The EU delegation in Serbia condemns the possible cancellation of Europride
Thousands of Orthodox faithful demonstrated this Sunday night in Belgrade in protest against a possible celebration of the Europride en Serbia, an event that is held every year in a different European city, despite the decision of the authorities to cancel the great meeting of the community LGTBIQ + scheduled for September.
President of Serbian, Aleksandar Vucic, announced on Saturday the decision to cancel the planned march as part of the week Europride, after alluding to a «difficult crisison Kosovo. "It will happen, but in another happier time“, he said about the event.
However, his cancellation announcement has been challenged by the organizers of the Europride, which is scheduled to take place from September 12 to 18, with a week of festivities, events and a Pride parade. «The march will take place as planned, on September 17«, has stated Marko Mihailović, event coordinator.
Serbia was chosen as the venue for this year's edition because «their recent trajectory is that of successful Prouds that highlight the need for legislative advances for people LGTBIQ + en Serbia. The Belgrade Europride will be a historic event that will bring together the community of Balkans westerners with people LGTBIQ + Worldwide«.
Orthodox against Serbian Europride
During the march, held during a procession to commemorate a religious festival, protesters have gathered in front of the Saint Sava's Cathedral after crossing the city center carrying icons, crosses and religious flags while praying and singing. Passing by a community information center LGTBIQ + guarded by the police, a group of participants in the procession has unfurled a large banner that read "Not in the country of Saint Sava«.
Reactions to the possible cancellation
The coordinator of the EuroPride 2022, Goran Miletic, announced that the organizers will complain to the courts, which must decide in their favor. “Only the parade can be prohibited. But even that hypothetical decision would be contrary to the Constitution", He said Miletic in statements to the news agency Teaching right. He added that the events that are part of the demonstration and are held in closed spaces cannot be prohibited. In the past, rulings declared unconstitutional several bans on gay pride parades between 2009 and 2013. Since then, the marches have been held from 2014 en Belgrade with few problems.
The Ambassador of the European Union in Serbia, Emanuele Giaufret, has criticized the ban on Europride by Belgrade. «El Europride has been defending the equal rights of people LGTBIQ + in all Europe for many years, giving a voice to those who are often discriminated against because of their sexual orientation«, Has remembered giaufret, after emphasizing that the EU "supports equality and rejects any form of discrimination«.