Belgrade police clash with protesters at Pride march

Riot police clashed with protesters in Belgrade on Saturday as the International Pride march began despite threats from anti-gay groups and an earlier official ban.

Tensions were high in the Serbian capital as protesters threw stun grenades, rocks and flares at the police cordon, which repelled attacks with batons and riot shields.

Meanwhile, hundreds of supporters of the pride parade, which took place on a shorter route, sang and danced, gathered in the downpour a few miles away.

“We need justice and freedom,” said Goran Militic, one of the Pride organizers.

Serbian police banned the march this week because of the risk of clashes with far-right activists.

But organizers said Saturday they had assurances from gay Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic that the event could go ahead.

“After weeks of international pressure, Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic has announced that the EuroPride parade can go ahead,” the European Pride Organisers Association said.

“The prime minister said she can guarantee that the streets of Belgrade are safe this afternoon,” the statement said.

Ms Brnabic said she was proud that “over 130 (LGBTQ) events throughout the week, not a single incident happened. This is really the right image of Belgrade and Serbia”.

Several incidents were reported early Saturday in which anti-gay activists threw bottles at officers and attempted to break through police cordons. Police said 31 people were detained.

Three years ago, the European Pride Organisers Association chose the Serbian capital to host the annual event, hoping it would be a major breakthrough for a traditionally conservative Slavic country heavily influenced by the Orthodox Church.

Interior Minister Alexander Vulin warned on Saturday that his agency “will not tolerate any violence on the streets of Belgrade, it will strictly enforce the law”.

European Union and other Western officials, as well as human rights groups, have urged populist Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic to allow Pride marches.

But Mr Vucic has said that during the energy crisis, the police cannot cope with possible unrest by far-right groups.

Those groups, some of which are believed to be close to Mr Vucic’s nationalist government, were also banned from gatherings on Saturday, but they said they would ignore the ruling.

Several legal appeals by march organizers against the ban have been dismissed by Serbian authorities.