Introduction
On 27 August 2022, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić announced that Serbia is cancelling EuroPride, a pan-European international event promoting the rights of LGBTI+ people that was supposed to take place in Serbia’s capital Belgrade from 12 to 18 September 2022, including a march on 17 September 2022. While President Vučić acknowledged that cancelling EuroPride is a ‘‘violation of minority rights’’, he justified his decision due to ‘‘intense pressure’’ from right-wing groups and representatives from the Serbian Orthodox Church, rising border tensions with Kosovo and various economic problems. Vučić left the possibility open to postpone the event to a later date. (RFE/RL, 2022). This announcement followed a demonstration in Belgrade by thousands of people opposing EuroPride, with slogans such as ‘‘save our children and our family’’. (Human Rights Watch, 2022).
Prime Minister Ana Brnabic, who is the first woman and an openly gay Prime Minister in Serbia, supported the cancellation, stating ‘‘the first inviolable thing is to ensure peace and stability in the country’’ (RFE/RL, 2022). On the same day that President Vučić announced the cancellation of EuroPride, he also proposed extending the term of Ms. Brnabić. Ms. Brnabić has been accused in the past by the Serbian gay’s right groups of not doing enough to help their status in Serbia. (RFE/RL, 2022).
Reactions to Vucic’s Decision
Vucic’s decision to cancel EuroPride did not come without criticism. The UN office in Serbia has expressed its concern about banning the event, stating on its website that the cancellation would ‘‘represent a violation of the right to freedom of assembly as guaranteed by the Serbian Constitution – as ruled by the Serbian Constitutional court in previous years’’ and that it would also ‘‘go against Serbia’s international human rights commitments, including the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights.’’ (United Nations Serbia, 2022).
Also, opposition parties in Serbia and rights activists in the country and abroad have criticised the authorities for not protecting democratic rights and giving in to pressure from extremist groups. Global Human Rights Defence has spoken to Predrag Azdejković, a Serbian LGBTI+ human rights activist, and he had the following to say:
‘‘The statement made by President Vučić took us back to 2009 when the first Pride was banned and can be interpreted as the opening of the hunting season for the LGBTI+ population. From that moment on, the narrative changes in the public space, in the media (especially under the control of the regime), other political actors (the right-wing opposition) joined in…’’ (Azdejković, 2022).
According to Azdejković, although the statement also had pro-LGBTI+ parts, it dealt a huge blow to the LGBTI+ population in Serbia.
The Way Forward With EuroPride?
In 2001, Serbia held its first Gay Pride parade, which, back then, raised violence and angry counterprotests by far-right and nationalist groups. At the next Belgrade Pride parade in 2010, more than 100 people got injured. However, in 2014, a third Pride took place, which passed without serious incidents. Since then, annual pride parades have been held peacefully in Belgrade each year (except for 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic). (RFE/RL, 2022). Members of the European Pride Organisers Association (EPOA) chose Belgrade in 2019 to host EuroPride, hoping it would be a breakthrough for a traditionally conservative South-eastern European country that is under a strong influence of the Orthodox Church and has a turbulent history of LGBTI+ activism. (AP News, 2022).
President Vucic has responded to the criticism concerning cancelling the event by saying that the government will enforce the ban: ‘‘If a gathering is banned, then it will be banned. There will be no games with state decisions.” (AP News, 2022). However, the organisers of EuroPride have said that they have not received formal notification of a ban (and that they will appeal it in court if they receive one) and intend to hold the event as planned. EPOA’s president Kristine Garina has referred to Prime Minister Brnabić’s promise of the Serbian government to support the event and that ‘‘the right to hold Pride has been ruled by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) to be a fundamental human right’’ (Human Rights Watch, 2022).
In 2010, the ECtHR ruled in the case Alekseyev v. Russia that banning marches of LGBT people on grounds that they could lead to violent clashes with counter-demonstrators is a violation of the right to peaceful assembly. The Court noted that there is ‘‘no ambiguity’’ about ‘‘the rights of individuals to openly identify themselves as gay, lesbian or any other sexual minority, and to promote their rights and freedoms, in particular by exercising their freedom of peaceful assembly’’. The ECtHR found that by banning the marches, the authorities effectively endorsed the intentions of those that want to disrupt a peaceful demonstration in breach of the law and public order. (Human Rights Watch, 2022).
