Pride organizers: Political will has been created

BELGRADE - Boban Stojanovic, a representative of the Belgrade pride parade organizers, noted on Monday that the Pride that brought together around 1,500 people was successful and voiced the belief that the political will for its holding existed.

"After all efforts, taking into account that of 2001, whose photos and videos were broadcast worldwide, and that of 2010 which was not a success as it passed off in the context of violence, we could be satisfied with what happened yesterday," Stojanovic said at the closing press conference.

He noted that the pride parade passed off without any major incident, and that police acted proactively to prevent greater violence.

Asked why it was possible to ensure the parade this year, when compared to previous years, Stojanovic voiced the belief that the political will for that had been created, as "in a certain way the links between violence and institutions which existed in previous years have been severed."

Stojanovic noted that it had been proven that the state could fully control hooligans and other violent people.

Goran Miletic, another representative of the pride parade organizers, said that some of the prerequisites started being met even before the pride parade, like the request for prosecuting those who violate the law and Constitution, and took note of the release by the misdemeanor court that appeared a day before the pride.

Photo Tanjug, S. Radovanovic