Falko Drossmann, the German Bundestag member and spokesperson for queer policy of the SPD parliamentary group, has announced a visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina and its capital Sarajevo on the occasion of the fourth Pride March taking place on June 24.

Speaking to N1, ahead of his visit, Drossman said he is coming to Sarajevo to show support to LGBTIQ community in BiH.

“My visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina is to learn about the situation of the LGBT community, the civil society, of what the government thinks about these topics, of human rights, especially the queer community, to support the community in fighting for their rights, their human rights,” said Drossmann.

The German parliamentarian is also a member of the Human Rights Committee as well as the Defense Committee, as a lieutenant colonel in the German Air Force.

Bosnia's fourth Pride March on June 24 under the slogan ‘proudly together’

In an interview with N1 he touched upon the issues that are common for LGBTIQ communities such as hate speech.

He stressed the importance of fighting against hate speech, especially in cases where LGBT is compared to paedophilia and presented as something bad.

This is why, Drosmann noted, it is important to talk to each other and speak about hate speech and ban it.

As for his expectations from the visit to BiH, he said he would like to share his own and learn about the experiences from the community in Bosnia and Herzegovina, “ so we can learn from each other.”