Brody's Notes... Serbian Police Battle Anti-Gay Rioters At Belgrade Pride

Serb Riot Police Battle Anti-Gay Rioters

Photo By Marko Drobnjakovic  The Associated Press 

By Brody Levesque (Washington DC) OCT 10 | Associated Press correspondent Dusan Stojanovic and AP photographer Marko Drobnjakovic, reported from the Serbian capital city of Belgrade earlier today, that Serbian police fought with hundreds of rioters attempting to break through security barricades and disrupt the Belgrade Gay Pride March in the city's downtown centre.

Authorities had deployed thousands of police officers in an effort to seal off the area where the march was held, fighting with rioters who tried to break through. According to the AP's Stojanovic: 

Several parked cars were set on fire or damaged, shop windows were broken, garbage containers were overturned and streets signs destroyed.

The rioters fired shots and hurled petrol bombs at the headquarters of the ruling pro-Western Democratic Party, setting the garage of the building on fire. The state TV building and other political parties headquarters were were also attacked, with many of the house windows shattered by stones.

Rioters, chanting "death to homosexuals!" hurled Molotov cocktails, bricks, stones, glass bottles and firecrackers at riot police. Police responded by firing tear gas and deploying armored vehicles to disperse the charging protesters in the heart of the capital even after the brief pride march ended.The protesters hijacked a bus, ordered all of its passengers and the driver out, and pushed it down a steep street before hit an electric pole on a main Belgrade square.

A spokesman for Belgrade's emergency hospital said at least 157 persons had been treated for injuries, some serious, 87 of whom were Serb police officers. A Serbian police spokesman said that numerous arrests had been made and more were to be expected.
Defense Minister Dragan Sutanovac, vice president of the Democratic Party, said a part of the party's archive, warehouse and phone lines at the building were destroyed and shots were also fired at the building. In an interview with reporters he said: 

"It is high time that we deal in a very democratic way, through the courts, with those who call themselves members of the patriotic organizations," Sutanovac said. "Is this Belgrade or the wild West? It is clear now that this [violence] has nothing to do with the Pride parade, but represents hatred unseen for quite some time."

The AP's Stojanovic also reported that:

Serbian Senior Justice Ministry official Slobodan Homen said that the state response will be "fierce." He said that the city center is covered with surveillance cameras and that the rioters have been identified and many already detained. He said they could face up to eight years in prison.

Sunday's march was viewed as a major test for Serbia's government, which has launched pro-Western reforms and pledged to protect human rights as it seeks European Union membership.

Right-wing groups broke up a pride march in 2001 and forced the cancellation of last year's event. Those groups say the gay events are contrary to Serbian family and religious values. Most of the rioters Sunday were young football fans whose groups have been infiltrated by neo-Nazi and other extremist organizations.

In a speech to the assembled Gay Pride March participants gathered in a downtown park surrounded by riot police and armoured vehicles, the crowd estimated by officials at around 1,000 Gay activists and their allies,  European Union Mission head Vincent Degart said;

"We are here to celebrate this very important day ... to celebrate the values of tolerance, freedom of expression and assembly."  

The crowd, many waving rainbow flags, cheered enthusiastically.