Approximately 50 aggressive neo-Nazis attempted to attack the second annual Rainbow Parade in support of gay and lesbian rights yesterday in Bratislava. About 1 500 people participated in the parade. The event started at 13:00 on Hviezdoslavova námìstí, where the first 400 people gathered. The site resembled an impregnable fortress, as barriers had been erected on every side and police officers, including riot units, defended the peaceful gathering from neo-Nazis. A small group of extremists attempted to protest directly on the square. Right-wing radicals wearing "Slovenská pospolitost" ("Slovak Solidarity") t-shirts and dark-colored clothing held a banner reading "For the traditional family, against deviation" and featuring the logo of the People's Party - Our Slovakia (Lidová strana - Naše Slovensko).
Rainbow Parade participants held banners reading "Hate is not a family value" or "I'm the pink sheep of the family." Slogans such as "End homophobia in Slovakia!" resounded from the loudspeakers. The march left the square and headed through the Old Town across the New Bridge (Nový most) to the Petržalka quarter. The numbers of participants gradually increased and separated into two parts on the Tyršov embankment. The first got on buses to go to after-parties in various parts of the city, while the second headed for a boat where a party was also taking place. As the march proceeded beneath the New Bridge, an approximately 50-member group of neo-Nazis attempted to attack the peaceful march with smoke bombs, but police immediately dispersed them. Bratislava Police detained at least 42 people, including 26 of those who did their best to disturb the march beneath the New Bridge.
People from the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and other European countries participated in the march. Many were wrapped in enormous rainbow flags. During the program, singer Aneta Langerová also performed. She admitted Slovakia is much more conservative and prudish in this area than the Czech Republic. "Some of that may have to do with the fact that there are still not many laws about human rights for homosexuals. I believe those are basic things which should have been instituted a long time ago and which we do have in Bohemia. We are probably ahead of Slovakia in that respect, and that was even more a reason to come here," Langerová said after her performance. She recently admitted to being in a relationship with a woman herself. The embassies of the Netherlands, Norway and the USA sent representatives to the event. Mayor Ftáènik, Slovak government politicians, Slovak MEP Monika Flašíková-Beòová and her husband Fedor Flašík, Austrian MEP Ulrike Lunacek and Netherlands MEP Marije Cornelissen greeted the marchers.
Last year, during the first-ever Slovak Rainbow Parade, neo-Nazis organized a counter-action on the day of the march and attacked its participants. Organizers had to change their entire program, canceling their planned march through the center of Bratislava and changing the route to pass through a different part of the city. Right-wing radicals shouted abusive slogans at the approximately 500-strong march and threw smoke bombs and stones into the crowd.
Romea
