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The
beginnings of struggle for LGBT rights originated at
end of 80's, when the first attempt was made to speak
publicly about gay rights. It was Jovan Ćirilov, famous
theatrical critic and essayist, who raised this issue
at a session of then SKJ.
Arkadija
is the first ever Serbian lesbian & gay organization
and it existed since 1990. It was founded by several
enthusiasts as an attempt to beat the despair of personal
isolation and constant humiliation.
Until the summer
of 1994, Arkadia's existence was illegal. |
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Because
of the letter which came from the Roza Klub. Dejan called
some acquaintances and that is how our self-organizing
actually began.
The
first meeting was at the coffe-shop of the ''Moskva''
hotel…
….
Most of us had never before seen each other, at one
place - so many of us, in our city! I've seen them in
pictures, in books, in New York, but never in Belgrade.
Yes, these are important spots on maps of our desire.
In town's history…That's how it began.
(Lepa Mlađenović
in Reader 'Prvih pet godina rada, od 1995. do 2000.',
Labris, Beograd, 2001)
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of the founders of Arkadija and certainly the first
openly gay activist was
Dejan Nebrigić. Since 1989 he
was actively involved in the struggle for the
rights of sexual minorities. In 1991 he was one
of the co-founders of the anti-militarist and
peace journal Pacifik, and in 1992 and 1993 he
edited its lesbian and gay pages.
In 1993 he joined the women's peace group Women
In Black Against War, and he edited the journal
Women for Peace.
In 1998 and 1999 he was the Executive Director
of the Campaign Against Homophobia which is supported
by the
Humanitarian Law Fund and the European Youth Association.
He edited booklets
on the social and legal aspects of homophobia
in Serbia. He also produced a
bibliography of writings on lesbianism and homosexuality
in Serbian. His work includes Labyrinth Dictionary,
1998, Morning Diary, 1999, and the first Serbian
gay novel, Paris-New
York, 1997.
With the lesbian
group Labris he and Arkadija organized public
events in Belgrade to coincide with worldwide
Gay Pride and international human rights days.
He was frequently interviewed by the press and
spoke
out against homophobia.
On his 29th. birthday
he was killed in his flat by his lover. |
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The
notorious ''Article 110'' of the Criminal Code, which
prohibited homosexual intercourse with consent of both
adult male partners, was abolished in July 1994.
Unfortunately,
the work of Arkadija was from the very beginning in
many ways hindered by bleak social circumstances, such
as civil war in former Yugoslavia, rise of nationalism
and economic depression. The enthusiasm of particular
activists was still very strong and, despite these disadvantaged
circumstances, they managed to make pioneer steps in
gay-lesbian activism.
The milestone
in Arkadija's work represents the appearance of the
first issue of Arkadija's gay and lesbian Newsletter.
The
first issue of "Arkadija" newsletter was published
in July 1995. It contained essays on legislation, politics,
culture and AIDS issues. It also featured news and reports
from New York Gay Pride and Helsinki ILGA Conference
in 1994. A special section was dedicated to history
of gay and lesbian movement in Slovenia.
Shortly
afterwards, the lesbian members of Arkadija decided
to form a separate organization under the roof of Women
Autonomous Center. This organization was named "Labris".
Some
of the gay activists continued with campaigning. The
next project which gathered Dejan Nebrigić, Dušan Maljković
and others was "Campaign against Homophobia".
This campaign was carried out in cooperation with Fund
for Open Society and Humanitarian Law Fund.
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