Gay pride

Right-wingers arrested in eastern Europe, thousands join parades in France and Germany

Article published on the 2008-06-29 Latest update 2008-06-29 16:26 TU

A right-winger restrained by riot police in the Czech city of Brno
(Photo: Reuters)

As gay pride parades took place around the world on Saturday, right-wingers tried to attack marches in eastern Europe. In Bulgaria 88 were arrested, while 15 were detained in the Czech Republic. There were massive turnouts in Paris and Berlin. In Malaysia, former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim has been accused for the second time of sexually assaulting a man.

Nationalist Union leader Boyan Rasate was among those arrested in Bulgaria, according to the Interior Ministry. He had called on supporters to "resist" the country's first-ever gay pride march. The Orthodox church had called on municipal authorities to ban the event, calling it "a scandalous and wicked gathering", and the Islamic Grand Mufti opposed it.

Nationalists and skinheads threw rocks, firecrackers and at least one petrol bomb at the roughly 100 people who marched in Sofia.

Two right-wingers were charged with breach of the police in the Czech city of Brno, after eggs, fireworks and teargas was lobbed at the 500-strong parade there.

Organisers in Paris claim that 600,000 people joined the parade there. They demanded education against prejudice and discrimination in schools.

"Children should be taught to treat homosexuality with respect from a very early age," Jocelyne Fildar of the Lesbian Coordination in France told RFI's French service. "It's a matter for the state, the government should face up to its responsibilities."

Among the tens of thousands marching  in Germany was 95-year-old Rudolf Brazda, the last known survivor to have been interned in a Nazi concentration camp for homosexuality.  

In Malaysia, former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim declared that charges of sodomy laid against him by a former aide are a  government-backed attempt to discredit him.

Anwar was sacked as deputy prime mInister in 1998 and jailed on sex and corruption charges but returned to politics as an opposition leader on his release.

His party, Keadilan, performed well in a general election in March and he claims that the new accusations are "a repeat of the methods used against me in 1998".