Zagreb LGBTIQ Pride

Yesterday the 8th LGBTIQ (lesbiangaytransintersexualqueer) pride took place with around 500 people in zagreb, the capital of croatia. Beforhand the pride organisers made clear with their call that public visibility is very important from their point of view to make the choice of non-heteronormal ways of life possible:
"Pride events serve as a public gathering of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, transexual and intersex (LGBTIQ) persons, and as such represent a gathering of utmost political and social importance. Your presence would encourage South-Eastern European LGBTIQ community to fight for our rights and as well give a strong impact to Croatian institutions, political organizations and public to advocate and/or support LGBTIQ rights."
( from: www.zagreb-pride.net )

The pride this year was for two reasons something special. On the one hand the stonewall riots have their 40th anniversary in 2009. On the other hand it was first time this year that a legal "anti-pride" demonstration was announced by variouse small croatian fascist and nationalist groups and parties.

Violent attacks against participants of the pride were common the last years and last year there was even an attempt to attack with a molotov-cocktail, which was made impossible just because of police presence. So tension was high in the context of this years pride beforhand. The route should lead beneath the counter-protest and at the beginning of the pride sheets were delivered with instructions not to let yourself been provoked by them and not to make things worse when passing by the square (Trg bana Jelačića). The start of parade was Trg Marshala Titova and police-squads were all around, supported by a private security company, to avoid attacks of bigger groups on participants. A sad reality, which one of the organisors mentioned me some time befor allready, showing that it is not possible to make pride to happen without such a cop-support. A strange feeling to be told to trust the cops, who are as state violence force from their structure against anarchist movements.

We moved surrounded by riotcops with colorfull balloons in our hands and with posters through the small streets of the inner city, reached the place of the counter-demonstration and i was feeling a bit unshure. In front was a cop who had a fire-extinguisher with pepperspray for the case of cases. (maybe it was also just a normal fire-extinguisher i am not shure, but felt like it has to be with pepperspray in that situation). Next to me a male activist was dancing in a female militair-uniform, long boots and without trousers, selfconfident with his rainbow-flag. Few people were dressed up. Especially men seemed to be more discreet and there had been also one antifascist group with banners and flags saying "dead to the fascism" and some politicians from the green party, who all in all did not look like people you would meet at western CSD (cristopher street days) or pride demonstration, these were more reservated.

The pride in zagreb is a more political event. This was becoming clear as when demonstration started the arrived supporter-groups were per megafon welcomed. LGBTIQ activists from belgrade with a banner saying "we see each other in belgrade" was naming the conflict about the violence in the streets and that people from belgrade exist, who do not want to take this violence any more and who want to make a pride in belgrade again as well. (see for this topic f.e.  http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/1415789.stm ) There have been also people from bosnia, who have also a more problematic local situation. As one activist was telling me after pride the queer fest in sarajevo last year was cacelled because religiouse fundamentalists were pushing threat scenarios in public that organisors decided to not continue this first event ever about sexual orientation and queer in broadest sence in bosnian history (see:  http://www.queer.ba/qsf-en.htm and  http://eng.queerbeograd.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=57&Itemid=1 )
The zagreb pride is therefor also a place where people from different war zones from ex-yugoslavia (and abroad) gather to be not only as a community against homophobia and transphobia but who also rise topics like antiracism and feminism. What was disturbing me today was the probably also provoking connection to nations. On the one hand some people carried an albanian flag, on the other hand it was spoken "we are also croatia". This is the truth in a way and it is also for shure that there are LGBTIQ people in albania who are not visible in public and this can be problematically rised by a flag, but for me it looks too much nationalistic and therefor excluding on other levels.

So we reached the square in the inner city which was filled allready with a mass of emotional homophob fascists, who had not only their national banners but also posters saying "zagreb pride - shame of my city", "croatia has not enough children" or "today homosexuals, tomorrow paedophiles". They were seperated by a lot of riot cops between them and us. Some eventhough did not want to take this and were struggeling with the police (around 30 of them as newspapers said, 4 were even arrested because of that situation). The mass was much bigger, was shouting stupid things through the cops line to us. But it was not as we expected coming to physical violence against us. The same day in the evening was a concert of the famouse serbian singer Lepa Brena in the city, so nationalists and fascists had double "reason" to protest. And against her gig there was as well a protest with nearly the same slogans (f.e. "Lepa Brena - shame of my city")

The more dangerouse part of the zagreb pride should follow later, like the last years. When we gathered at the final square and beneath some speeches also music was played, we could dance wild, the information was spread that small groups of fascists were gathering in the streets around to observe and beat up people later on. This was happening last year as well, some people were heavilly injured. This time it was also at least one heavilly injured person, who was catched in front of his living place and destroyed nose beneath other violence as i heard. Till now no other attacks were announced to me.
The "space invaders against homophobia" stickers from the rosa antifa vienna i had with me were quickly delivered on the demonstration ;-)
But surprising to me was the very rare international participation, because the mobilisation was completely also in english and zagreb is close to vienna and other metropoles.

Here are some pictures of the pride and of the fascists inside an croatian written article:
 http://www.index.hr/vijesti/clanak/trojica-antigay-nasilnika-pretukla-27godisnjaka-privedeno-petero-izgrednika/437746.aspx

A short videoclip about the day you can find here:
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6hVu_1UgZ8

I wrote an older article in german, named "Sexuelle Orientierung und Öffentlichkeit in Südosteuropa":
 http://a3yo.noblogs.org/post/2009/05/27/sexuelle-orientierung-und-ffentlichkeit-in-s-dosteuropa