28-year-old Toulouse football supporter Brice Taton died this morning in a Belgrade hospital. Brice was critically injured on 17 September while sitting with other Toulouse fans in a cafe in central Belgrade when a group of some 30 hooligans/cowards attacked them unprovoked. This incident, along with a series of other attacks on foreigners over the last 2 weeks, has shocked Belgrade and her citizens.

No words can describe how terrible this is. This young man came to Belgrade, a city which has been recently gaining a reputation for being a safe, friendly and welcoming city, to support the team he loved, to spend time with his friends and enjoy himself, but he died at the hands of cowards who need numbers and weapons to carry out their pointless violence.

The police arrested and detained a number of young men and intended to charge them with attempted murder. Now they’ll be facing charges of murder and I hope they receive adequate sentences for their involvement in the death of this visitor to Belgrade.

You may be thinking, “what’s the big deal? Football violence and tourist attacks happen all the time in other countries.” Yes. It does. But it does not happen in Belgrade. Foreigners who have made Belgrade their home go on and on how it  is one of the safest places they’ve ever lived. That’s why it is so shocking for us who live here. I’ve never felt threatened in Belgrade – I can’t say the same for the time when I lived in the UK.

The people of Belgrade need to denounce the violence that has taken place on our streets over the last 2 weeks. There are hundreds of condolence comments on Serbian news websites, but Belgraders need to go out and show the world that we will not allow thugs and hooligans to threaten our amazingly safe city. And you know what, I think they will.

The Serbian Ministry of Human Rights has called on citizens to light candles and lay flowers tomorrow, Wednesday 30 September, at 11.30am at Trg Republike (Republic Square).

Also, a Protest Walk Against Violence (in Serbian) will take place on Thursday 1 October at 5pm. Already 700 people have confirmed their participation. The walk will begin  at Plato and will then move long Vasina street to Trg Republike, then along Knez Mihailova, ending at the Monument of Gratitude to France in Kalemegdan Park.

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Post tags: Belgrade, Brice Taton, football violence, protest

The second attempt to hold a LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered) pride march in Belgrade has failed. It was announced this morning that it has been cancelled due to security fears. The police and the state can’t guarantee the safety of Serbian citizens marching for tolerance, understanding and an end to discrimination.

Far right nationalist organisations and football hooligans have been threatening violence against the participants of the march, which was supposed to take place tomorrow, 20 September, in central Belgrade. The threats were serious: earlier in the week French football fans were beaten in downtown Belgrade while drinking coffee, with 1 Frenchman rushed to intensive care. Graffiti stating “death to faggots” (everyone seems to forget about the lesbians) and “we’re waiting for you” had appeared all over Belgrade these last weeks.

The march had been seen as a test for Serbia with world organisations, governments and Serbian celebrities calling for tolerance for and understanding of the LGBT community in Belgrade who face serious discrimination. The cancellation of the march, following a meeting between the organisers and the Serbian prime minister this morning, has shown that violent nationalists and hooligans are stronger than the entire Serbian police force.

In hindsight, maybe in face of such violence, it’s best that the march was cancelled. I wouldn’t want to see a repeat of the sickening violence that happened during the first Pride attempt in 2001. But then I can’t be happy that intolerance and threats of violence have stopped a section of Serbian society from having its voice heard.

I love living in Belgrade and Serbia, but I’m sad today because back home in the UK sexual orientation was not an issue. I hung out with gay, lesbian, bisexual and straight people. It did not matter to me who they fell in love with (or had one night stands with) and it did not mater to them. We valued each other’s personalities, common interests and the ability to have fun together. I wish the same for LGBT people in Serbia.

This was more than just a gay pride march. This was a chance to say no to violence and fear and yes to human rights. Tomorrow was a chance for Serbia to move forward.

It took a step back.

We’re all the same deep down.

Stop violence, stop nationalism, stop intolerance.

What do you think of the cancellation? Was it the right thing to do? Please let us know by leaving a comment.

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Post tags: Belgrade Gay Pride, human rights, LGBT, tolerance, violence

Last weekend I spent 4 days at EXIT – an annual music festival held in the Petrovaradin fortress in Novi Sad, a city 80-odd km north of Belgrade. This year’s EXIT, which began in 2000 as a protest against the Slobodan Milosevic government, was the 10th anniversary. Around 200,000 people visited it this year over the 4 days, including a large British and international contingent.

The picture above is a shot of the Dance Arena, located in a dried-up moat, where several thousands of hardcore clubbers danced from the darkness of 9pm all the way through to the blaring sunshine of 8am, becoming one with the music played by world famous DJs, drinking a lot of water, waving neon glow sticks and generally having a blast. I spent most of my time down there, but the latest I managed to stay was 6am on the Monday morning – I think I need to take a break after going 4 years in a row!

