In 2010 hundreds of Serbian
riot police clashed with neo-Nazis at Belgrade Pride, resulting in
over 200 arrests. The following year's event
was canceled over fears of the same and last year's pride event
was banned. This week neo-Nazis
again threatened this year's planned parade.
At a September 24 press conference, an assortment of right-wing nationalist organizations, including the president of the now banned Obraz movement, Mladen Obradovic, denounced the planned parade and announced their own counter-protests for the same day. Ivanovic warned of trouble on the streets, just as in 2010, if the authorities decide to permit the Pride Parade. "People are deeply unsatisfied, and are telling us that they will go onto the streets in vast numbers to protest. If that happens again, we all know that Belgrade streets will see bloodshed, and that's in no one’s interest," he warned. He described the idea of holding a Gay Pride rally in Serbia as "an attempt to break the Serbian social code", which formed part of a "CIA plan for Serbia implemented after October 5, 2000 [when Slobodan Milosevic's nationalist regime was toppled]."
Labels: Belgrade, gay Pride, neo-Nazis, Serbia
