The Serbian capital of Belgrade hosts this year’s EuroPride, an annual LGBTQ celebration that culminates with a parade on September 17. But President Aleksandar Vucic surprised the community on Saturday when he announced on television that the parade would either be canceled or postponed, citing political unrest, economic pressure and threats from far-right extremists. “I think it was a big shock for all of us in the LGBT community in Serbia because we never heard that something like this could happen,” Goran Miletic, one of the Serbian organizers of the event, told As It Happens guest Katie Simpson . “We, as organizers, had many meetings with the government, with the town hall, with the police and they never mentioned anything like this.” The announcement has drawn widespread condemnation from human rights groups, including the United Nations, and followed a large protest against EuroPride in Belgrade on Sunday. Miletic still hopes the government will back down from the announcement, but says whatever happens, people will take to the streets as planned. “I can’t imagine people not marching,” he said.
Why the sudden cancellations?
In his announcement, Vucic cited the political crisis with Serbia’s former province of Kosovo, which declared independence in 2008, and the country’s economic problems amid Russia’s war in Ukraine. He also said that threats from right-wing activists are a security threat that Belgrade is ill-equipped to handle. The UN office in Serbia condemned the decision, warning that it would jeopardize “the right to freedom of assembly, as enshrined in the Serbian Constitution”. “EuroPride is also an opportunity to celebrate the foundations of a strong and progressive society based on social equality, equality of all rights, solidarity, friendship and love,” said Françoise Jacob, UN Coordinator in Serbia. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic cited political strife, economic woes and right-wing threats when he announced the cancellation of the EuroPride parade in Belgrade. (Zorana Jevtic/Reuters) Others questioned whether Vucic has the authority to ban the parade. Miletic says such a decision is fundamentally unconstitutional. The leader of the Democratic Citizens, Zoran Vuletic, said in a statement that the party wanted to remind Vucic “that he cannot cancel an event he did not plan and that he cannot, according to the constitution, prohibit the gathering of people.”
Protests against EuroPride
Members of the European Pride Organizers Association chose the Serbian capital three years ago to host EuroPride, hoping it would represent a breakthrough for a traditionally conservative Slavic country strongly influenced by the Orthodox Church. Serbia is officially seeking membership in the European Union, but has long had strong ties with Russia. The Balkan country voted in favor of UN resolutions condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but refused to join Western sanctions against Moscow. People protest against EuroPride in Belgrade on Sunday. (Zorana Jevtic/Reuters) The day after Vucic’s announcement, thousands of religious and right-wing opponents of EuroPride marched through the streets of Belgrade, holding crosses and other Christian symbols and chanting pro-Russian and anti-LGBTQ slogans. The protest took place during a march to mark a religious holiday, led by clerics from the Serbian Orthodox Church, some of whose bishops say the Pride event threatens traditional family values and should be banned. “Save our children and family,” read one of the banners held by the protesters. Despite the show of force, Miletic says EuroPride must go on. Such events, he says, are necessary for the safety and well-being of LGBTQ people in Serbia, many of whom, he says, face discrimination or violence at work and at school. “The key step to solving the problem is visibility. If you want to tackle discrimination and violence, you have to show that we exist. We must no longer be invisible,” he said. “When we are visible, then our problems become visible. And that often happens … around Pride every year, because we get more attention, more exposure in the media, more people on the streets see … that we are their neighbors , their friends, their peers”.
Progress is possible, says Miletic
Miletic says he believes progress is possible because he’s seen it firsthand. In 1992, at the age of 20, she joined the country’s first LGBTQ rights organization, Arcadia. “At that time, homosexuality was forbidden, it was prohibited by the criminal code, and, you know, we were afraid that the police would walk into a place and arrest us for being gay,” he said. Revelers take part in the LGBT Rainbow Parade during EuroPride in Vienna, Austria in 2019. (Lisi Niesner/Reuters) Since then, he has witnessed changes that he says no one would have thought possible. In 2002, the country banned the broadcast of anti-LGBTQ hate speech. In 2005, Serbia passed laws banning discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment and higher education. Legislation recognizing gay unions is currently in the legislature. “So my personal feeling is that progress is possible, but we have to be persistent. We need a lot of solidarity from many countries,” Miletić said. “Anything is possible if you have a team of dedicated people.” Written by Sheena Goodyear with files from The Associated Press and Reuters. Interview with Goran Miletic produced by Morgan Passi.
