Bishop Nikanor commended the government’s decision to end “the desecration of our country, our church and our family”. The believers are ready to take to the streets again “to oppose those who want to destroy Serbia’s values”. The Serbian Orthodox Church has historically played an important role in influencing public opinion about gay, lesbian and other sexual minorities.
As seen in video footage released by the Glas Yavnosti news website, the bishop called non-heterosexual lifestyles an “abnormality” that should be dealt with like in the Russia of Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin. The bishop referred to him as the “Tsar of the Planet”.