The fourth BiH Pride March kicked off in Sarajevo on Saturday under the slogan “Proud Together”.
Participants started gathering at about 16:00 at the History Museum and began marching toward the National Theater in downtown Sarajevo at about 18:00.
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As the march was about to begin, organisers spoke to the media and said that it is evident that Sarajevo has become more tolerant, open and accepting of LGBT people, but that the situation is still far from ideal.
One of the organisers, Lejla Huremovic, noted that members of this community are still not equal in terms of legislation and that this should be the first thing that needs to change.
“It is very important to reduce violence against LGBT people. Violence is present in families, on the streets, in the business sphere, and anywhere where LGBT people are visible. They somehow experience violence and discrimination. We have been asking for the institutions to react for five years,” said Huremovic.
There is a strong police presence in the city.
“We have enough police officers and some of them are on standby. We have enough experience and we can secure these kinds of events,” Dzafer Hrvat, commander of the uniformed police of Sarajevo Canton, told N1.
While no major incidents have been reported by the time the participants began marching, a group of young men was previously spotted taking down a rainbow flag in downtown Sarajevo.
