Out in full force

Yesterday a Gay Pride parade was held in Belgrade. A few years back, things turned very nasty, with several participants being beaten up by indignant citizens (a euphemism I'm using for 'huligani' or hooligans, as they're called here.) Last year when members of the Gay Pride movement wanted to march, they were told that the police could not ensure their safety...lame excuse. This year, the City of Belgrade made every effort for a peaceful parade to take place, with the aim to tell the world that all minorities are respected here, and assigned around 5000 police to make sure things went smoothly. The parade itself did go smoothly. However, since in every society there are people who are just waiting for any excuse to smash windows, overturn garbage bins, create general unrest, and provoke the police into using tear gas, some such incidents did take place. In the above photo you see part of a cordon of special police who have blocked off two main streets to vehicle traffic. (taken from my window)