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WORLD NEWS Saturday 7 September 2019

Bosnia’s 1st LGBT parade defies threats, urges tolerance

By ELDAR EMRIC Though any form of discrim-
Associated Press ination is banned by law,
SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herze- gay people in Bosnia face
govina (AP) — Bosnia’s em- widespread harassment
battled LGBT community and hate attacks that are
will defy threats of violence rarely prosecuted. Culibrk,
to hold the Balkan coun- the activist, claimed the
try’s first ever pride parade discrimination includes pre-
this weekend and appeal venting gays from donat-
for tolerance and unity in ing blood in hospitals.
a society torn by war-era Another activist, Nera Mesi-
divisions and gripped by novic, said she was forced
poverty. to leave Bosnia in order to
The event, dubbed ‘Ima marry her lesbian partner.
Izac!,’ which roughly trans- Even more devastating, she
lates ‘Coming out,’ will be said, was that upon their re-
held in Sarajevo on Sunday turn the couple could not
under tight security to stave show affection in public in
off possible attacks by ex- Sarajevo.
tremist groups, which in the “We were attacked in
past have disrupted similar the center of the city. This
gatherings. happens all the time, ev-
Sarajevo is the last of the In this Thursday, Sept. 24, 2008 file photo, Bosnian police officers stand guard at the entrance to ery day,” said Mesinovic.
Balkan capitals to schedule Sarajevo’s Art Academy, as people protest against Bosnia’s first gay festival, which is being held “I came back and all of a
a pride march after neigh- at the academy, in Sarajevo, Bosnia. sudden I cannot hold my
boring countries moved to Associated Press partner’s hand, we cannot
improve LGBT — lesbian, ethnic divisions and na- society and create room ised to take part. kiss in the street.”
gay, bisexual and trans- tionalist sentiments that fu- for discussion.” But fears of violence are While such incidents and
gender — rights as part of eled the 1992-95 conflict The organizers — more than high after LGBT festivals in anti-gay sentiment are re-
an effort to modernize and and are still holding Bosnia a dozen activists from all Sarajevo were attacked by ported in all the Balkans’
become members of the back. sides of Bosnia’s ethnic di- radical Islamists and hooli- predominantly patriarchal
European Union. “We live in a society that vide — have received sup- gans in 2008 and 2014, in- societies, there also have
Even so, the backlash has no space for dialogue,” port from many prominent juring several people. Op- been changes: Serbia has
against the parade has said Branko Culibrk, one figures in Bosnia, fellow ac- ponents are planning two a lesbian prime minister,
been considerable in this of the activists behind the tivists in the region and from gatherings this weekend, and Montenegro is con-
deeply conservative na- march. “We want to open U.S. and EU officials in the and Sarajevo police have sidering allowing same-sex
tion, which has entrenched a debate that will shake up country who have prom- brought in reinforcements. partnerships. q
Group: We warned Germany of Russia threats to slain Georgian

Associated Press for him to receive special man arrested over the kill- Gruenewaelder, said the
BERLIN (AP) — A group pro- protection. The group said ing had links to organized country’s security services
moting ties between Ger- Khangoshvili, a Georgian crime in Russia. Weekly were aware of Khangosh-
many and the Caucasus citizen of Chechen ethnic- Focus, which first reported vili, but declined to elabo-
says it warned German au- ity who fought against Rus- about the letter, claimed rate citing privacy reasons
thorities years ago about sian troops in Chechnya, the suspect had tattoos and the ongoing investiga-
Russian threats against a survived multiple assassina- commonly worn by Russian tion. The Berlin prosecutors’
Georgian man who was tion attempts and contin- mobsters office said it was investigat-
shot dead in broad day- ued to receive threats after Rival weekly Der Spiegel ing the background to the
light in the heart of Berlin fleeing to Germany. and investigative website killing but likewise declined
last month. In his letter, the group’s Bellingcat reported sepa- to comment on media re-
The German-Caucasian chairman Ekkehard Maass rately last week that the ports.
Society on Friday provided called for the 40-year-old suspect’s passport indi- In a rare step, Berlin police
The Associated Press with a to receive “special protec- cated ties to Russian intel- published a photograph of This photo provide by the
letter addressed to a senior tion and not to be sent to ligence. the suspect and called for Berlin Police Department on
official at Germany’s mi- where the long arm of Putin Russia has vehemently de- anyone who saw the man Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2019, shows
gration office dated Jan. can reach him.” nied involvement in the kill- in the days before the kill- a 48-year-old Russian man
arrested shortly after the fatal
13, 2017, stating that Ze- According to German and ing ing, knew where he stayed shooting of a 40-year-old
limkhan Khangoshvili’s life international news out- A spokesman for Germa- or knew him personally to Georgian last month.
was in danger and asking lets a 48-year-old Russian ny’s Interior Ministry, Bjoern come forward.q Associated Press