[:en]Publication of the Annual Review has become an important date in Europe’s LGBTI calendar, largely thanks to the expertise and information from activists and experts on the ground in each country whose contributions make up the majority of the content. And whilst Pride can sometimes appear sidelined by civil society organisations, we are pleased to see several mentions of Pride events throughout this year’s edition.
Sadly, the reason for so many mentions is not so pleasing. Across many European countries, 2019 saw increasing violence and attacks on Pride marches and events, LGBTI community centres and Pride houses, and several attempts by politicians to ban Pride events altogether.
Key findings include:
- An increase in hate speech following the announcement of the first BiH Pride in Bosnia & Herzegovina
- Bulgaria’s deputy prime minister published a hateful statement ahead of Sofia Pride, and several candidates in Sofia’s local elections promised to ban the Pride if they were elected
- At Prague Pride, fireworks were fired into the event and a rainbow flag was set alight close to the Pride park
- Several threats – including three death threats – were made to organisers of the first Tbilisi Pride in Georgia, and government said that they were unable to protect the event; several arrests were made of counter-protestors
- In Hungary, senior political leaders called for Budapest Pride to be banned; extremists attacked the Pride house including at a pansexual dating event, and a participant was spat on and kicked after the main Pride event
- After Skopje Pride, seven activists were attacked by a mob of more than 20 who threatened them with death and rape threats
- In Poland, authorities attempted to ban equality marches in Lublin, Nowy Sącz, Gorzów Wielkopolski, Kielce and Gniezno, but all were overturned; violence erupted at Bialystok as more than 4,000 counter-protestors gathered
- A number of activists were detained during a Pride in St Petersburg, Russia
- Belgrade Pride’s information centre was attacked several times during the year
- Spain’s far-right ‘Vox’ party said during national elections that it would ban Pride marches, and compared homosexuality to bestiality
- Police in Turkey used tear gas and rubber bullets against students taking place in Pride at the Middle Eastern Technical University in Ankara; a criminal trial against 17 of them is ongoing
- Pride and other LGBTI events were also banned in the Turkish cities of Istanbul, Izmir, Antalya, Mersin and Tunceli
- The mayor of Kharkiv, Ukraine, said he would ban the city’s first Pride march, but he relented and more than 3,000 people attended
During 2019 and as the review highlights, several of the European institutions including the European Parliament, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and OSCE passed motions or published statements challenging bans on Pride and freedom of assembly.
The Review also highlights some progress and successes in 2019:
- Hundreds of Pride marches took place for the first time in towns and cities across Europe
- The first Dyke March in Tirana, Albania
- In Belgium, the first Trans* Pride took place in Brussels, and the first POC* Pride in Antwerp
- Despite challenges, the first BiH Pride in Sarajevo attracted more than 3,000 participants
- The first Balkan Trans & Intersex March took place in Zagreb, Croatia
- The Finnish prime minister attended Helsinki Pride for the first time
- The opening event of the third Kosovo Pride was held in the President’s government building
- The first Pride took place in Skopje, North Macedonia
- ‘The Pride Caravan’ took ‘flash mob’ Pride marches to ten towns and cities across Serbia
- A Pride was successfully held at Boğaziçi University, the only Pride not banned in Turkey in 2019
- Although not mentioned in the Review, in September, Belgrade Pride was awarded the right to host EuroPride in 2022
It’s clear from this report that the rise in far-right, nationalist and populist ideologies across Europe is leading to a corresponding increase in hatred towards the LGBTI community. Pride is an obvious target for our opponents, being as it is the biggest public manifestation of our movement. In 2020, we need everyone – politicians, civil society, progressive media, the LGBTI community and allies – to step up and march with us.
The Annual Review will be launched at the European Parliament later this morning. EPOA’s Secretary, Lilly Dragoeva of Bilitis and Sofia Pride, will be speaking at the launch, and board colleagues Juan Carlos Alonso Reguero and Steve Taylor will also be attending.
You can access the Annual Review on ILGA Europe’s website here.[:de]Die Veröffentlichung des Jahresberichts ist zu einem wichtigen Termin im europäischen LGBTI-Kalender geworden, vor allem dank der Expertise und Informationen von Aktivisten und Experten vor Ort in jedem Land, deren Beiträge den Großteil des Inhalts ausmachen. Und obwohl Pride manchmal von Organisationen der Zivilgesellschaft beiseite geschoben werden kann, freuen wir uns, dass in der diesjährigen Ausgabe mehrere Pride-Veranstaltungen erwähnt werden.
Leider ist der Grund für so viele Erwähnungen nicht so erfreulich. In vielen europäischen Ländern gab es 2019 zunehmende Gewalt und Angriffe auf Pride-Märsche und -Veranstaltungen, LGBTI-Gemeinschaftszentren und Pride-Häuser sowie mehrere Versuche von Politikern, Pride-Veranstaltungen ganz zu verbieten.
Aus diesem Bericht geht klar hervor, dass die Zunahme rechtsextremer, nationalistischer und populistischer Ideologien in ganz Europa zu einer entsprechenden Zunahme des Hasses gegen die LGBTI-Gemeinschaft führt. Stolz ist ein offensichtliches Ziel für unsere Gegner, da er die größte öffentliche Manifestation unserer Bewegung ist. Im Jahr 2020 brauchen wir alle – Politiker, die Zivilgesellschaft, die fortschrittlichen Medien, die LGBTI-Gemeinschaft und ihre Verbündeten -, um mit uns zu marschieren.
Der Jahresbericht wird im Laufe des Vormittags im Europäischen Parlament vorgestellt. Die Sekretärin der EPOA, Lilly Dragoeva von Bilitis und Sofia Pride, wird bei der Eröffnung sprechen, und die Vorstandskollegen Juan Carlos Alonso Reguero und Steve Taylor werden ebenfalls anwesend sein.
Sie können den Jahresbericht auf der Website der ILGA Europe hier abrufen.[:fr]La publication du Bilan annuel est devenue une date importante dans le calendrier LGBTI européen, en grande partie grâce à l’expertise et aux informations des militants et des experts de terrain de chaque pays dont les contributions constituent la majorité du contenu. Et si la Fierté peut parfois sembler mise de côté par les organisations de la société civile, nous sommes heureux de voir plusieurs mentions d’événements de la Fierté tout au long de l’édition de cette année.
Malheureusement, la raison de ces nombreuses mentions n’est pas si réjouissante. Dans de nombreux pays européens, l’année 2019 a été marquée par une augmentation de la violence et des attaques contre les marches et les manifestations de la Fierté, les centres communautaires LGBTI et les maisons de la Fierté, ainsi que par plusieurs tentatives d’interdiction totale des manifestations de la Fierté par les responsables politiques.
Il ressort clairement de ce rapport que la montée des idéologies d’extrême droite, nationalistes et populistes en Europe entraîne une augmentation correspondante de la haine envers la communauté LGBTI. La fierté est une cible évidente pour nos opposants, étant donné qu’elle est la plus grande manifestation publique de notre mouvement. En 2020, nous avons besoin que tout le monde – les politiciens, la société civile, les médias progressistes, la communauté LGBTI et ses alliés – se mobilise et marche avec nous.
Le bilan annuel sera lancé au Parlement européen plus tard dans la matinée. La secrétaire de l’EPOA, Lilly Dragoeva de Bilitis et Sofia Pride, s’exprimera lors du lancement, et ses collègues du conseil d’administration Juan Carlos Alonso Reguero et Steve Taylor seront également présents.
Vous pouvez accéder à la revue annuelle sur le site d’ILGA Europe ici.[:]