Pride Caravan in Zaječar and Kraljevo

On Tuesday, 11 August, the Pride Caravan visited Zaječar and Kraljevo.

The Pride Caravan is an initiative carried out by the association Da se zna!, in cooperation with Belgrade Pride, ahead of Belgrade Pride. The initiative consists of small Pride protests in cities across the country which, under this year’s Belgrade Pride slogan, “There Is Space for All of Us,” send a message of support and solidarity to LGBT+ people in these cities, where violence and discrimination remain a part of everyday life. Through this slogan, we also want to remind the wider public in these cities that only through solidarity and caring for one another can we build a better and fairer society in which there is room for all of us. Only a society that has room for minority groups can be a society in which all of us can thrive. There must be space for us at every protest, in every square, in every city and in every village, because LGBT+ people are an integral and inseparable part of this society and deserve to exist visibly and proudly in public space.

Unfortunately, in most cities, the Pride Caravans have been met with strong opposition, violence and threats. In both Kraljevo and Zaječar, large groups of hooligans gathered in an attempt to prevent our gatherings, while large police forces separated us from them.

In neither of the two cities did the police sanction any of the people who threatened our safety. In Kraljevo, two stones and a lighter were thrown at protest participants, while journalists covering the gathering were hit with eggs.

We will file a criminal complaint against the people who threw eggs and stones at journalists and participants in the Caravan on charges of violent conduct.

These attacks once again demonstrate how deeply rooted homophobia and transphobia remain in our society and bear witness to the difficult position of LGBT+ people.

The final Pride Caravan will take place at the end of August in Loznica and Šabac.

There Is Space for All of Us!