Croatia’s LGBT Community Spooked by Nightclub Attack

A recent attack on an LGBT club night in Zagreb rekindled fears of persecution and raised concerns that Croatia has not made as much progress on gay rights as some had hoped.

"It was about 3.30am and I was almost ready to go home. I was standing with my friends in the centre of the dancefloor when something exploded only two feet from us and smoke hit us in the face," Hana Grgic, one of the victims of the attack on the LGBT night at the Super Super club in Zagreb earlier this month, told BIRN.

"In that moment of panic, none of us knew what it was. I instantly started choking and running to the bathroom. I don't know why I decided to go to the toilet, but I probably realised that this was simply the fastest way to get away from the smoke," Grgic recalled.
"I couldn't breathe. Smoke filled my mouth, nose, sinuses and lungs. My face was burning and I thought that this was actually a bomb. I thought this is the end, this is how I will die," she said.

It has been 15 years since the first Gay Pride parade in the centre of Zagreb, which was the target of homophobic violence and tear gas. Since then, Croatian society has evolved, minority rights have expanded, and there is legal recognition of same-sex unions.
Although many LGBT people still face insults and discrimination every now and then, they aren’t targeted for outright attack. Or at least they didn't until tear gas was set off in the club during the LGBT party at the Super Super club in the early hours of February 12.

"In the toilet, some people said ‘tear gas’, and after that, it was easier because I realised we wouldn't die after all. I touched my face and realized it was not burned although it continued to hurt," Grgic recalled.

“There was panic in the club. People were screaming ‘my eyes, I can't breathe'. In front of a small window, there were 15 people trying to breathe fresh air. I remember that the music continued to play and I wondered why it was still playing while we were dying here. Significantly, it was playing Shakira and her song ‘La Tortura’," she added.

The tear gas attack prompted LGBT rights group Zagreb Pride to organise a protest entitled ‘Love Is and Remains Stronger than Hate' the following day, which attracted more than 1,000 people.

The government strongly condemned the attack and promised a rapid investigation.
“The Croatian government will resolutely oppose any form of violence and hate speech, racial, religious and gender discrimination in the fight for equality, human dignity and safety of all our citizens,” it said.