Thousands Attend Anti-Gay Protest In Serbia Ahead Of Sunday’s Scheduled Gay Rights Parade

The Australian Associated Press reports that between 7,000 and 10,000 anti-gay zealots gathered Saturday in the Serbian capital of Belgrade to stage an anti-gay pride protest ahead of a planned gay pride parade this Sunday. According to the AAP, parade “Participants ranged from families with children to young football supporters, some of whom gave fascist salutes and shouted for the death of homosexuals.” Police monitored the protest, organized by Dveri, a dangerous, extremist nationalist group, but there no incidents. Dveri spokesperson Miroslav Parovic said “The state does nothing to help families yet it authorise this unnatural rally. We want it stopped.” Meanwhile, Radio Free Europe offers a first-person report on preparations for the parade scheduled for Sunday, organizers expecting an estimated 1,000 to participant, protected by at least 5,000 police officers, warning the participants that this parade, unlike the ones held in the West, will be less a festive celebration and more a defiant public announcement of the presence of gays and the demand for equal rights in a country that continues to defy any definition of democracy.