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| Xheni Karaj in a LGBD rally in Tirana, source: Facebook |
Albanian LGBT activist Xheni Karaj was among the other activists of this community, Serbian journalists, and officials that were physically and verbally violated by Serbian extremists during the EuroPride parade in Belgrade. Although this protest was illegal in the legal sense since the Belgrade police did not give permission for this protest to take place on the grounds that it could not guarantee security.
"The violence we experienced yesterday in Belgrade was avoidable if the police had done their job. Regardless of this, yesterday we saw with our own eyes how difficult it is to be yourself in a country where violence is systemic, is part of the political culture and is normalized by extremist circles and the government. Yesterday we understood the importance of solidarity with each other, the importance of carefull planning and the importance of being strategic in our struggle. This parade and the violence that accompanied it is an opportunity to reflect together, but in this reflection some individuals have more responsibility than others.
I thank from the bottom of my heart all the activists who stayed with us after the attack until the late hours of the morning.
The PRIDE is the highest form of existence and resistance. No one will stop our fight for a fair, equal and free society for everyone.
Meanwhile the Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade said will do everything it can to identify and prosecute those who caused violence during the EuroPride march, which was officially banned from taking place.
The Prosecutor's Office said on September 18 that it will work "to determine all the relevant circumstances regarding the attacks on members of the Ministry of the Interior... attacks and threats against journalists, but also against some participants of the EuroPride event."
The statement said that the justice authorities will work with the Ministry of Interior to identify and prosecute those responsible for the violence, and described some of them as "hooligans", Radio Free Europe reports.
The Serbian Interior Ministry on September 13 officially announced that it would stop holding EuroPride Week, which culminates in a march through the streets of Belgrade. Said that has taken the same measure against the announced protests.
The reason for the ban was said to be due to "the risk of violence, destruction of property and other forms of large-scale disruption of public order".
However, activists of the LGBT community still marched in the streets of Belgrade. 1,000 activists participated in this march and around 6,000 policemen were deployed to maintain order. During the march, the police clashed with right-wing groups that had come out to oppose the march.
EuroPride organizers also faced major opposition from the Serbian Orthodox Church.
On September 18, several incidents were reported. Authorities said protesters against the LGBT march threw bottles at police in an attempt to disrupt the march.
Serbian officials said that 87 people have been detained, while the Serbian Minister of Internal Affairs, Aleksandar Vulin, announced that criminal cases have been initiated against 11 of those detained..