Without backing down, the event organizers “strongly condemned the cancellation made by the president” e ensured that this year's march is maintained on the scheduled date. The president of the Festival Organizers Association, Kristine Garina, confirmed the decision, which refuses to suspend, postpone or move the event. In a post on Twitter, the coordinator of EuroPride 2022 pointed out that “the State cannot cancel” the march. For Marko Mihajlovic, the ban on the event is unconstitutional.
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The EuroPride program includes, in addition to the LGBTQIA+ Pride Parade, a series of events between the 12th and 18th of September. EuroPride was first held in 1992, hosted in London. Since then, the mobilization by the LGBTQIA+ community has been consolidated as a pan-European event that takes place once a year, each time in a different city on the continent.
The march will take place
“EuroPride 2022 will not be canceled – see you in Belgrade!” stated a note of support published by a group of Swedish Civil Rights Defenders. The European Association of EuroPride Organizers (COPD) published a petition signed on the internet to “facilitate” a safe march and mobilize support for its holding in Belgrade.
Terry Reintke, president of the LGBTI group in the European Parliament, published on his Twitter an endorsement of the organizers of the march, which he sees as a “sign of hope for people across Europe”.
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“The State, namely the police, can try to ban the EuroPride march, but it cannot cancel it. This type of decision would be against the Constitution. The Constitutional Court had already revoked similar decisions in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012”, said the organizers in reaction to the president, adding that preparations for the planned events are continuing.
Serbian context
The presidential statement was released after thousands of people protested the event in early August. “Keep your hands off our children”, demanded the protesters, who walked along the streets claiming to act to “protect the family”. The first time Serbia hosted the LGBT Pride, in 2010, there were a series of clashes between police and protesters who were intolerant of the LGBTQIA+ community. (Reuters*)
In 2017, Ana Brnabić was appointed prime minister of the country. Openly lesbian, she is seen as a figure that stands out from Serbian conservatism. At the time of the decision, she was in favor of taking the European LGBT Parade to Belgrade this year.
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Curto Curatorship
- Protests, roadblocks and shootings increase tension between Serbia and Kosovo (The globe)
- What is it like to be a woman and LGBT+ in Serbia? (Collaborate Project)
- Serbian leader cancels EuroPride. Organizers say they will go ahead regardless. (The New York Times)