Previous Photo | Next Photo

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Post tags: culture, Exit Festival 2009, music, Novi Sad, party, photography

After holding talks with Tadic and delivering a joint press conference, he was driven to downtown Belgrade to lay a wreath at the spot where former Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic was assassinated in 2003, narrowly avoiding a visit to the Parliament building where the Serbian Radical Party had set up a ‘welcome party‘, brandishing signs saying Biden was a “Nazi” and a “fascist” and that he should “go home” – probably for the best that he didn’t see that. After meeting some more officials, Biden and Tadic were understandably peckish and wound down the evening with an official dinner.

Who knows what was actually said behind closed doors, but the message received today publicly from Biden was that the US does not expect Serbia to recognise Kosovo’s independence and that such recognition should not be a precondition for Serbia’s EU membership, which the US will support, or for forging US-Serbia relations.

The other message received today was that some Belgraders weren’t particularly happy with the near state of emergency imposed on Belgrade because of high security measures: hundreds of police blocked off roads in New Belgrade and the city centre, traffic was cleared, snipers were everywhere, bridges were closed and public gathering were banned. Some parts were off limits to pedestrians, even to the governor of the National Bank of Serbia who had to walk round the long way like everyone else, and when I tried to enter the main 24 hour pharmacy in the centre, I was abruptly told by a policeman, “It’s not working today, go elsewhere.” I’m sure Biden will receive a much more enthusiastic welcome in Kosovo on Thursday.

Regardless of what some Serbs (or anyone else) may think of Joe Biden and relatively recent US-led actions in Serbia, this visit is a definite sign that the US wants to rebuild relations with and to help Serbia – something which, in my opinion, coming from the the most powerful nation on the Earth, should not be too hastily rejected.

What do you think of US VP Joe Biden’s visit to Belgrade today? Do you think he should have stayed away or should Serbia welcome the US’s offer of friendly partnership? Let us know by leaving a comment.

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Post tags: Belgrade, Joe Biden, politics, Serbia, USA, vice president

Photo by Andy Mettler

On Wednesday, United States Vice President Joe Biden will visit Belgrade – the most senior US official to do so in 30 years. According to the US, the visit is an opportunity to “reset” US-Serbia relations. Of course, security is going to be extremely tight. Here’s a rundown of some of those measures (according to Blic):

• Serbia’s airspace will be closed and no flights will land at or take off from Belgrade Airport
• Several thousand will be involved in the security, including more than 150 US operatives
• The exact route of the VP’s motorcade won’t be revealed until the last minute
• The maximum number of Serbian police officers will be deployed onto the streets
• The route and the immediate vicinity will be cleared of all traffic and the bridge used will be closed
• All streets around the motorcade will be entirely cleared, including rubbish containers, parked cars and other objects (does that include kiosks?!)
• Mobile phones will not work in the high security zone while the VP is in town

It’s also possible that manhole covers will be welded shut, that all shutters/blinds along the route will have to be closed (I don’t have any shutters, so I’m hoping he’s not passing by my flat) and there will no doubt be hidden snipers on the rooftops along the route. All food and water (as well as air!), which will be given to (breathed in by) the VP will also be checked.

Joe Biden will also visit Kosovo and Bosnia-Herzegovina during his Balkan trip, which begins on Monday.

[UPDATE: Click here for a report on Biden's visit to Belgrade]

What’s your view on US VP Joe Biden visiting Belgrade? Let us know by leaving a comment.

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Post tags: Belgrade, Jo Biden, politics, United States

Natalia is a Belgrade beach beauty queen surrounded by handsome men, but Milica is always alone and sad, the men don’t realise how much she desires them. But there is a solution! Watch the advert (warning – it’s almost 8 minutes long! It’s also in English and French) and find out how Milica turned her life around and found happiness in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1926, and have a laugh at the over-the-top acting.

If you’re reading this in an email or in a RSS reader and can’t see the video, please visit the Balkan File website.

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Post tags: 1920s, advertising, commerical, Kingdom of Yugoslavia

Not everyone can wander in and shop at the SOS Markets – you need to posses a card which is only issued to people who are unemployed or who have a monthly income of less than 200 euro. According to the report, the groceries on sale in these social supermarkerts are 50-70 percent cheaper than in regular stores and in order to stop the system from being abused, there is a limit on how many of the same item you can purchase per shopping trip.

