Belgrade's Pride march has been cancelled just 24 hours before the event, after nationalist groups and skinheads threatened violence. The authorities had initially promised that thousands of police officers would protect the marchers, but they backed down after an urgent meeting with Pride's organisers. An alternative route in a suburban area was suggested, but the organisers declined. A wave of homophobic graffiti had appeared across the city - with slogans including "Death to homosexuals" and "Gay parade - we're waiting for you". The Belgrade Pride team expressed its disappointment, saying it had worked with the university defence department to create strategies to prevent violence at the planned Pride march - but the police had not agreed to the measures. "In the last 48 hours the police in meetings with pride organisers refused all cooperation for the securing of the pride, applying further pressure to organisers to cancel," Belgrade Pride states. "Police refused to take responsibility for maintaining public order during the event." Today's march would have been the first LGBT Pride in Serbia's capital since 2001, when violence erupted and several people were injured, including some police officers.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News Staff
First published: Sunday, 20th September 2009 - 5:05pm