BELGRADE – A gay rights parade in Belgrade descended into violence yesterday as thousands of police deployed to protect marchers clashed with gangs of anti-gay protesters, sparking riots, injuries and dozens of arrests.
One official said 90 police officers required medical attention and two had been seriously wounded in the violence, which spread to other parts of the capital as nationalists and skinheads lashed out at targets unrelated to the parade.
Firefighters extinguished a blaze at the headquarters of the Democratic Party of President Boris Tadic, and witnesses said some in the building were wounded. A witness said others had tried to climb up scaffolding into the parliament building, but were chased away.
The violence highlighted the intolerance that still pervades Serbian society a decade after the country ousted strongman Slobodan Milosevic, ending its pariah status.
The parade, the first of its kind in Belgrade in nearly a decade, had been seen as a test of Serbia’s readiness to become a more modern, open society after years of war in the 1990s.
The clashes occurred two days ahead of a planned visit of US secretary of state Hillary Clinton, who wants to highlight Washington’s support for Belgrade’s EU aspirations.
Gangs of tough-looking youths threw stones at police wearing riot gear, smashed windows of cars and buses and looted kiosks. Others sang nationalist songs.
Bloodied police could be seen leaving the scene and witnesses heard gunshots fired toward security forces. Police said at least one gay rights activist had been beaten unconscious and more than 100 people had been detained.
Debris lay scattered across the main streets in central Belgrade and clouds of white tear gas rose from the ground.
“It is a shame for me to march, to stand for what I am, and to have thousands of cops protect me from hysterical nationalists,” said Milena (36), a lesbian rights activist. – (Reuters)