Participants of the BiH Pride March reached their final destination at the National Theater in Sarajevo without incident on Saturday, where activists delivered speeches and a cultural-artistic program was organised to raise awareness about the challenges the LGBTQI+ community faces in the country.
Numerous participants, including activists and citizens, set off for this location at 6:00 PM from the History Museum. They carried LGBTQI+ and Palestinian flags, chanting numerous slogans that echoed throughout the city.
“This is protest,” “This is pride,” “This is freedom,” “This is love,” “Free, Palestine” were among the messages that could be heard at the event.
There was a strong police presence in downtown Sarajevo throughout the march. A number of politicians and other public figures participated, including Minister of Communication and Traffic of BiH, Edin Forto, Deputy Minister of Human Rights and Refugees Duska Jurisic and musician Gino Banana.
“We have gathered here to send clear messages and to declare that we do not accept discrimination and stigmatization,” stated one of the participants of the BH Pride Parade.
Anisa Pracic Sehic, a member of the Organizing Committee of the BH Pride March, emphasized the need to put an end to silence and the tolerance of violence that unfortunately more and more people, including the LGBTQI+ community, are enduring in the country.
“For how long will we remain silent while oppression is being imposed on us, while we are daily called various derogatory names? When our freedoms become instruments of someone else's violence, when we must choose the streets on which we can walk when we select places where we can peacefully and without fear enjoy a cup of coffee. Violence is being perpetrated against us when we are forced to remain silent about our authenticity in order to have a chance at employment”, she said in her speech.
“Today, we have chosen to speak out and to break the cycle of violence. We will no longer allow institutions to silence us, to prevent us from living dignified lives and voicing loud protests,” she said, as she presented the demands:
“We demand the enactment of a Public Assembly Law based on European standards and BiH joining the family of positive practices to enable the right to protest as an instrument for the voice of disenfranchised and marginalized groups to be heard. We no longer want to wait for one of the basic rights, which is the right to a family life. Do not pretend that we do not exist. We demand recognition of our families in legislation. For five years, we have emphasized the need for legislation on same-sex partnerships, which is a shame for our institutions for not adopting it because our families share the same family values as yours”, she said.
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