Dacic meets with LGBT representatives, apologizes

Dacic meets with LGBT representatives, apologizes

“I am sorry that my statement sounded as an insult to the LGBT population. I had no intention of offending anyone,” Dacic told reporters on Saturday after a meeting with representatives of Labris, one of the oldest lesbian human rights organizations in the region, and the commissioner for protection of equality.

He thanked the commissioner for having brought to his attention that his words could be interpreted “as a call for legitimization of violent actions against the LGBT population”, which had not been his intention.

This refers to the statement that the then interior minister Dacic made in 2013, when the pride parade scheduled to take place in Belgrade on September 28 was cancelled for security reasons.

In relation to the heated discussions surrounding the holding of the pride parade, Dacic said that members of the LGBT population are equal with other citizens and that one should not go to the other extreme and ingratiate oneself with them.

“I feel no hatred towards them. I just cannot accept that that is normal, because that is not natural,” Dacic said, posing the question: “Should I become gay so that this be pro-European?”

Together with many organizations and individuals, Labris filed a complaint to the commissioner for protection of equality who ascertained that the dignity of individuals of homosexual orientation had been wounded, and recommended to Dacic that he should invite a Libris delegation to a meeting.

The meeting addressed the problems facing the LGBT population, and Libris representative Jovanka Todorovic said that "this is a step toward strengthening the culture of human rights which is not at a satisfactory level.”