A Pride march on Saturday in Serbia's capital pressed for the demand that the populist government improve the rights of LGBTQ+ community members who often face harassment and discrimination in the highly conservative Balkan country. The march in central Belgrade was held under heavy police protection because of fear of attacks from right-wing extremists, the AP reports. Organizers said assailants had assaulted a young gay man in Belgrade two days before and taken away his rainbow flag in the latest incident.
Serbia is formally seeking entry into the European Union, but its democratic record is poor. Serbia's LGBTQ+ community is demanding a law allowing same-sex partnerships and boosting other rights. "We can't even walk freely without heavy (police) cordons securing the gathering," said Ivana Ilic Sunderic, a resident of Belgrade. The event on Saturday was held under the slogan "Pride are people." It included a concert and a party after the march. Participants carried rainbow flags and various banners as they danced to loud music played from a truck at the front. The crowd passed by the Serbian government headquarters and the National Assembly building.
Dozens of Russians who fled the war in Ukraine and the regime of President Vladimir Putin attended the march, per the AP. Mikhail Afanasev said that it was good to be there despite the Belgrade Pride being cordoned off by police. "I came from Russia where I am completely prohibited as person, as gay, (a) human being," he said. "We want to love, we want to live in a free society, and to have those rights, like all other people have." No incidents were reported. Western ambassadors in Serbia, opposition politicians, and liberal ministers from the Serbian government joined the event. But the right-wing Belgrade mayor opposed it. Pride marches in Belgrade had been marred in the past by skirmishes and clashes between extremist groups and police.
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