Yahoo – AFP,
Rachel O'BRIEN, September 17, 2017
 |
| Serbia's prime minister Ana Brnabic (2nd right) attends the Gay Pride parade on September 17, 2017 in Belgrade (AFP Photo/ANDREJ ISAKOVIC) |
Belgrade
(AFP) - Serbia's lesbian prime minister said Sunday that she was working
"one step at a time" towards a more tolerant society, as she joined
Belgrade's annual gay march held under heavy security.
Ana
Brnabic, 41, became one of the few openly gay government leaders in the world
when she came to power in June, but activists say homophobia remains a
widespread problem in the conservative Balkan country.
Setting off
on the Pride parade with hundreds of activists waving rainbow flags and
balloons, Brnabic was keen to give a more positive message, saying Serbia was
"finally showing what I believe is its true face".
"We do
have a very loud minority, an aggressive minority of people who are against
this, but most of the people in Serbia, I think, are people who think in terms
of 'live and let live'," she told AFP.
She
encouraged gay youths to be "full of understanding for people who are very
traditional and who do not yet truly understand what this is about".
 |
A child
helps to wave a huge rainbow flag during the Gay Pride parade on
September 17,
2017 in Belgrade (AFP Photo/ANDREJ ISAKOVIC)
|
In 2010,
Belgrade's Pride parade descended into clashes between anti-gay protesters and
police, injuring more than 100 people and prompting a three-year ban on the
event.
This is the
fourth consecutive year the march has gone ahead under a huge security
presence, and the first time a prime minister has attended.
Brnabic,
who wore jeans and a dark jacket and posed for selfies with marchers, said the
parade was "more relaxed" than in previous years, with a sharp
reduction in police numbers.
Around
2,000 armed officers guarded the cordoned-off streets as activists marched
through the city, accompanied by a soundtrack of pop music and a police
helicopter buzzing overhead.
'Pinkwashing' suspicions
Brnabic was
chosen for the top job by her predecessor, Aleksandar Vucic, after he was
elected president. She had entered politics less than a year earlier as public
administration minister.
Her
appointment, endorsed by parliament, made international headlines. But sceptics
suspected an attempt at "pinkwashing", with Brnabic used as a puppet
by Vucic to improve Serbia's image as it campaigns to join the European Union.
 |
This is the
fourth consecutive year the Pride march has gone ahead under a huge security
presence, and the first time a prime minister has attended (AFP Photo/ANDREJ
ISAKOVIC)
|
Critics
allege that Vucic -- still the country's most powerful politician -- is a
populist authoritarian who styles himself as the only one capable of
maintaining Serbian stability.
Brnabic, a
technocrat with a business background, has dismissed allegations that she was
chosen merely because of her sexual orientation.
"I'm
proud to be living in a country with a president who has actually, out of all
the people, said 'I do not care whether she's gay or straight, I care whether I
think she's capable'," she said at the march.
'A
pragmatic person'
In a survey
conducted in 2015 by the Washington-based National Democratic Institute, only
12 percent of Serbian respondents said they would completely support their
child if he or she were homosexual.
Although
the country has various legal acts addressing gender identity and anti-gay
discrimination, rights activists say that implementation is poor.
They are
now campaigning for the adoption of a law on same-sex partnerships, for which
they hope to win the premier's support.
Asked
whether she would like to see the law pass, Brnabic said: "I can't give
you my personal opinion right now because I'm here as the prime minister
representing the Serbian government."
 |
People
carry signs and rainbow flags during the Gay Pride parade on
September 17, 2017
in Belgrade (AFP Photo/ANDREJ ISAKOVIC)
|
She said
she would discuss the issue with ministers and civil society groups to
"see what is it that we need to do to enable civil liberties in
Serbia".
"I'm a
very pragmatic person, for me it's one step at a time, and I think if we go one
step at a time, that is how we build a more tolerant society."
The
premier's attendance at the march drew a largely positive response from
participants who spoke to AFP, though Ivana Mitrovic, a 35-year-old from the
northern city of Novi Sad, was sceptical.
"I
don't like the government. It's all for show," she said.
Others
thought Brnabic's visibility could inspire young gay and transgender people
even in traditionally minded villages.
"For
me that's a good thing," said Nevena Pupic, 34, a rights activist and
financial officer from Belgrade.
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