Thousands of people marched against Europride in Belgrade – Le Figaro

Equipped with nationalist and religious banners, the demonstrators hope for a cancellation of events promoting the LGBT community. Thousands of people marched on Sunday, September 11 in Belgrade against the holding of Europride. While this pan-European gathering of the LGBTQ community is due to take place from September 12 to 18 in the Serbian capital, opposition is raging. Among the opponents: clerics from the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC), traditionalist groups and far right. Equipped with icons, religious flags and crosses, the demonstrators attempted a tour de force to push the government to ban this week of “festivities”, according to the organizers. Equipped with icons, religious flags and crosses, the Protesters attempted a tour de force to push the government to ban this week of “festivities”. ZORANA JEVTIC / REUTERSWhile Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic announced at the end of August that the parade would be “postponed or cancelled”, the police have until Tuesday September 13 to announce whether or not the pride march will be maintained, the culmination of the ‘Europride.Organizers criticized the move, saying the government had no right to cancel the Pride march. For the president, these are not only “security” reasons, linked to a new rise in tensions in Kosovo, but also energy. 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. Despite an increase in tensions in recent weeks in the country, the organizers of Europride are determined to maintain this week of festivities, whose point highlight must be the pride parade on Saturday 17 September.