Therefore, one can argue that rather than cancelling EuroPride because third parties threaten public order, the authorities should ensure that the police protect peaceful demonstrators exercising their right to freedom of assembly, as has been proposed by Human Rights Watch. The ECtHR has come to a similar conclusion in the past in Identoba and Others v. Georgia, holding that, regarding pride marches, law enforcement authorities should remember that they are there to protect those participating in the event. Also, according to the standards on combating discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity of the Council of Europe (to which Serbia is a member), Member States should ensure everyone’s freedom of peaceful assembly without any discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity. The Council’s standards also say that Member States should not misuse legal and administrative provisions to impose restrictions on freedom of expression and peaceful assembly on grounds of public morality or order. (Human Rights Watch, 2022).
In any case, despite President Vučić’s decision and the protest of radical parties and believers, the EuroPride will still take place as per its organisers, with its parade on 17 September 2022. (Rajput, 2022).
Serbia: Future EU Member State or Following Russia’s Footsteps?
On 28 August 2022, right-wing groups and political parties, church representatives and others gathered in Belgrade to support the cancellation of EuroPride. Many of them carried crosses, icons, and church symbols. Some even carried pictures of Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and Dragoljub ‘‘Draža’’ Mihailović (a controversial Serb nationalist leader during World War II) and displayed banners supporting Putin and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (RFE/RL, 2022). The procession called for ‘‘Serbia’s salvation’’ was led by the Serbian branch of the Russian biker group Night Wolves which is considered close to President Putin. (AP News, 2022).
Serbian Orthodox Bishop of Banat Nikanor Bogunović praised the government’s decision to cancel EuroPride. In a video posted on the website Glas Javnosti, he considered it to be an ‘‘abnormality’’ that should be handled in the same way as Russia’s President Putin did it. In 2013, Russia introduced a law banning ‘‘propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations’’ among minors, punishable with fines and imprisonment. Bishop Nikanor referred to Putin as ‘‘the tsar of the planet’’ and further said that the faithful ones are ready to take it to the streets again, putting themselves before those who intend to destroy Serbia’s values. (Rajput, 2022).
Mr. Azdejković, to whom we spoke, expressed his worries about Russia’s influence in Serbia: ‘‘It is completely clear that Russia, through anti-LGBT demonstrations, is putting pressure on Serbia in order not to introduce sanctions and the main problem in Serbia is a huge Russian influence’’ (Azdejković, 2022).
Serbia and Russia have a ‘‘special relationship’’ together. Both share the Orthodox religion, which influences the countries not only culturally, but also in terms of their domestic policy (e.g., taking measures disfavouring the LGBTI community). (Stakić, 2011). Moreover, Serbia finds diplomatic support in Russia regarding Kosovo (Serbia’s former province that declared independence in 2008, which Serbia does not recognise). (Associated Press in Belgrade, 2022).
However, Serbia has signed a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with the EU, an international treaty in which the country has agreed to align its foreign and security policy with that of the EU. One of the essential principles of the SAA is that Serbia agrees to respect human rights. (Stabilisation and Association Agreement between the European Communities and their Member States of the one part, and the Republic of Serbia, of the other part, 2013). Serbia, however, remains politically bound to Russia, which has a rather poor human rights situation, especially concerning LGBT rights. (Human Rights Watch). Also, concerning the current war in Ukraine, while Serbia has voted for United Nations resolutions condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it has refused to join Western sanctions against Russia. (AP News, 2022). This proximity to Russia poses, least to say, a danger to the country’s human rights situation, with cancelling the EuroPride being an example of that.
