APF Article: Tomorrow’s Gay Pride Parade In Serbia Will Be Test Of Serbian Democracy.

Gay parade is Serb democracy test: OSCE

(AFP) – 2 days ago

BELGRADE — The second ever gay pride parade in Belgrade planned for this Sunday will be a test of Serbia’s maturity as a democracy, a representative of the OSCE said Thursday.

“The maturity of Serbian democracy will be among other things judged by the degree to which the principles of non-discrimination, equal status and treatment by the law are enjoyed by all,” Daiana Serafina Falloni of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) told a press conference.

Serbian gay organisations announced they will have a pride parade in the capital Belgrade on Sunday. The first ever gay pride parade in Serbia in 2001 was broken up by violent clashes provoked by right-wing extremists.

Plans for a parade last year were abandoned after the government said it could not guarantee the security of the participants.

The OSCE representative praised the efforts of the Serb authorities this time around to take “tangible steps in providing a safe environment for the participants”.

However, she added that “more needs to be done to address the extremist voices that continue to incite hatred and intolerance in this country”.

An anti-gay counter protest is already planned for Sunday and in Belgrade in recent days anti-parade posters appeared with the threatening tag line “we are waiting for you”.

A spokeswoman for rights watchdog Amnesty International, Sabine Zwiers, also congratulated the Serb government for taking “the first steps in protecting the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community in Serbia”.

She warned that this protection should also extend beyond the day of the parade.

“We hope the authorities will react very strongly to any incident that could happen in the coming days and also in the days end weeks after the pride (parade) because we know that danger for LGBT activists will not stop on Sunday,” she warned.