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Belgrade Gay Pride Marchers Attacked By Violent Anti-Gay Demonstrators In Historic Parade

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Riot Police Battle Right-Wing Serbian Nationalists.

Serbian turns corner embracing democratic values

EXCLUSIVE – By Tanya Domi

Editor’s note: Tanya Domi has an extensive background in human rights and LGBT politics, both domestic and international. (See her bio below.) This is her first official piece as a regular contributor to The New Civil Rights Movement.

NEW YORK, Oct. 10, 2010–For the first time in Serbian history, an estimated 1,000 gay pride marchers hit the streets of Belgrade today, under the protection of hundreds of riot police, who were forced to deploy tear gas to protect marchers, as they battled right-wing nationalist rioters who attacked the parade at various points by throwing bricks, bottles and upending vehicles, along its route in downtown Belgrade.

Nearly 140 persons were injured; mostly police and 17 civilians, of whom 57 sought medical attention, according to B92 News.  Police used armored vehicles in battle with more than 6,000 right-wing “hooligans,” who sang patriotic football songs while throwing bricks, stones and bottles at police. B92 also reports that 207 were arrested and 100 remain in jail tonight.

Serbian Human and Minority Rights Minister Svetozar Čiplić and representatives of the ruling Democratic Party, the Liberal party, NGOs and European Union joined the LGBT marchers in solidarity behind a banner that said “We Can Together” while chanting “together against fascism”.

What a difference a year makes, when Prime Minister Mirko Cvetokic in 2009 told LGBT organizers that they could not hold a Pride parade because of safety concerns and if they persisted to march they would be found financially liable for all damages to city property.

President Boris Tadic’s government, feeling the pressure of European Union accession criteria that stipulates to adopting non-discrimination legislation against LGBT persons (and demonstrated respect for the rule of law) and added pressure increased with wide public support by the International Community urging Belgrade to host a successful gay pride parade after a decade of unfulfilled efforts by dedicated LGBT activists.  Tadic’s Western leaning government finally came through by putting a significant and well organized police presence on the streets of Belgrade.

The Serbian political ruling class came face-to-face with its violent legacy of xenophobic nationalism today as the streets of Belgrade became a new battleground against fellow Serbian citizens who are gay.  This new target is not a significant departure from its sordid recent past as Serb nationalists in power targeted and demonized “other” populations and perpetuated horrific crimes against Bosniaks, Croats and Kosovars in neighboring states.

These hooligans tout themselves as patriotic and religious Serbs who protect all that is sacred about Serbia according to their definition and are entwined with radical elements of the Serbian Orthodox Church, creating a clero-fascism axis that remains a potent political force within Serbia today.  An illustration of just how perverse the thinking of Serbian Orthodox priests about gays was in evidence after the march concluded when priests descended on “sacred space” in downtown Belgrade, issuing prayers while “cleansing” with incense, which had been “polluted” by the presence of homosexuals, according to local sources to this blog.

What is different now, is that Tadic, together with State Prosecutor Tomo Zorić, immediately announced after Pride had concluded that prosecutors and the police will take all necessary steps to identify rioters engaged in attacks on the police and marchers and were firm in commitment to enforce the rule of law for crimes of intolerance.

Despite the violence, Serbia turned a corner today toward embrace of Democratic values and rule of law in its efforts to support those among them who are LGBT.  The government enforced the right to freedom of expression and assembly as LGBT proudly walked the streets of Belgrade for the first time in history.

Nonetheless, the government has considerable unfinished business:  an important arrest awaits fugitive Bosnian General Ratko Mladic, believed to be living in Serbia, who is accused of genocide and crimes against humanity and must be turned over to the International War Crimes Tribunal of the Former Yugoslavia in the Hague, Netherlands.  Ongoing cooperation with the Court is a necessary hurdle for Serbia’s admission to the EU.

After the Pride march concluded today, marchers and their supporters held a party to celebrate. Despite the violence, LGBT marchers and their supporters had reason to celebrate and so should the government, who finally has thus far, taken all the actions expected of a well functioning democracy.

