Serbia: Thousands of people march once again in Belgrade against Europride – 20 Minutes

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 next Saturday a Pride march, the culmination of a week of events and festivities, while the authorities seem to want to ban its holding. Many religious signs in the procession Protesters, including many religious of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC), have parade in the center of Belgrade at the call of traditionalist groups, of the extreme right or of the SPC. They carried icons, religious flags and crosses, and some promised to stage a counter-demonstration if Europride organizers stick 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 this event, namely Tuesday, if it can be organized or not. 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. The organizers from Europride criticized the decision, 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.