Serbian patriarch calls for ban of gay parade, exhibit
Resposted from B92: http://www.b92.net/eng/news/society-article.php?yyyy=2012&mm=10&dd=03&nav_id=82467
BELGRADE -- Serbian Patriarch Irinej has urged Prime Minister Ivica Dačić to ban the upcoming gay Pride Parade.
Irinej also called for the ban of a photo exhibit by Swedish artist Elisabeth Ohlson Wallin, which shows Jesus Christ dressed in women's clothing.
In a release submitted to Tanjug, the patriarch says the "tragicomic parade of shame" casts a heavy moral shadow on Belgrade, on Serbia's longstanding Christian culture and the dignity of the family, as the basic unit of humanity.
Commenting on the exhibit, which has stirred a lot of debate in the public, the patriarch said it was "deeply insulting."
"I had not expected that this year I would again be forced to turn to you on behalf of the Serbian Orthodox Church, its members, who are the dominant majority in Serbia, and on behalf of numerous members of other religions, with the plea and demand that, by your authority as prime minister, you prevent the scandalous exhibit of photographs by Swedish artist Elisabeth Ohlson Wallin," Irinej wrote.
The parade is scheduled for October 6 in Belgrade, while the opening of the controversial exhibit dubbed "Ecce Homo" should take place Wednesday night at the Center for Cultural Decontamination.
The Dveri Movement has announced that it will file charges against the organizers of the exhibition for inciting national, racial and religious hatred and intolerance. The movement believes that the manifestation is aimed against traditional religions and religious communities.
Dveri will also file charges against the Center for Cultural Decontamination and it will set up stands where its activists will hand anti-gay leaflets to citizens.
Center for Cultural Decontamination Director Borka Pavićević has stated that she believes that the exhibit will be held without major problems.
Despite announcements, the Pride Parade organizers still have not been officially informed that the event will be banned.
Member of the Pride Parade Organizing Committee Goran Miletić says that the organizers respected the authorities’ decision to ban the parade in the previous years but that they “will not just sit” this year. He added that they would take certain steps if the parade was banned.
Serbia’s Prime Minister Ivica Dačić has stated that the parade will be banned if security risks were too high. He told B92 that the police could, with the use of water cannons and firearms, enable the holding of the Pride Parade but that he was not ready to allow the holding of the event if the cost was the loss of many lives.
Democratic Party (DS) leader Boris Tadić has supported the holding of the parade. According to announcements, Swedish European Affairs Minister Eva Birgitta Ohlsson, who will visit Belgrade on October 5-6, will also participate in the parade.
EU Commissioner for Home Affairs Cecilia Malmstrom has stated that “all eyes are on Serbia” ahead of the Pride Parade.
