‘Room for All’? LGBT Pride Caravan Meets with Hostility in Smalltown Serbia

In mid-July, LGBTQ+ activists in Serbia headed for the southeastern town of Pirot, on the second leg of this year’s Pride Caravan to raise awareness about LGBTQ+ issues and protest still widespread discrimination. It was a good two-hour drive from Vranje, where their first event passed without incident despite threats posted in advance on social media. The Caravan never made it into Pirot, however. On the town’s outskirts they were stopped by police, who warned them that opponents of the event were waiting for them on the central Warriors’ Square. “The police told me ‘Well, we can’t arrest anyone. These are peaceful citizens; they’re not doing anything,’” recalled Matija Stefanovic, programme coordinator of Da se zna! [Let it be known], the organisation that runs the Caravan, an event designed to take the message of Belgrade Pride to smaller towns and cities in Serbia. “Of course, it turned out that these were not peaceful citizens at all, but hooligans who physically attacked the male and female journalists who had arrived before us to cover our gathering.” Subscribe to Balkan Insight Premium to read the full article. Please login to your account below if you are already a Premium Subscriber. Buy Premium Subscription Our Premium Service gives you full access to all content published on BalkanInsight.com, including analyses, investigations, comments, interviews and more. Choose your subscription today and get unparalleled in-depth coverage of the Southern and Eastern Europe. Buy Premium Subscription If you have trouble logging in or any other questions regarding you account, please contact us