Pride March Held In Bosnia Capital Sarajevo, Dozens Of Opponents Gather Too

A c꧂olourful crowd walked through central Sarajevo carrying rainbow flags. The march was held under heavy security after hundreds of poliꦰce had sealed off the area to prevent incidents with counterprotesters.

At the same time, dozens of opponents of the pride march held their own gathering in Sarajevo, saying they wanted to defend the country's traditional values from an “aggressive” LGBT ideology. No incidents were reported at any of the ga𒈔therings.

The pride march was only the thir🍰d such event ever in Bosni⛄a, an ethnically divided country that endured a devastating war in 1992-95, which killed over 100,000 people and left millions displaced.

Sidelined in the war-ravaged country, 💜Bosnia's LGBT community have urged resistance against “constant exposure to fear, violence, discrimination, violations of our basic human rights and unequal treatment.”

“We, lesbians, gays, bisexuals, tra🍬ns, intersex and queer people, take to the streets be🐼cause the pandemic restrictions are our everyday realities," groups behind the pride said in a statement.

“In the year behind us, the rights and freedoms of LGB🐎TIQ+ people☂ have further deteriorated.”

One of the organizers, Amar Catovic, told the cro𝓰wd ꦬSaturday that “the time has come to speak openly and clearly about the problems we are facing."

“I was always taught I should not be visibl💃e. But I will be proud of what I am, proud of mys𒅌elf for being a gay man," he said.

“We demand equality! Aware of discrimination, violence and hate speech, we resist🍨 and sa🦂y it's enough!”

The group's demands inღcluded swift passage of a law on same-sex partnerships and a plan on how to end discrimination and improve the lives of LGBT people in Bosnia.

The first pride march in Sarajevo was held in 2019, while♒ last year's event gathered only small numbers because of the pandemic.