Serbian police arrested more than 64 people as thousands of LGBTQI+ activists turned out for Belgrade’s EuroPride march on Saturday, despite a government ban.
The event had been intended as the pivotal event of EuroPride. But the interior ministry banned the march earlier this week, citing security concerns after right-wing groups threatened to stage protests.
Although the march was held without serious incident, local media said clashes broke out between counter-protesters and police.
The Balkan country’s prime minister, Ana Brnabić, who is openly gay, said on Saturday that 64 people were arrested and 10 police officers were injured, but stressed that she was “proud” that the day ended “without major incidents”. .
British model and activist Yasmin Benoit said she had attended many gay pride parades, “but this one is a bit more stressful”. “I’m from the UK, where everyone is more supportive and it’s more commercial,” he told AFP. “But here, this is really what Pride should be,” he added, referring to the social struggle at the origins of the movement.
“We are fighting for the future of this country,” said Luka, a Serb who took part in Saturday’s event.
The interior ministry had also banned any counter-protests, but some far-right groups vowed to gather in front of churches.
Serbian Interior Minister Aleksandar Vulin warned in a statement that “we will not tolerate any violence on the streets of Belgrade, such as illegal marches.”
Despite the official ban, protesters were able to march in the rain a few hundred meters between the constitutional court and a nearby park, AFP reported, a much shorter route than organizers had initially planned.
Vulin insisted on Saturday that the ban had been enforced and that people had only been “escorted to a concert”.
Gay marriage is not legally recognized in Serbia, where homophobia remains entrenched despite some progress over the years in reducing discrimination.
The Balkan country, a candidate for the EU, had been subjected to intense international pressure to allow the march. More than 20 embassies – including the United States, France and Britain – had issued a joint statement urging the authorities to lift the ban.
There was a heavy police presence around the Pride rally, with officers pushing back small groups of counter-protesters waving crosses and religious insignia.
Authorities did not give details about those arrested, but AFP reporters saw several counter-protesters being taken away.
According to N1 television, there were clashes between the police and counter-protesters, some of whom threw smoke bombs at the officers and damaged several vehicles.
The US embassy had urged its citizens to avoid the event “due to the potential for unruly crowds, violence, as well as possible fines”.
Human rights groups and the EU had called on the Serbian government to lift the ban.
“The Serbian government’s decision to cancel EuroPride is a shameful surrender and implicit sanction to bigotry and threats of illegal violence,” said Graeme Reid, director of the LGBT rights program at Human Rights Watch.
At least 15 members of the European Parliament announced that they would join the Pride march in solidarity.
Belgrade Pride marches in 2001 and again in 2010 were marred by violence and riots after far-right groups targeted the event. Since 2014, the parade has been organized regularly without any unrest, but with a large presence of law enforcement.
This year’s ban came just days after thousands of people took part in an anti-Pride demonstration in Belgrade, with biker gangs, Orthodox priests and far-right nationalists calling for the EuroPride rally to be scrapped.