Tanya L. Domi is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University, who teaches about human rights in Eurasia and is a Harriman Institute affiliated faculty member. Prior to teaching at Columbia, Domi worked internationally for more than a decade on issues related to democratic transitional development, including political and media development, human rights, gender issues, sex trafficking, and media freedom. Her previous work in Bosnia and Herzegovina implementing the Dayton Peace Accords, 1996-2000, included stints as chair for the OSCE Media Experts Commission during the 1998 general elections, counselor to U.S. Amb. Robert Barry and as executive assistant to the late U.S. Amb. Robert Frowick.  She later served as Spokesperson and Director of Press and Public Information under Amb. Barry, 1999-2000.

Prior to working abroad, Domi became a nationally known LGBT rights activist in the United States as the legislative director and military freedom initiative director at the National Gay and Lesbian Taskforce, 1992-1994, where she worked to repeal the ban on lesbians and gays who served in the military and was directly involved in drafting and original introduction of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act in 1994.  She has been actively involved in the effort to repeal DADT during the past two years as a blogger and speaker, with expertise as a result of her 15 years of service in the U.S. Army as an enlisted soldier and commissioned officer.

Domi has worked in a dozen countries and most recently was a consultant in Southern Sudan where she provided training on developing presentation skills to the public and the media for the president, vice-president and several cabinet ministers of the Government of Southern Sudan.  Domi has a Masters of Arts in Human Rights from Columbia University, with a regional specialty in East Central Europe and The Balkans.

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‘Assassination of Political Rivals as an Official Act’: AOC Warns Take Trump ‘Seriously’

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April 25, 2024

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Democratic U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is responding to Thursday’s U.S. Supreme Court hearing on Donald Trump’s claim he has “absolute immunity” from criminal prosecution because he was a U.S. president, and she delivered a strong warning in response.

Trump’s attorney argued before the nation’s highest court that the ex-president could have ordered the assassination of a political rival and not face criminal prosecution unless he was first impeached by the House of Representatives and then convicted by the Senate.

But even then, Trump attorney John Sauer argued, if assassinating his political rival were done as an “official act,” he would be automatically immune from all prosecution.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor, presenting the hypothetical, expressed, “there are some things that are so fundamentally evil that they have to be protected against.”

RELATED: Justices’ Views on Trump Immunity Stun Experts: ‘Watching the Constitution Be Rewritten’

“If the president decides that his rival is a corrupt person, and he orders the military, or orders someone to assassinate him, is that within his official acts for which he can get immunity?” she asked.

“It would depend on the hypothetical, but we can see that could well be an official act,” Trump attorney Sauer quickly replied.

Sauer later claimed that if a president ordered the U.S. military to wage a coup, he could also be immune from prosecution, again, if it were an “official act.”

The Atlantic’s Tom Nichols, a retired U.S. Naval War College professor and an expert on Russia, nuclear weapons, and national security affairs, was quick to poke a large hole in that hypothetical.

“If the president suspends the Senate, you can’t prosecute him because it’s not an official act until the Senate impeaches …. Uh oh,” he declared.

RELATED: Justices Slam Trump Lawyer: ‘Why Is It the President Would Not Be Required to Follow the Law?’

U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez blasted the Trump team.

“The assassination of political rivals as an official act,” the New York Democrat wrote.

“Understand what the Trump team is arguing for here. Take it seriously and at face value,” she said, issuing a warning: “This is not a game.”

Marc Elias, who has been an attorney to top Democrats and the Democratic National Committee, remarked, “I am in shock that a lawyer stood in the U.S Supreme Court and said that a president could assassinate his political opponent and it would be immune as ‘an official act.’ I am in despair that several Justices seemed to think this answer made perfect sense.”

CNN legal analyst Norm Eisen, a former U.S. Ambassador and White House Special Counsel for Ethics and Government Reform under President Barack Obama, boiled it down: “Trump is seeking dictatorial powers.”

Watch the video above or at this link.

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Justices’ Views on Trump Immunity Stun Experts: ‘Watching the Constitution Be Rewritten’

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17 hours ago

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April 25, 2024

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Legal experts appeared somewhat pleased during the first half of the Supreme Court’s historic hearing on Donald Trump’s claim he has “absolute immunity” from criminal prosecution because he was the President of the United States, as the justice appeared unwilling to accept that claim, but were stunned later when the right-wing justices questioned the U.S. Dept. of Justice’s attorney. Many experts are suggesting the ex-president may have won at least a part of the day, and some are expressing concern about the future of American democracy.

“Former President Trump seems likely to win at least a partial victory from the Supreme Court in his effort to avoid prosecution for his role in Jan. 6,” Axios reports. “A definitive ruling against Trump — a clear rejection of his theory of immunity that would allow his Jan. 6 trial to promptly resume — seemed to be the least likely outcome.”

The most likely outcome “might be for the high court to punt, perhaps kicking the case back to lower courts for more nuanced hearings. That would still be a victory for Trump, who has sought first and foremost to delay a trial in the Jan. 6 case until after Inauguration Day in 2025.”

Slate’s Mark Joseph Stern, who covers the courts and the law, noted: “This did NOT go very well [for Special Counsel] Jack Smith’s team. Thomas, Alito, and Kavanaugh think Trump’s Jan. 6 prosecution is unconstitutional. Maybe Gorsuch too. Roberts is skeptical of the charges. Barrett is more amenable to Smith but still wants some immunity.”

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Civil rights attorney and Tufts University professor Matthew Segal, responding to Stern’s remarks, commented: “If this is true, and if Trump becomes president again, there is likely no limit to the harm he’d be willing to cause — to the country, and to specific individuals — under the aegis of this immunity.”

Noted foreign policy, national security and political affairs analyst and commentator David Rothkopf observed: “Feels like the court is leaning toward creating new immunity protections for a president. It’s amazing. We’re watching the Constitution be rewritten in front of our eyes in real time.”

“Frog in boiling water alert,” warned Ian Bassin, a former Associate White House Counsel under President Barack Obama. “Who could have imagined 8 years ago that in the Trump era the Supreme Court would be considering whether a president should be above the law for assassinating opponents or ordering a military coup and that *at least* four justices might agree.”

NYU professor of law Melissa Murray responded to Bassin: “We are normalizing authoritarianism.”

Trump’s attorney, John Sauer, argued before the Supreme Court justices that if Trump had a political rival assassinated, he could only be prosecuted if he had first been impeach by the U.S. House of Representatives then convicted by the U.S. Senate.

During oral arguments Thursday, MSNBC host Chris Hayes commented on social media, “Something that drives me a little insane, I’ll admit, is that Trump’s OWN LAWYERS at his impeachment told the Senators to vote not to convict him BECAUSE he could be prosecuted if it came to that. Now they’re arguing that the only way he could be prosecuted is if they convicted.”

READ MORE: Biden Campaign Hammers Trump Over Infamous COVID Comment

Attorney and former FBI agent Asha Rangappa warned, “It’s worth highlighting that Trump’s lawyers are setting up another argument for a second Trump presidency: Criminal laws don’t apply to the President unless they specifically say so…this lays the groundwork for saying (in the future) he can’t be impeached for conduct he can’t be prosecuted for.”

But NYU and Harvard professor of law Ryan Goodman shared a different perspective.

“Due to Trump attorney’s concessions in Supreme Court oral argument, there’s now a very clear path for DOJ’s case to go forward. It’d be a travesty for Justices to delay matters further. Justice Amy Coney Barrett got Trump attorney to concede core allegations are private acts.”

NYU professor of history Ruth Ben-Ghiat, an expert scholar on authoritarians, fascism, and democracy concluded, “Folks, whatever the Court does, having this case heard and the idea of having immunity for a military coup taken seriously by being debated is a big victory in the information war that MAGA and allies wage alongside legal battles. Authoritarians specialize in normalizing extreme ideas and and involves giving them a respected platform.”

