
Violent Protests At Latvia Gay Pride
RIGA, Latvia -- Latvian police have arrested protesters
after they shouted insults and threw eggs at people taking part in the
Baltic state's first gay pride march.
The few dozen marchers were outnumbered by hundreds of protesters who
blocked the narrow streets of the capital.
Police were forced to alter the march route and to form a chain around the
parade participants to protect them.
The march had sparked outrage in Latvia and only went ahead after a court
overturned a council ban on the event.
Officials said that six of the protesters had been detained for their part
in disrupting the march.
Prime Minister Aigars Kalvitis had opposed the event, saying Riga should
"not promote things like that". "For sexual minorities to parade in the
very heart of Riga, next to the Doma church, is unacceptable," he told LNT
television on Wednesday.
Lars Peter Sjoberg, who came from Sweden for the march, told the BBC that
he had been shocked by the offensive remarks made by protesters.
"Protesters here were really aggressive but it won't stop me from helping
my Latvian friends fight for their rights." [Back to News Headlines]
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