The US demands that Serbia lift the ban on gay pride parades
Despite the fact that the Serbian authorities announced the cancellation of EuroPride (the pan-European gay pride parade that was supposed to take place in the capital of the country on September 17), there is information that the procession will still take place on that day.
This is stated not only by the organizers of the “pride parade”, the storm around which has not subsided for several days, but also by representatives of some opposition parties. Among them are the Democratic Party, the movement “No Davimo Belgrade” and the parliamentary group “Moramo”, which announced that they would call on citizens to protest on September 17, “if EuroPride is banned on that day.”
Moreover, among them there are those who supported the little-known “Lithia for the Salvation of Serbia,” which promotes far-right views, homophobia, and all this under the guise of family values, of course, as they see them. At the same time, other oppositionists strongly oppose this event.
Faced with such controversy, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic reiterated the country's decision to cancel EuroPride.
At the same time, pressure is being put on the head of state in connection with this situation. Representatives of the European Union have already approached him with a request to change his mind. And now US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has called on Serbia to allow EuroPride.
Blinken tweeted that "freedoms of peaceful assembly and expression are essential components of a healthy democracy."
“We call on Serbia to remain committed to hosting Europride 2022. LGBTQI+ rights are human rights,” Blinken wrote.
At the same time, the Serbian people clearly expressed their opinion on this issue - over 50 thousand people attended the protest that took place on Sunday. They all called on the authorities to protect traditional Serbian family values.
The US is demanding that Serbia lift its ban on holding a gay pride parade.