Baluarte
06-16-2013, 10:15 AM
Slovenian President Borut Pahor lead his country’s pride parade while thousands marched in the Zagreb Pride parade in neighboring Croatia
http://www.gaystarnews.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/400xY/Zagreb_Pride.jpg
Pride parades were held free of violence in the former Yugoslav republics of Slovenia and Croatia yesterday in a growing sign of acceptance of LGBT rights in the region.
Slovenian President Borut Pahor lead the Ljubljana Pride parade where around 600 people marched with the theme ‘Freedom and Solidarity are a Same-Gender Couple.’
Prior to the march organizers released a statement where they urged Slovenians to not let economic woes in Europe push social justice issues off the agenda.
‘It seems it is never the right time to demand unconditional equality,’ the statement read.
‘With the on-going financial, economic and social crises, the present seems a particularly wrong time. Today, identity questions are pushed aside. The [problems] of the unequal position of women in the public space, of the violence against women and children, of the discrimination against “the erased,” of foreign workers, of the discrimination against single people, and especially of the complete legal inequality of gay people and their families have as well as disappeared from the agendas of political parties.’
‘Gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transsexuals demand an absolute legal equality, which is only the first step on the road to equal participation in the search for solutions to the societal problems; solutions founded on solidarity, care, and economic and social safety for all. We do not want to spend another quarter of a century demanding our basic human rights – the rights which by definition belong to all human beings but are nevertheless denied to us by conservative political and social forces in Slovenia, and inadequately advocated by the declared progressive forces.’
Homosexuality has been legal in Slovenia since 1977 however plans to legalize same-sex marriage in the country were thwarted in parliament and rejected in a referendum in March of 2012.
Slovenian same-sex couples can register their partnerships but cannot adopt.
Meanwhile, a pride parade in the Croatian capital of Zagreb saw several thousand people march without incident in the biggest turnout to date.
The 2011 Zagreb Pride saw thousands march after 300 pride marchers in the coastal city of Split were attacked by 10,000 counter-protesters armed with rocks and bottles and the event has received wide support from politicians and the media since then.
The theme of the 2013 Zagreb Pride parade was ‘On behalf of all the family,’ and marched from the city’s Square of the Victims of Fascism at 2pm to send the message, ‘this is a country for all of us.’
Organizers hoped to send a message to the Croatian Government.
‘We say only one thing - we do not agree and will not agree to anything below full recognition of our human family and dignity, liberty and security of our families and our children,’ organizers said in a message to the government.
‘Zagreb Pride has always fought and will continue to fight today, and we will fight for ten more years for full marriage and family equality for lesbian and gay couples.
‘We say to you once again - we already have families, we already have children and we will have them no matter how you call us or whether you accept the truth of our lives or not.’
Both Slovenia and Croatia will join the European Union on July 1.
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Talk about diverting attention from the disastrous management of the Slovenian economy by the current leadership.
As usual, the LGBT lobby is there to save the day :rolleyes:
http://www.gaystarnews.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/400xY/Zagreb_Pride.jpg
Pride parades were held free of violence in the former Yugoslav republics of Slovenia and Croatia yesterday in a growing sign of acceptance of LGBT rights in the region.
Slovenian President Borut Pahor lead the Ljubljana Pride parade where around 600 people marched with the theme ‘Freedom and Solidarity are a Same-Gender Couple.’
Prior to the march organizers released a statement where they urged Slovenians to not let economic woes in Europe push social justice issues off the agenda.
‘It seems it is never the right time to demand unconditional equality,’ the statement read.
‘With the on-going financial, economic and social crises, the present seems a particularly wrong time. Today, identity questions are pushed aside. The [problems] of the unequal position of women in the public space, of the violence against women and children, of the discrimination against “the erased,” of foreign workers, of the discrimination against single people, and especially of the complete legal inequality of gay people and their families have as well as disappeared from the agendas of political parties.’
‘Gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transsexuals demand an absolute legal equality, which is only the first step on the road to equal participation in the search for solutions to the societal problems; solutions founded on solidarity, care, and economic and social safety for all. We do not want to spend another quarter of a century demanding our basic human rights – the rights which by definition belong to all human beings but are nevertheless denied to us by conservative political and social forces in Slovenia, and inadequately advocated by the declared progressive forces.’
Homosexuality has been legal in Slovenia since 1977 however plans to legalize same-sex marriage in the country were thwarted in parliament and rejected in a referendum in March of 2012.
Slovenian same-sex couples can register their partnerships but cannot adopt.
Meanwhile, a pride parade in the Croatian capital of Zagreb saw several thousand people march without incident in the biggest turnout to date.
The 2011 Zagreb Pride saw thousands march after 300 pride marchers in the coastal city of Split were attacked by 10,000 counter-protesters armed with rocks and bottles and the event has received wide support from politicians and the media since then.
The theme of the 2013 Zagreb Pride parade was ‘On behalf of all the family,’ and marched from the city’s Square of the Victims of Fascism at 2pm to send the message, ‘this is a country for all of us.’
Organizers hoped to send a message to the Croatian Government.
‘We say only one thing - we do not agree and will not agree to anything below full recognition of our human family and dignity, liberty and security of our families and our children,’ organizers said in a message to the government.
‘Zagreb Pride has always fought and will continue to fight today, and we will fight for ten more years for full marriage and family equality for lesbian and gay couples.
‘We say to you once again - we already have families, we already have children and we will have them no matter how you call us or whether you accept the truth of our lives or not.’
Both Slovenia and Croatia will join the European Union on July 1.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Talk about diverting attention from the disastrous management of the Slovenian economy by the current leadership.
As usual, the LGBT lobby is there to save the day :rolleyes: