Belgrade police clash with hooligans during Pride march. Photo: Facebook
When the police fired tear gas at Serbian nationalists during the 2015 annual pride parade in Bijeljina, the ensuing protests were largely ignored. It wasn’t until a year later, however, that a group of nationalists descended upon the police station, smashing windows, looting cars, and firing at police with assault rifles. The police were left with their hands tied, a leader of the protesters jailed, and the pride celebrations cancelled.
The incident had taken place the day before the country’s independence day. It was the third time a similar march had been blocked by riot police, after a march in the city of Niš in 2010 and a march in the centre of Belgrade in 2016. The protesters wanted to challenge the authorities’ discriminatory policy towards minorities. However, the authorities did not view them as an issue. The official investigation into the incident found that both the riot police and the rally organisers had been involved in the violent behaviour.
This year, the police have again been accused of ‘racist’ violence, after a protest in northern Kosovo went from peaceful to violent. At least six migrants and refugees were brutally murdered by Serbian nationalists, who attacked a police station and a Catholic church in Pristina.
The violence in the streets in Kosovo occurred during the annual International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia (IDAHO), which is being marked on 6 June. The country’s deputy prime minister, Tomislav Nikolic, has condemned the violence in Kosovo.
The prime minister, Aleksandar Vučić, has also condemned the violence in Kosovo, and has promised to ensure that the perpetrators are brought back to “serve their sentence”.
Vučić’s government has been criticised for its inadequate response to the violence. A report by the independent think tank Open Society Institute and the International Crisis Group found that authorities in Serbia failed to investigate and punish Serbian nationalists who attacked the police station and the Roman Catholic church in