Sexual orientation

BELGRADE - Commissioner for Protection of Equality Nevena Petrusic wished all the best to the LGBT population in Serbia for the International Pride Day, noting that discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation is still widespread in Serbia and that the LGBT population is one of the most discriminated against.

The Pride parade, staged under the slogan ‘On the Right Side of the History’, saw protesters march through Zagreb on Saturday and hold a celebration in a city-centre park.

BELGRADE - Serbia's chief negotiator in the EU accession talks Tanja Miscevic has been presented with this year's Rainbow Award for her contribution to the fight against homophobia and transphobia, and improvement of the status of the LGBT population in Serbia.

Danilo Tvrdisic, a leader of the right-wing Dveri movement, has called on Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic to cancel the Gay Pride Parade scheduled for May 31, to avoid clashes in Belgrade.

"We have called on Vucic to cancel the parade as no normal person in Serbia would like to see a war in the streets of Belgrade or the destruction of property," Tvrdisic said.

The Merlinka festival, which has been organized in two other countries in the region since 2009, is running this year for the first time in Montenegro.

The festival is always held on International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia on May 17, which is marked all around the world.