Conclusion / Call to Action
President Vučić’s decision to cancel the EuroPride, an event that advocates for human rights protection and equality for minority groups, is concerning for both the human rights situation in Serbia and Europe, the EuroPride as a pan-European event. Serbia has made international commitments that are supposed to uphold human rights, such as being a member of the Council of Europe and signing the SAA. Therefore, instead of giving in to threats of right-wing supporters and the Serbian Orthodox Church, which are both heavily influenced by Russia’s ideas, Serbia should, as proposed by Human Rights Watch, continue the event and ensure protection for its participants.
SOURCES
AP News. (2022, August 30). Serbia populist leader Vucic says pride ban will be enforced. AP News. Retrieved September 6, 2022, from https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-belgrade-kosovo-00e3f8f6aee9c70c7b3192d208b105a1.
Alekseyev v Russia App no 4916/07 (ECtHR, 21 October 2010)
Associated Press in Belgrade. (2022, August 27). Serbia cancels EuroPride amid rightwing threats, says president. The Guardian. Retrieved August 27, 2022, from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/aug/27/serbian-government-europride-event-belgrade-lgbtq.
The Associated Press. (2022, August 30). Serbia populist leader Vucic says pride ban will be enforced. ABC News. Retrieved August 30, 2022, from https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/serbia-populist-leader-vucic-pride-ban-enforced-89048470.
Council of Europe, Combating discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity (Council of Europe Publishing 2011)
Europride. About us. Europride 2022. Retrieved September 6, 2022, from https://europride2022.com/about.
Gavrilović, D. & Ljubojević, V. (2011). Myths about Borders. In D. Gavrilović & V. Perica (Eds.), Political Myths in the Former Yugoslavia and Successor States: A Shared Narrative. (pp. 45). Republic of Letters Publishing. https://www.ihjr.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Political-Myths-in-the-Former-Yugoslavia-and-Successor-States.pdf
Human Rights Watch. Russia. Human Rights Watch. Retrieved September 7, 2022, from https://www.hrw.org/europe/central-asia/russia.
Human Rights Watch. (2022, September 1). Serbia: Rescind Pride Ban, Guarantee Participant Protection. Human Rights Watch. Retrieved September 1, 2022, from https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/09/01/serbia-rescind-pride-ban-guarantee-participant-protection.
Identoba and Others v Georgia App no. 73235/12 (ECtHR, 12 August 2015)
Rajput, T. (2022, August 29). Thousands of Orthodox Christians gather in Belgrade to protest against EuroPride. WION. Retrieved September 6, 2022, from https://www.wionews.com/world/thousands-of-orthodox-christians-gathered-in-belgrade-to-protest-against-europride-511027.
Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. (2022, August 29). Opposition Party, Rights Groups Assail Serbian Government’s Move To Cancel EuroPride Event. Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. Retrieved August 29, 2022, from https://www.rferl.org/a/serbia-cancels-europride-criticism-global-rights-groups/32008044.html.
Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. (2022, August 27). Serbia’s Vucic Cancels EuroPride Event In Belgrade, But Organizers Vow To Push On. Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. Retrieved September 6, 2022, from https://www.rferl.org/a/serbia-vucic-gay-pride-event-canceled-belgrade-lgbt/32006942.html.
Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. (2022, August 29). Serbia’s Orthodox Christians March Against EuroPride Event. Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. Retrieved September 6, 2022, from https://www.rferl.org/a/serbia-orthodox-christians-march-against-europride-lgbt/32008715.html.
Stabilisation and Association Agreement between the European Communities and their Member States of the one part, and the Republic of Serbia, of the other part [2013] OJ L 278.
Stakić, I. (2011). Homophobia and hate speech in Serbian public discourse: How nationalist myths and stereotypes influence prejudices against the LGBT minority. The Equal Rights Review, 7(44), 44.
United Nations Serbia. (2022, August 28). UN in Serbia: Ban of Europride2022 in Belgrade would be a step back from social cohesion and the full realisation of the human rights agenda. United Nations Serbia. Retrieved September 6, 2022, from https://serbia.un.org/en/196914-un-serbia-ban-europride2022-belgrade-would-be-step-back-social-cohesion-and-full-realisation.
