Serbia's interior ministry bars Belgrade's EuroPride march route, citing security concerns
euronews.comThe EuroPride march, set for Saturday in Belgrade, cannot be held as planned due to security concerns, Serbia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs said in a statement on Tuesday.The ministry also banned the proposed "pro-family" counter-march organised by a group labelling itself as "anti-globalists," who actively oppose the EuroPride."Both marches were supposed to take place in the immediate vicinity [of one another] and it was estimated that there is a danger that this might lead to attacks and clashes, as well as a danger of violence, destruction of property and other large-scale violations of the public order," the statement said.Belgrade Pride, EuroPride’s official organiser, said that it would use all available legal mechanisms to have the decision reversed.“At 2:15 pm, we received a notification from the Ministry of Internal Affairs that the march is not permitted, stating [the event's] security as the reason for the ban.
That is all we know at the moment,” one of the EuroPride organisers, Goran Miletić, told the local outlet Nova.rs.Miletić clarified that the ministry had an issue with the planned route of the parade, which is expected to draw thousands of participants from Serbia and abroad.“The actual route of the march was banned, not the march itself,” he said.“Our legal team is preparing a complaint [to the ministry].
It’s the initial complaint you can legally file within 24 hours [after the decision was made],” Miletić explained. “The march has to take place, and there is no legal reason to ban it.”The European Union reacted to the news stating it was "disappointed by the ministry's decision to issue a ban on the route of the march," according to EU External Action Service (EEAS) spokesman Peter Stano."Since its.
