Europride: in Belgrade, thousands of LGBTQ + activists march despite the ban – Le Monde

Europride march in Belgrade on September 17, 2022. ANDREJ ISAKOVIC / AFP They had warned that they would defy the ban. Thousands of members of the LGBTQ+ community marched on Saturday September 17 in Belgrade, under high police protection, despite the cancellation of the Europride march by the authorities. The parade itself, supposed to be the high point of this pan-European event which takes place each year in a different city, passed off without notable incident. But according to local media, clashes pitted the police against counter-demonstrators. Read also: Article reserved for our subscribers In Belgrade, Europride intends to defy the ban on marching Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic, openly lesbian, announced that 64 people had been arrested and 10 police officers injured on Saturday, while stressing that she was “proud” that the day ended “without serious incident”. The Serbian Interior Ministry had banned the march on Tuesday, citing security concerns, as far-right groups threatened to stage their own protests after a series of counter-Pride in the capital. The demonstrators were nevertheless able to travel a few hundred meters in the rain, between the Constitutional Council and a nearby park, a much shorter journey than the Pride march initially planned. Interior Minister Aleksandar Vulin assured that the ban had been applied, and that they were people “escorted to a concert”. Same-sex marriage banned in Serbia Large riot police were deployed around the rally and repelled small groups of counter-protesters brandishing crosses and religious insignia, according to Agence France journalists -Press (AFP). The Home Office had also banned counter-demonstrations, but users in far-right chat rooms had promised to protest Pride. According to the N1 television channel, scuffles occurred between police and counter-demonstrators, the latter throwing smoke bombs at the police, several of whose vehicles were damaged. AFP journalists saw several counter-demonstrators being arrested. A large police force had been deployed along the pride march, initially prohibited by the authorities. In Belgrade, September 17, 2022. OLIVER BUNIC / AFP Counter-protesters gathered in front of an Orthodox church, during the Europride march, in Belgrade, September 17, 2022. ANDREJ ISAKOVIC / AFP Same-sex marriage n It is not legal in this Balkan country of less than 7 million inhabitants, where homophobia is deeply rooted despite some progress against discrimination. “It’s about much more than a gay pride. We are fighting for the future of this country,” summed up Luka Mazzanti Jovicevic, a Serbian protester. “I’ve been to several Prides but this one is slightly more stressful than the others,” said model and activist Yasmin Benoit. “I am from the United Kingdom, where everyone is more united and where it is more commercial (…). But here, this is really what a Pride should be,” she added, referring to the societal struggle at the origins of the movement. International pressure The ban on the march caused consternation among rights NGOs. It’s a “shameful surrender, and implicit consecration of intolerance and threats of unlawful violence,” according to Graeme Reid, director of the LGBTQ+ rights program at Human Rights Watch. Serbia has been the subject of intense international pressure: more than 20 embassies, including those of the United States, France, Germany and Japan, had called on it in a joint statement to reconsider its decision. Serbia has been a candidate for EU membership for a decade, but member states have raised concerns over its human rights record over the years. At least fifteen members of the European Parliament took part in the Pride on Saturday to show their solidarity. Read also: Article reserved for our subscribers Serbia, Albania and North Macedonia, struggling with European integration The Pride marches of 2001 and then 2010 were targeted by the far right and marred by violence. Since 2014, the Pride has been held without notable incident, but under strong police protection. Last weekend, thousands of people, motorcycle gangs, Orthodox priests and far-right nationalists, took to the streets to demand the cancellation of the parade. Read also: Article reserved for our subscribers Serbia and Kosovo agree to avoid conflict on their border Le Monde with AFP