Organizer hails progress in Belgrade parade for LGBT rights

Around 1,000 people took part in a parade here on Sunday to show their support to the rights of the LGBT group in Serbia.



Sunday's event marks the fourth parade of its kind in Serbia and the third year in a row for organizers to host such an event since 2014.



Under tight security measures, supporters and activists of LGBT(lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) rights marched around one kilometer from Slavija Square in Belgrade to the main Republic Square, waving rainbow flags, dancing and singing.



Organizers claim the parade, under the theme "Love Changes the World" this year, has finally managed to become part of regular life of the Serbian capital city and the atmosphere was significantly better than in the past.



Boban Stojanovic, one of the organizers of the parade, said fewer police officers were showing up during the parade this year, compared with that of previous years. The goal of the organizers was to ensure the event to "become the lifeblood of the city," he said.



"We want to believe that our decade-long relationships to be legalized and that we have the same rights enjoyed by others - the right to health care and inheritance, the right to make decisions in case of sickness of our partners... because we are family," said Stojanovic.



After two unsuccessful attempts in organizing the Pride Parade respectively in 2001 and 2004 due to security issues, LGBT activists organized their first parade in 2010 which was marked by heavy violence between anti-LGBT protesters and police.



From 2011 to 2013, the parade was canceled due to negative security assessment while since 2014 it has been organized regularly under heavy police presence.



This time around 5,000 policemen were sent to protect participants of the parade, who walked through the Belgrade downtown. The parade area was surrounded by armored cars, horse brigades, and officers equipped with heavy anti-demonstration equipment. Helicopters were also used to monitor the security situation during the parade.



During the event, activists spent one minute in silence in the middle of their route in order to pay respect to the LGBT community across the world. They also welcomed activists from Turkey to attend the Belgrade Pride Parade.



Several arrests were made while there were also small groups of people protest against the parade. However, there was no big incidents and the event ended peacefully at the Republic Square with concerts by Serbian pop stars and DJs.



Ana Brnabic, minister of local self-government who has revealed her LGBT orientation in public, and Belgrade mayor Sinisa Mali were present at the parade. Meanwhile, chief of the European Union delegation to Serbia Michael Davenport and ambassadors from the United States, Germany and Italy also attended the event.



By organizing the parade, Serbia sends a positive message about its efforts to respect human rights, said Davenport.



Brnabic said there is a major breakthrough when it comes to LGBT rights, as proved by the presence of government and city officials,



"Raising the level of tolerance in our society is the number one priority," she said.

