Pride march held in Bosnia capital; opponents gather too

SARAJEVO – Hundreds of radical attended a cheery pridefulness march Saturday successful the Bosnian of superior Sarajevo, with organizers saying LGBT radical person been further marginalized since the commencement of the coronavirus pandemic successful the impoverished, blimpish Balkan nation.

A colorful assemblage walked done cardinal Sarajevo carrying rainbow flags. The march was held nether dense information aft hundreds of constabulary had sealed disconnected the country to forestall incidents with counterprotesters.

At the aforesaid time, dozens of opponents of the pridefulness march held their ain gathering successful Sarajevo, saying they wanted to support the country's accepted values from an “aggressive” LGBT ideology. No incidents were reported astatine immoderate of the gatherings.

The pridefulness march was lone the 3rd specified lawsuit ever successful Bosnia, an ethnically divided state that endured a devastating warfare successful 1992-95, which killed implicit 100,000 radical and near millions displaced.

Sidelined successful the war-ravaged country, Bosnia's LGBT assemblage person urged absorption against “constant vulnerability to fear, violence, discrimination, violations of our basal quality rights and unequal treatment.”

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“We, lesbians, gays, bisexuals, trans, intersex and queer people, instrumentality to the streets due to the fact that the pandemic restrictions are our mundane realities," groups down the pridefulness said successful a statement. “In the twelvemonth down us, the rights and freedoms of LGBTIQ+ radical person further deteriorated.”

One of the organizers, Amar Catovic, told the assemblage Saturday that “the clip has travel to talk openly and intelligibly astir the problems we are facing."

“I was ever taught I should not beryllium visible. But I volition beryllium arrogant of what I am, arrogant of myself for being a cheery man," helium said. “We request equality! Aware of discrimination, unit and hatred speech, we defy and accidental it's enough!”

The group's demands included swift transition of a instrumentality connected same-sex partnerships and a program connected however to extremity favoritism and amended the lives of LGBT radical successful Bosnia.

The archetypal pridefulness march successful Sarajevo was held successful 2019, portion past year's lawsuit gathered lone tiny numbers due to the fact that of the pandemic.

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