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| A woman passes by Serbian riot policemen cordon near the an art exhibition gallery in Belgrade, Serbia, Wednesday, Oct 3, 2012. Meanwhile, some 2,000 of riot policemen were deployed on Wednesday in front of an art exhibition in Belgrade organized by gay activists which the extremists had threatened to disrupt. Serbia's police on Wednesday banned a gay pride march in Belgrade, citing security concerns but also complying with a request from Serbia's Christian Orthodox church. |
BELGRADE,
Serbia (AP) — Serbia's police on Wednesday banned a Gay Pride march in
Belgrade, citing security concerns but also complying with a request from
Serbia's Christian Orthodox church.
Police said
they were banning the march planned for Saturday because they feared a repeat
of the violence in 2010, when right-wing groups attacked a Gay Pride event in
Belgrade. That triggered day-long clashes with the police which left more than
100 people injured.
Last year's
gay pride march also was banned by authorities.
The current
ban was announced after Patriarch Irinej, the head of Serbia's Christian
Orthodox church, urged the government to prevent Saturday's march. In a
statement, he said such a "parade of shame" would cast a "moral
shadow" on Serbia — a conservative Balkan country whose gay population has
faced threats and harassment.
Allowing a
Gay Pride march this year had been regarded by some as a test of Serbia's
pledge to respect human rights as it seeks European Union membership. That was
clear in the reaction of European Parliament official Jelko Kacin, who called
the ban a "political decision that questions the rule of law in
Serbia."
Secretary-General
Thorbjoern Jagland of the Council of Europe, the continent's main human rights
body, said he was "surprised and disappointed" that the pride event
has been banned again.
"Citizens
should be able to exercise their rights of freedom of assembly and freedom of
expression," he said. "Serbia should be in a position to safeguard
such an event, which is commonplace in modern democracies."
Amnesty
International said the ban puts Serbia in breach of its own laws.
"Serbia's
government is effectively going against its own legal and constitutional
protections for basic rights such as freedom of expression and freedom of
assembly to all lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in Serbia,"
said John Dalhuisen, the group's director for Europe and Central Asia.
Serbian
Prime Minister Ivica Dacic said in addition to banning the Gay Pride march, the
government was barring a gathering of right-wing groups that planned to attack
the event. It also canceled several national league soccer matches in Belgrade
on Saturday because they often are attended by hooligans aligned with the
extremists.
"We
believe that at this moment Serbia does not need clashes and victims, and
that's why we banned the gatherings," said Dacic, who is also the national
police chief.
Opposition
politicians said the ban showed that authorities are unable to protect freedom
and human rights in Serbia.
"No
democratic society has the right to retreat from the threats of violence
against basic rights," said Liberal Party leader Cedomir Jovanovic.
Meanwhile,
some 2,000 riot policemen were deployed Wednesday in front of an art exhibit in
Belgrade organized by gay activists that the extremists had threatened to
disrupt.
The reason?
They claimed the photographs by a Swedish artist desecrated the image of Jesus
Christ.
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