The deputy of German Bundestag Volker Beck (center) was injured during the unauthorized Gay Parade in Moscow.
Photo: Dmitry Kostyukov
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Police and Orthodox Christians Overwhelm Gay Parade
The Moscow police overwhelmed the first-ever Gay Parade in Moscow Saturday. Militant Orthodox Christians and ultranationalists violently protested against the march. European politicians lashed out at the Russian officials for flagrantly violating human rights.
Gays and lesbians from 20 countries came to Moscow last weekend for Moscow Pride 2006, the first gay march to be staged in Moscow. The place of the parade was kept in secret up to the last moment since Moscow city authorities banned the event, the Tverskoy court endorsed the decision while groups of radical Orthodox Christians promised to “punish sodomites.”
Nikolay Alexeev, one of the organizers of Pride 2006, reported that the participants of the festival would lay flowers to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in the Alexander Garden and then move to rally towards the monument of Yury Dolgoruky. The police, militant Orthodox Christians and young ultranationalists followed the march. The Union of Orthodox Gonfaloniers and other orthodox groups chanted “Moscow is not a Sodom!” while skin heads screamed “Death to fags!” and “Fags out of Russia!” OMON riot police did not seem to protect the marchers. Quite on the contrary, they rounded up a few activists, among them Nikolay Alexeev, Volkner Beck, a German Bundestag deputy and others.
Ultranationalists and militant Orthodox Christians followed the unauthorized march up to the monument of Yury Dolgoruky, crying out insults and throwing eggs and water at the participants. In the end, the orthodox people and radical nationalists prevailed.
Politicians all other Europe were outraged at the actions of the Russian authorities and their unwillingness to protect the marchers saying that Moscow encroached upon basic democratic principles and human rights.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of May 29, 2006
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