Joe.My.God. LGBT News
The BBC reports:
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has said September’s EuroPride parade in Belgrade will not go ahead. Mr Vucic’s announcement comes after thousands of people marched in protest against the event earlier this month.
The president said he was not happy with the decision, but that Serbia had to concentrate on other issues, including trouble in Kosovo.
The parade organisers have said the parade will go ahead anyway, with any ban “illegal”. The international LGBT pride parade has been hosted in a different European city most years since 1992.
The New York Times reports:
“This is a violation of minority rights,” Mr. Vucic acknowledged, “but at this moment, the state is pressured by numerous problems.”
“I am not happy about it, but we can’t manage,” he added, in remarks reported by The Associated Press. Protesters, including far-right lawmakers and religious groups, have in recent weeks marched against the event, which is planned for Sept. 12-18.
“From our perspective, nothing has changed. The event is going ahead as planned,” said Steve Taylor, a board member of the European Pride Organizers Association, which licenses the festival.
The Guardian reports:
EuroPride organisers said Serbian authorities must provide security against “bullies” who threaten the march and seek to discredit it. The EPOA’s president, Kristīne Garina, urged the Serbian prime minister, Ana Brnabić, to honour a promise to support the event.
“President Vučić cannot cancel someone else’s event,” Garina said. “The right to hold Pride has been ruled by the European court of human rights to be a fundamental human right.”
An organiser in Serbia, Goran Miletić, said police must formally ban the march to prevent it from happening. If they issue a ban, organisers would file a complaint at Serbia’s constitutional court. He insisted that indoor events planned as part of the week-long celebration cannot be banned.
Serbia has pledged to protect LGBTQ rights as part of its application to join the European Union. The Serbian prime minister is openly lesbian.
EuroPride is separate from WorldPride, although when WorldPride is hosted in Europe no separate WorldPride event takes place.
EuroPride was first hosted by London in 1992. Last year’s host was Copenhagen and next year’s host will be Valletta, Malta.
Earlier this month Taiwanese organizers canceled 2025’s WorldPride event in a conflict over using “Taiwan” in its name.
WorldPride 2023 will be hosted by Sydney in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of the city’s first LGBTQ pride march.
Serbia’s president said he would not permit EuroPride, an annual gay pride event, to take place next month in the capital city, Belgrade. “This is a violation of minority rights,” he said, “but at this moment, the state is pressured by numerous problems.” https://t.co/9VPCUqHcdD
— The New York Times (@nytimes) August 27, 2022