Gay pride

Thousands attended an anti-LGBT protest in Istanbul on Sunday, denouncing gay 'propaganda' in the country - where in reality LGBT events are prohibited.

Serbian police clashed with far-right demonstrators during the EuroPride march in Belgrade yesterday afternoon, DPA reported, quoted by BTA. Several thousand people joined the parade of the LGBT community.

Hundreds of LGBT activists detained for taking part in a banned Istanbul Pride Parade on Sunday were released on Monday after a night in detention.

"Police interrogation of 373 people who were detained yesterday is now over, and they will be sent to hospital before being released," the organisers of Istanbul Pride Week said.

Global Pride event in Istanbul, June 2020. Photo: EPA-EFE/SEDAT SUNA

"We have obtained information that between 21.06.2022 (Tuesday) and 23.06.2022 (Thursday) gatherings, press releases, marches, distribution of leaflets, etc. are planned to be held within the scope of the 30th Istanbul LGBTI+ Pride Week," the governors' offices said in a statement.

Participants carry placards and rainbow colored flags during Sarajevo's first-ever gay pride parade, in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, on September 8, 2019. PHoto: EPA-EFE/Fehim Demir

The group called on Muslims and Christians to "join us against this plague".

"The Bible, like the Quran, condemns homosexuality!" it said in a Facebook post on Monday.

Marking Kosovo's third Pride Week, the main squares of the capital Prishtina were filled with people attending the Pride Parade under the slogan "Whoever your heart beats for", and which passed by the government building, the parliament and other landmarks of the city.

The Third Pride Week in Kosovo began on Monday with a reception in the government building where several top officials, including the President, Hashim Thaci, were present. The opening will continue with Majlinda Hoxha's artistic exhibition, "QUEIN," at the Institute for Urbanism and Design.

A long column of people attending the Belgrade Pride Parade - motto, "I'm not giving up" - and marking the end of Pride week, passed near the Serbian Presidency building, the city and national parliaments and continued to the government building. The organisers of the event then addressed the crowd about the demands of the community.

Pride Week has passed, and once again, we are faced with efforts to increase awareness about queer and transgender culture. It is possible to see many projects during and before the Pride Week in Istanbul, questioning if we are aware of the stories, memories and pain of transsexual people seeking to raise awareness about this issue. 

The LGBTI community in Sofia and its supporters took to the streets of the Bulgarian capital on Saturday in a colourful celebration of diversity, despite a backlash from conservative "pro-family" groups and homophobic political forces.

The 2019 Pride, which is the twelfth such event to take place in the country, went ahead under the motto "Empower love, not hate".