Pride march in Belgrade: "These people are citizens of Serbia, they are not a separate world"

A Pride protest walk of several thousand members of the LGBT+ community was held today in Belgrade.

The entire event in the Serbian capital was mostly peaceful, and the only incident occurred near the Church of the Ascension, where several dozen people opposed to the LGBT+ parade had gathered.

A police cordon was on the sidewalk in front of the church, as the Pride participants passed by, so it all ended in a verbal clash between the two sides.

A 16-minute silence was held at the Faculty of Law, paying tribute to the victims of the collapse of the canopy at the Novi Sad Railway Station.

Pride representative Filip Vulović said before the silence began that they gathered at Pride to protest because, as he says, LGBT+ people are not a minority.

"These people are not a separate world, but part of society and this country, citizens of Serbia," Vulović said, over a loudspeaker mounted on a truck.

He added that today they pay tribute to those "who are victims of this system," adding that "any of us could have been under that overpass."

The crowd chanted "pumpaj" during the walk and made noise with drums and whistles, a Beta agency reporter reported.

Pride was secured by a large number of police officers, who were stationed on every cross street along the march route and prevented anyone from approaching.

In Manjež Park, after the walk, a choir performed the songs "Vostani Serbije" and "Za milion godina".

Professor at the Belgrade Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Ana Martinoli, said that the media plays a major role in the human rights of the LGBT+ community, but that they generally do not do enough, and sometimes even encourage hate speech.

She criticized Radio Television of Serbia, because since the beginning of the year it has mentioned the LGBT+ community only 19 times, "zero of which in prime time (central) programs."

She also assessed that when the Public Service Broadcasting does not report on the LGBT+ population, it sends a message that their lives are not of public interest, and that those gathered at Pride are there to remind them of the opposite.

She called on all media outlets to stop sensationalizing the LGBT+ community.

She also said that this community lacks basic human rights, although "I can never take away their right to love."

This was followed by speeches from LGBT activists, victims of police violence, and other Pride participants.

This year, due to the protest nature of Pride, there will be no concerts in Manjež Park.