Security situation remains “difficult” in Serbian capital, President Aleksandar Vucic says
The international EuroPride parade, set to be held in Belgrade this year, isn’t going ahead, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has reiterated, citing safety concerns as reasons for the decision.
Security conditions regarding the marche of LGBTQ activists to the capital did not change “difficult,”Vucic spoke Saturday.
“It’s possible that there could be major unrest… we want to avoid that,”The president elaborated.
Vucic had promised late August, that the parade would be stopped after hundreds of protestors marched through the capital.
According to him, it would be unsafe for the event to take place due to right-wing extremist threats and fears of violence.
EuroPride 2022 was chosen to be hosted by Serbia. It is scheduled for September 12-17. This pan-European LGBTQ festival is held every year in different cities across Europe and includes over a hundred events including pride parades.
Serbian authorities “won’t invent any nonsense” to ban the LGBTQ march, the president insisted on Saturday, refuting some reports claiming that the monkeypox epidemic could’ve been used as an excuse for the cancellation.
The decision on the parade will be made by the country’s interior ministry 96 hours before its planned kickoff “in line with the Constitution and laws,”He said.
One of the EuroPride 2022 organizers, Goran Miletic, insisted on Thursday that none of the festival’s range of activities, including the march, have yet been officially banned.
“We don’t consider it an option to cancel or postpone the Parade. It will happen according to a plan, because EuroPride cannot be imagined without a Parade,”Miletic encouraged everyone to participate in the September 17 march and invited them to “walk together for love.”
Dunja Mijatovic, the Commissioner for Human Rights at Council of Europe, stated earlier in this week that Brussels had been cooperating with Belgrade’s authorities “to ensure that freedom of assembly and freedom of expression are guaranteed for everyone, without discrimination”During the festival
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Mass protests against ‘EuroPride’ in Serbia
Serbia is a candidate for EU membership and has committed to LGBTQ rights in its integration.
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