An LGBTQ event in Belgrade takes place following the arrest of 42 demonstrators in Novi Sad the previous day.
This event, which proceeded peacefully on Saturday, also showed solidarity with university students spearheading nationwide pleas for early elections—a request that Vucic continually disregards.
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“We must not ignore the problems in our country,” stated the Pride march organizers, who highlighted police brutality and the detainment of protesters.
“Pride will not contribute to the illusion of normalcy,” they further remarked, emphasizing that this year’s Pride march served as a form of protest.
At the gathering in the Serbian capital, participants waved banners, one proclaiming “Gays against police state!”
The student-led protest movement in Serbia began in November following a train station roof collapse in Novi Sad that claimed 16 lives.
Demonstrators attribute the disaster to deep-rooted corruption, emerging initially as a call for a transparent investigation, which subsequently developed into demands for new elections.
For the first nine months, the protests were mostly nonviolent, but violent confrontations erupted in mid-August, leading to multiple injuries among civilians and law enforcement officers across the country.
On the eve of the Pride event, thousands of protesters assembled in Novi Sad for speeches before a march towards the university, where police employed tear gas and stun grenades to disperse the crowd.
Students accused the police of mounting “aggressive attacks” on their fellow citizens.
Interior Minister Ivica Dacic informed state-run RTS on Saturday that 13 police officers were injured and 42 protesters were detained following “a massive and brutal assault” by demonstrators.
Addressing the incident, Vucic alleged that protesters were attempting to “threaten Serbia’s stability and security” and “occupy the university premises in Novi Sad”.
“Serbians should recognize that the state is more powerful than anyone, and it always will be,” he stated.
