Pride month newsbrief
In this month of huge and happy LGBT pride marches in every part of the United States, it is easy to fall into the comfortable assumption that the struggle is over. How far from the truth this is can be seen by looking at the antigay violence aimed at pride marches in many other parts of the world.
Particularly shocking video of an enormous, hate-motivated crowd barely restrained by a veritable army of riot-geared police attempting to attack a march in the city of Split, Croatia, is typical of what LGBT activists endure in much of the Balkans, Russia, Eastern Europe and many places in Africa and Asia. Video can be accessed here.
A gay pride march in the city of Split in the EU-candidate former Yugoslav country of Croatia came under sustained and vicious attack. This video shows the opposition and the bravery of participants in the gay pride event. Observers said there were a number of heterosexual people supporting the event.
Another video from a phone showed missiles directed at participants at one point. In contrast, the gay pride group was well-armed with video cameras. By contrast, there does not appear to be video coming from the opposition forces.
An Associated Press report said that dozens of those attacking the event have been arrested. Gay pride events in Croatia’s capital, Zagreb, have not been attacked.
Background
In order to join the European Union, Catholic Croatia has had to demonstrate its protection of free speech, including LGBT events. They appear to have shown it here with a large number of police trying to protect participants. Croatian President Ivo Josipovic had said, “I ask Split residents, whether they agree or not with what Domine [LGBT] or other similar associations say, to respect their right to be different and that no one even thinks about being violent, because that would show Croatia in a very bad light.”
Attempts to hold LGBT events in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzogovina, have also been violently disrupted.
Last year, gay pride in Belgrade, Serbia, was subject to a mass protest that descended into a riot. In Kosovo, gay people have held no events and report being beaten.
Pride month newsbrief
In this month of huge and happy LGBT pride marches in every part of the United States, it is easy to fall into the comfortable assumption that the struggle is over. How far from the truth this is can be seen by looking at the antigay violence aimed at pride marches in many other parts of the world.