I think these stores are a really good idea and should make some difference to those who don’t have a lot of income. However, it would be better for all of us if the price of supermarket goods were to go down in general. One thing I like about UK supermarkets is the choice – consumers have the option of buying low, medium and high-priced groceries and there is an enormous range of  ’supermarket-own’ brands, such as 6p (6 euro cents) cans of baked beans or 23p (25 euro cents) packets of spaghetti. They were lifesavers when I was a cash-strapped student and were not at all that bad really.

Check out the full BBC article and watch the video for some idea of the produce available and the prices.

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Post tags: economy, food, poverty, supermarket

Thanks to @markowe for linking to the survey on Twitter

A new survey [in Serbian] conducted by the Tourist Organisation of Belgrade and the Belgrade Statistical office has shed light on what Belgrade’s 7,000 foreign residents think is good and bad about the city. Here’s a quick rundown of the results:

Likes

• Kalemegdan
• the Danube and Sava riverbanks
• Skadarlija
• Ada Ciganlija
• Kosutnjak
• the selection of restaurants
• traditional Serbian food

Dislikes

• traffic jams
• behaviour on public transport
• dirty streets
• air pollution
• aggressive drivers
• smoking in public places

The survey also reveals that

• 82% of foreign residents think Belgraders are hospitible
• 82%  feel safe in Belgrade
• 47% have never been on an organised city tour
• 60% remain in Belgrade at the weekend
• 62%  have a higher education
• 62% have lived in Belgrade for over one year
• most foreign residents are from Central or Northern Europe
• and 50% can speak and understand Serbian

I will write a follow-up post about my likes and dislikes of living in Belgrade as a foreigner in the next few days.

What do you like or dislike about Belgrade as a tourist or a foreign resident? As a native Belgrader, what do you like or dislike? Let us know by leaving a comment.

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Post tags: bad, Belgrade, dislikes, foreigners, good, likes

Government and military buildings, including the Yugoslavian Army Headquarters (pictured below), bridges (Novi Sad lost all of its bridges) and radio and telecommunication equipment across Serbia and Kosovo were destroyed. During the bombing many civilian buildings and areas were hit including apartment blocks, a passenger train, an Albanian refugee convoy, a maternity hospital, a car factory and most famously the Chinese Embassy, which caused international uproar. A bomb even hit Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. In one of the most deadly incidents, 15 civilians were killed and dozens injured when cluster bombs hit the southern city of Nis during the day, including the bus station and central market.

Estimates put the number of civilian deaths, both Serb and Albanian, at 2,500 and 12,000 people were injured. The police and military suffered 1,000 deaths.

The bombing left Serbia’s infrastructure in ruins. Novi Sad lost all three of its bridges and water and electricity supplies were severely disrupted. The ecological impact of bombings was also high with oil refineries hit releasing carcinogenic and toxic gases into the air and water supplies contaminated. Residents suffered daily trauma and food shortages were a problem.

Protests and vigils were held on an almost daily basis in the main squares of Serbia’s cities and on bridges. State television broadcast pirated Hollywood blockbusters before they were in the cinema, nightclubs opened their doors during the day for the youth to dance and try to forget what was happening and large outdoor concerts and performances were held.

Services will be held later today to remember the victims of the conflict and the air raid sirens will be sounded across Serbia at midday with a minute’s silence afterward.

Walking through Belgrade today, it’s difficult for me to comprehend what life must have been like during the NATO bombing. I just hope that nothing like it ever happens again.

What do you think of the NATO bombing of the then Yugoslavia? Where you in the country at the time? What are your memories? Let us know by leaving a comment.

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Post tags: bombing, Kosovo, NATO, Yugoslavia

His most recent comment, following a parliamentary debate on the what-has-become-rather-controversial anti-discrimination law, was as follows (my own translation):

In Serbia, there are over 3,700,000 women. Out of 3,700,000 women, we can say that 3,650,000 are very beautiful women. If this [anti-discrimination] law passes, and it is known that a large number of women are already finding it hard to cope with the global financial crisis, if we vote for this law, these women will surely be damaged.

Basically, as far as I understand it, he’s saying that if it is enshrined in law that homosexuals can’t be discriminated against, straight men in Serbia are going to suddenly become gay and there will be a lot of unsatisfied Serbian women. There’s two points I’d like to make:

1. I haven’t heard of women in the UK, France, Australia, Germany, Sweden, America and so on, where you can’t discriminate against gays, complaining of a lack of straight men. I wonder why that is?
2. Won’t somebody think about the straight men and the lack of straight females this law will surely cause? Either lesbians do not exist in Palma’s world or he’s secretly looking forward to the rampant female-on-female action if the law is passed.

For other face-slapping-inducing statements from Dragan Markovic Palma, such as that he was too young to have Beethoven perform for him in person, yes you read correctly, head over to this post at Belgraded.com.

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Post tags: discrimination, homosexuality, palma, politics