The Coalition against Discrimination strongly condemns the latest statement of Metropolitan Amfilohije Radovic, which is the worst form of hate speech directed against the members of LGBT population, and at the same time, the justification of violence and open support to hooligans and thugs.

Addressing the gathered people in the village Klinci near Lustica, the Metropolitan Radovic on 11 October 2010, called LGBT people, among other things, the "stench of Sodom" and described them as "ungodly and perverse" and stated that LGBT people were "plague and pestilence of Sodom."

In addition to using the most terrible words of hatred towards a minority group, which used its rights guaranteed by the Constitution to gather peacefully in the centre of Belgrade, the Metropolitan Radovic very openly tried to justify violence committed by the members of right-wing, quasi football supporters and clerofascist associations on the day of the Parade, but he also indirectly supported and announced the similar actions of violence in the future. He says: "Be assured that this is the pre-apparition of the fall of Christian nations. God will know when to strike with His whip and warning, but it has already been slowly prepared. People, nations, cultures and states cannot be built on filth, impurity, stench and godlessness."

Instead of calling for peace and love as a representative of the Church and religious leader, the Metropolitan Radovic, not for the first time, openly advocates and supports a policy of violence and hatred, and directly calls for aggression and discrimination.

Because of these statements, a member of the Coalition against Discrimination, Labris – Organisation for Lesbian Human Rights, yesterday filed a complaint with the Commissioner for Protection of Equality in accordance with the Law against Discrimination, and invited the Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church to publicly distance itself from the statements of its member Metropolitan Radovic.

We emphasise that just before the Pride the Serbian Orthodox Church explicitly called people to refrain from any violence, and therefore we believe that the statement of the Metropolitan Radovic expresses his personal view of hatred and intolerance against the LGBT population. Bearing this in mind, we believe that the only logical and responsible response of the Serbian Orthodox Church is to distance itself from all the aforementioned statements of one of the members of the Holy Synod, the Metropolitan Radovic.

We recall that several dozens of policemen and one participant of the Pride Parade were injured in violent actions and riots on Sunday, and also that numerous institutions and locations were attacked, while the centre of Belgrade was destroyed.

The Coalition against Discrimination also demands the detention of those arrested for violence that happened on 10 October, quick apprehension and arrest of those perpetrators who are still at large and most severe punishment for all those who took part in destructive actions and violence against the police officers and the participants of the Pride Parade.

The members of the Coalition against Discrimination are: Center for Advanced Legal Studies, Civil Rights Defenders, Labris - Lesbian Human Rights Organisation, Anti-Trafficking Centre, Network of the Committees for Human Rights in Serbia (CHRIS Network), Association of Students with Disabilities, Gayten LGBT, Praxis and Regional Center for Minorities.