The LGBTQ community gathered in Belgrade on Saturday afternoon under massive police protection, despite a ban on the Europride march by authorities, who arrested around 30 people, AFP reported.

The march should be the culmination of a pan-European event that takes place in a different city every year.

But Serbia’s Interior Ministry banned the event on Tuesday, citing security concerns, as far-right groups threatened to stage their own protests.

“I’ve been to several prides, but this one is a little more intense than the others,” Yasmin Benoit, a model and activist, told AFP outside the Constitutional Council, the planned venue for the rally. “I’m from the UK, where everyone is more supportive,” she says.

“We are fighting for the future of this country,” said Luka, a Serbian protester who did not want to give his last name.

It was unclear whether demonstrators would be allowed to march to a nearby park as planned, and Interior Minister Aleksandar Vulin warned against any illegal marches.

“We will not tolerate any violence on the streets of Belgrade, nor will we tolerate illegal marches,” he said in a statement.

A large number of commandos were deployed around the rally, pushing back small groups of counter-demonstrators waving crosses and religious symbols, AFP journalists reported.

The Home Office also banned any counter-demonstrations, but users in far-right chat rooms vowed to protest the LGTBQ march.

According to the ministry, 31 people were detained.

Authorities did not specify who they were, but AFP reporters saw several counter-protesters arrested.

The ban on the march raised concerns among minority rights NGOs.

It’s a “shameful capitulation and tacit endorsement of intolerance and threats of illegal violence,” according to Graham Reed, LGBT rights program director at Human Rights Watch.

Belgrade came under strong international pressure, with more than 20 embassies, including those of the US, France, Germany and Japan, urging it to reverse its decision in a joint statement.

Serbia has been applying for EU membership for a decade, but over the years member states have raised concerns about the state of minority rights.

Same-sex marriage is not legal in this country of fewer than seven million people, where homophobia is deep-rooted, despite some progress in the fight against discrimination.

Pride marches in 2001 and 2010 were targeted by the far right and marked by violence.

Since 2014, Pride has been held without notable incidents, but under increased police protection.

Late last week, thousands of people, including motorcycle clubs, Orthodox priests and far-right nationalists, took to the streets to call for the parade to be cancelled.