Post by radovic on May 20, 2008 10:34:13 GMT -5
Serb Skinheads Threaten Gay Eurovision Fans
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Belgrade is hosting the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest20 May 2008 Belgrade _ A group of Belgrade skinheads vowed to “hunt down” homosexuals who publicly express their love in Serbia ahead of the Eurovision Song Contest.
“We want to preserve the purity of Serbian people and we will fight against all decadent tendencies and particularly homosexuals as representatives of everything which is anti-Christian and negative,” said the group leader who identified himself only as Milan.
The group from the Novi Beograd, a drab, communist-era conglomerate of apartment blocs in Serbian capital said it will organise its own “anti-gay” patrols and “publicly label all such people.”
“We want to alert Serbian people that this Western disease is knocking on our doors,” Milan said.
He said that “violence will hinder the chances of Serbia and Belgrade to cash in from Eurovision for the benefit of Serbian people and that’s why we will not use violence,” Milan said.
Earlier Serbia’s hardline nationalist organisation Obraz warned it will show "zero tolerance to the promotion and spread of that evil" and that it will use "all means to stop it."
Authorities initially pondered having police escorting gay visitors but then opted for increased security across the city for the week of semifinals and up to the May 24 final.
“We haven’t seen too many incidents downtown involving people who openly presented themselves as homosexuals, mainly obscene words and abusive language,” said a Belgrade police official who spoke on the customary condition of anonymity.
Homosexuality is largely a taboo in Serbia’s patriarchal society, and gay activists were assaulted by nationalists while trying to stage their first Gay Pride parade in downtown Belgrade in 2001. Dozens were injured in the riots.
In a statement carried earlier by local media, the gay rights group Queeria expressed concern over the safety of homosexual Eurovision fans in Belgrade. The 2008 event, which has a large following among homosexuals across Europe, is being held in Serbia after Marija Serifovic won last year's contest.
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Belgrade is hosting the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest20 May 2008 Belgrade _ A group of Belgrade skinheads vowed to “hunt down” homosexuals who publicly express their love in Serbia ahead of the Eurovision Song Contest.
“We want to preserve the purity of Serbian people and we will fight against all decadent tendencies and particularly homosexuals as representatives of everything which is anti-Christian and negative,” said the group leader who identified himself only as Milan.
The group from the Novi Beograd, a drab, communist-era conglomerate of apartment blocs in Serbian capital said it will organise its own “anti-gay” patrols and “publicly label all such people.”
“We want to alert Serbian people that this Western disease is knocking on our doors,” Milan said.
He said that “violence will hinder the chances of Serbia and Belgrade to cash in from Eurovision for the benefit of Serbian people and that’s why we will not use violence,” Milan said.
Earlier Serbia’s hardline nationalist organisation Obraz warned it will show "zero tolerance to the promotion and spread of that evil" and that it will use "all means to stop it."
Authorities initially pondered having police escorting gay visitors but then opted for increased security across the city for the week of semifinals and up to the May 24 final.
“We haven’t seen too many incidents downtown involving people who openly presented themselves as homosexuals, mainly obscene words and abusive language,” said a Belgrade police official who spoke on the customary condition of anonymity.
Homosexuality is largely a taboo in Serbia’s patriarchal society, and gay activists were assaulted by nationalists while trying to stage their first Gay Pride parade in downtown Belgrade in 2001. Dozens were injured in the riots.
In a statement carried earlier by local media, the gay rights group Queeria expressed concern over the safety of homosexual Eurovision fans in Belgrade. The 2008 event, which has a large following among homosexuals across Europe, is being held in Serbia after Marija Serifovic won last year's contest.