The Nation’s justice correspondent Elie Mystal offered up a prediction: “Court doesn’t come back till May 9th which will be a decision day. But I think they won’t decide *this* case until July 3rd for max delay. And that decision will be 5-4 to remand the case back to DC, for additional delay.”

Watch the video above or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Doesn’t Care if Pregnant Women Live or Die’: Alito Slammed Over Emergency Abortion Remarks

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Justices Slam Trump Lawyer: ‘Why Is It the President Would Not Be Required to Follow the Law?’

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19 hours ago

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April 25, 2024

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Justices on the U.S. Supreme Court hearing Donald Trump’s claim of absolute immunity early on appeared at best skeptical, were able to get his attorney to admit personal criminal acts can be prosecuted, appeared to skewer his argument a president must be impeached and convicted before he can be criminally prosecuted, and peppered him with questions exposing what some experts see is the apparent weakness of his case.

Legal experts appeared to believe, based on the Justices’ questions and statements, Trump will lose his claim of absolute presidential immunity, and may remand the case back to the lower court that already ruled against him, but these observations came during Justices’ questioning of Trump attorney John Sauer, and before they questioned the U.S. Dept. of Justice’s Michael Dreeben.

“I can say with reasonable confidence that if you’re arguing a case in the Supreme Court of the United States and Justices Alito and Sotomayor are tag-teaming you, you are going to lose,” noted attorney George Conway, who has argued a case before the nation’s highest court and obtained a unanimous decision.

But some are also warning that the justices will delay so Special Counsel Jack Smith’s prosecution of Trump will not take place before the November election.

READ MORE: ‘To Do God Knows What’: Local Elections Official Reads Lara Trump the Riot Act

“This argument still has a ways to go,” observed UCLA professor of law Rick Hasen, one of the top election law scholars in the county. “But it is easy to see the Court (1) siding against Trump on the merits but (2) in a way that requires further proceedings that easily push this case past the election (to a point where Trump could end this prosecution if elected).”

The Economist’s Supreme Court reporter Steven Mazie appeared to agree: “So, big picture: the (already slim) chances of Jack Smith actually getting his 2020 election-subversion case in front of a jury before the 2024 election are dwindling before our eyes.”

One of the most stunning lines of questioning came from Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who said, “If someone with those kinds of powers, the most powerful person in the world with the greatest amount of authority, could go into Office knowing that there would be no potential penalty for committing crimes. I’m trying to understand what the disincentive is, from turning the Oval Office into, you know, the seat of criminal activity in this country.”

READ MORE: ‘Doesn’t Care if Pregnant Women Live or Die’: Alito Slammed Over Emergency Abortion Remarks

She also warned, “If the potential for criminal liability is taken off the table, wouldn’t there be a significant risk that future presidents would be emboldened to commit crimes with abandon while they’re in office? It’s right now the fact that we’re having this debate because, OLC [Office of Legal Counsel] has said that presidents might be prosecuted. Presidents, from the beginning of time have understood that that’s a possibility. That might be what has kept this office from turning into the kind of crime center that I’m envisioning, but once we say, ‘no criminal liability, Mr. President, you can do whatever you want,’ I’m worried that we would have a worse problem than the problem of the president feeling constrained to follow the law while he’s in office.”

“Why is it as a matter of theory,” Justice Jackson said, “and I’m hoping you can sort of zoom way out here, that the president would not be required to follow the law when he is performing his official acts?”

“So,” she added later, “I guess I don’t understand why Congress in every criminal statute would have to say and the President is included. I thought that was the sort of background understanding that if they’re enacting a generally applicable criminal statute, it applies to the President just like everyone else.”

Another critical moment came when Justice Elena Kagan asked, “If a president sells nuclear secrets to a foreign adversary, is that immune?”

Professor of law Jennifer Taub observed, “This is truly a remarkable moment. A former U.S. president is at his criminal trial in New York, while at the same time the U.S. Supreme Court is hearing his lawyer’s argument that he should be immune from prosecution in an entirely different federal criminal case.”

Watch the videos above or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Blood on Your Hands’: Tennessee Republicans OK Arming Teachers After Deadly School Shooting

 

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