Belgrade gay parade set for October amid tensions

The second gay Pride Parade in Belgrade is now set for October 2, say organisers amid controversy and concerns that it may again be targeted by violent hooligans.

The exact time and route of the parade will be announced later because of security concerns, one of the organisers, Jovanka Todorovic, told a press conference.

Tensions in Belgrade rose over the recent weeks as extremist organizations again issued threats against the gay population. A far-right movement, Dveri, this week linked the parade with the possibility of a coup against the authorities.

The Pride Parade in Belgrade in Otober 2010 was held behind several cordons of riot police, which kept thousands of attacking hooligans at a distance.

Around 1 000 gays and their supporters marched through deserted streets, while a virtual war raged several blocks away on all sides between 5 500 police and about as many hooligans.

More than 100 police were injured and more than 100 hooligans were arrested in the riots, which left stores ransacked and looted, garbage containers torches and cars overturned.

The first-ever attempt to hold a gay parade in Belgrade, in 2001, broke off even before it began when hooligans badly beat up a group of gays.

The rightist organizations, as well as the very conservative and influential Serbian Orthodox Church, last year helped fan the anti-gay sentiment in the traditionalist Serbian society.

As a year ago, few politicians this year have so far stood up for the right of gays to hold the parade, with several voicing opposition to high-risk event.

The Belgrade daily Blic said Friday that the Serbian government day before did not discuss the Pride Parade despite an initiative from some officials for it to take a stand.