Support for EuroPride in Serbia

Serbian President Vucic has called to ban EuroPride in Belgrade. EuroPride is a pan-European event to celebrate the LGBTIQ+ community taking place in another European city every two years.
Rémy Bonny of Forbidden Colours: “I am going to Belgrade next month – no matter what”.

The pro-Russian president is a vocal supporter of far-right anti-LGBTIQ+ initiatives. Also on an international level, Vucic has, for instance, taken part in several anti-LGBTIQ+ conferences organised by the Hungarian government. This is despite the EU candidate status of Serbia and the official letter of support by Serbia’s Prime Minister Ana Brnabic in 2019 for the organisation of EuroPride.

Over the last weeks, tensions in the Balkans (especially between Serbia and Kosovo) have been fuelled by Russian disinformation campaigns. The far-right groups fighting against the organisation of EuroPride are also well-known to be supported by the Kremlin.

The banning of Pride in Serbia has been ruled unconstitutional 4 times before. It is not in line with the Serbian people’s aspirations to join the European Union. The banning of EuroPride will set Serbia back in its negotiations with the EU.

In times of war, no European nation should fall for the disinformation campaigns of the Russian agressors. It’s time to show what European values really are: human rights, democracy and equality. I will go to Belgrade to celebrate Pride – no matter what.

– Rémy Bonny, Executive Director of Forbidden Colours.