Serbia bans gay pride, anti-gay protest

(BELGRADE) - Serbia on Friday banned this weekend's gay pride parade and a number of counter protests, over security concerns in a move that gay rights activists slammed as a capitulation to hooligans.

"We are banning all gatherings this weekend on October 1 and 2. Police will stop every gathering by all means," Serbian Interior Minister Ivica Dacic told B92 television.

"They are not banned because of the nature of the protests but to prevent jeopardising public order and peace," he explained.

He was backed by Serbian President Boris Tadic who supported the ban but the parade organisers branded the decision a "capitulation of the state to the hooligans."

"Last year they said the state is stronger than the hooligans but this year they capitulated," one of the organisers, Goran Miletic, told AFP.

This is the second time in three years that a gay pride parade could not go ahead in Serbia because of threats by ultra-nationalists.

Several extremist organisations had called for anti-parade protests on Saturday and Sunday, which are now also banned.

In 2010, Serbia held its first gay pride in ten years but violent riots followed.

More than 150 people, mostly police officers, were wounded in clashes between security forces and ultra-nationalists and hooligans, which caused substantial damage to the centre of Belgrade.

Miletic said the "security concerns are not the real reason" for banning the parade.

"They don't want a pride parade. It is a lack of political will," he insisted.

Dacic said police and intelligence services estimated that the risk of violence was too high this year after reports that ultra-nationalists were planning riots.

"Because of these rallies, above all the anti-parade protests, we could expect enormous damage to public order and peace ... we have seen reports of security services that indicated riots would spread in central Belgrade... to burn cars in public garages, headquarters of ruling political parties, seats of foreign companies and embassies," Dacic said.

President Tadic supported the decision to ban all "high-risk gatherings to protect citizens from possible violence".

"That way, the citizens, members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) population are protected, while the consequences of violence and possible loss of human lives are prevented," Tadic said in a statement.

Serbia's commissioner for equality Nevena Petrusic warned that the "ban of the parade due to high security risks is the most direct sign of how high the level of homophobia in Serbia is."

"The atmosphere of fear, threats of violence and numerous serious acts of discrimination-- which are illegal and punishable-- have reached a peak and won their goal" when the parade was banned, Petrusic said in a statement.

During the first ever pride parade in Belgrade in 2001, hooligans attacked the marchers and literally beat apart the march. Another attempt to organise a march in 2009 parade was cancelled by organisers when police refused to let them march in the centre due to security concerns.

Miletic said there would be no parade this year.

"If we call another parade in seven days they will just ban it again," he said.

However, the ultra-nationalists were gloating over ban, proclaiming "Victory" in statements on their websites.