Serbia Rightists Urge PM to Scrap Gay March

Danilo Tvrdisic, a leader of the right-wing Dveri movement, has called on Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic to cancel the Gay Pride Parade scheduled for May 31, to avoid clashes in Belgrade.

"We have called on Vucic to cancel the parade as no normal person in Serbia would like to see a war in the streets of Belgrade or the destruction of property," Tvrdisic said.

He added that the Dveri had reminded Vucic that the planned gay parade insulted the constitution, which specifies that marriage is union between a man and woman alone.

"The holding or non-holding of the parade is a litmus test, which will show whether Serbia is a sovereign state, and whether the authorities obey Western ambassadors or the majority of their own people," Tvrdisic maintained.

According to him, the movement has yet to decide on whether it will call on citizens to rally against the Pride Parade.

Meanwhile, another extremist group, SNP Nasi, issued a statement demanding to know the cost of the parade and where the money was coming from.

"Are the benefits to pregnant women being reduced so that LGBT persons can walk around Belgrade?" the group asked in a statement.

The organisers have said that this year's Pride Parade will last from May 19 to 31 and will feature a number of cultural events and activities, including exhibitions and concerts.

Although the Pride Parade date has been set for May 31, the authorities may yet cancel it, as they have repeatedly done in past years on security grounds.

LGBT activists have been trying to organise a Pride Parade in Belgrade since 2009, but it has only been held once, in 2010, when street riots erupted.

The parade was cancelled four times owing to the risk of...