Pride Arrives in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Gay US ambassador joins historic event amidst heavy security in Sarajevo
@USEMBASYSJJ
Out gay US Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina Eric George
Nelson participates in the September 8 Pride March in Sarajevo.
in Sarajevo were foiled by religious radicals in
2008 and 2014.
Some in Bosnia and Herzegovina, however,
have warmed up to the idea of queer rights as
the nation pursues a place in the European
Union.
INTERNATIONAL
After the Pride March, the EU signed onto a
joint statement with the US Embassy in Bosnia
and Herzegovina and other ambassadors to
that nation.
“We congratulate the Organizing Committee,
March participants, local institutions, and
citizens of BiH on successfully holding Bosnia
and Herzegovina’s fi rst Pride March,” the letter
stated. “The people of BiH came together to
reject fear and hate and instead demonstrated
to the world that BiH is indeed an open and
tolerant country that respects the rights of all
individuals.”
The US Embassy in Sarajevo tweeted a photo
featuring Nelson as Pride participants surrounded
him.
“Incredibly proud to have been part of the historic
Pride march,” Nelson said in the tweet.
Nelson was nominated to his current post by
President Donald Trump in August of last year,
but his career as a diplomat predates the current
administration. Nelson’s work for the State
Department dates back to the 1990s and from
2015 through 2018 he was a top aid to the secretary
of state, according to his LinkedIn profi le.
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BY MATT TRACY
Thousands of people participated in
Bosnia and Herzegovina’s fi rst-ever
Pride March on September 8, including
the out gay US ambassador to
that nation, Eric George Nelson.
The march in the capital city of Sarajevo
went on under heavy security despite the presence
of protestors who unsuccessfully set out
to thwart the event. More than 1,000 police offi
cers were stationed along the parade route,
and other cops armed with sniper rifl es were
perched atop buildings for bolstered security,
according to Reuters.
The nation became the fi nal Balkan state
to host a Pride celebration, and marks a key
moment in the history of a country that has
banned discrimination on the basis of sexual
orientation and gender identity but is still rife
with anti-LGBTQ attitudes rooted in religion
and leftover ethnic tensions among Serbs, Muslims,
and Croats from the 1992-1995 war that
led to the dissolution of Yugoslavia.
Previous attempts to hold LGBQ festivals
GayCityNews.com | September 12 - September 25, 2019 23
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