Belgrade is set to host the EuroPride march on September 17, an event held in a different European city each year. But President Aleksandar Vucic said on Saturday it would be canceled or postponed, citing threats from right-wing activists. read more Sunday’s protest against EuroPride, which took place during a procession to celebrate a religious holiday, was led by clerics of the Serbian Orthodox Church, some of whose bishops say the Pride event threatens traditional family values and should be prohibited. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register “Save our children and family,” read one of the banners held by protesters on Sunday, some of whom also carried crosses. Others who took part in Sunday’s march shouted slogans in support of far-right or nationalist causes. Some waved Russian flags, a sign of support for Moscow, Serbia’s traditional ally, as the Belgrade government tries to balance its ambition to join the European Union with its longstanding ties to Russia and China. A man wearing a T-shirt with the letter Z, holds an icon during a protest against the international LGBT Euro Pride event in Belgrade, Serbia, August 28, 2022. REUTERS/Zorana Jevtic read more The president said on Saturday that EuroPride would be canceled or held later for security reasons. Alongside threats from what he called right-wing “hooligans”, he cited issues such as an ongoing dispute with Kosovo and the energy crisis. read more “It will happen, but at some other and happier time,” he said of the EuroPride event. A UN representative in Serbia criticized Belgrade’s ban on EuroPride. “It would be contrary to Serbia’s international human rights commitments,” Françoise Jacob, the UN’s resident coordinator in Serbia, said in a statement. Previous Serbian governments have banned Pride parades in the past, drawing criticism from human rights groups and others. Some Pride marches in the early 2000s also met with backlash and were marred by violence. However, recent Pride marches in Serbia have been peaceful, a change cited by EuroPride organizers as a reason why Belgrade was chosen as the 2022 host. Copenhagen hosted in 2021. Serbia is a candidate for EU membership. But to become a member, it must first meet requirements to improve the rule of law and its record on human and minority rights, and must root out organized crime and corruption and correct the ties with Kosovo. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Report by Fedja Grulovic. Aleksandar Vasovic writes. Edited by Edmund Blair Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
