EU Called on to Look at Moldova Following Gay Pride Terror

UK Gay News reports that MEP Raul Romeva has called on the European Union to "reconsider its relations" with Moldova following last weekend's terrifying assault on a bus filled with participants observing Gay Pride festivities there. I posted about the incident on Monday.

According to UK Gay News, "Fifty participants of the parade were blocked in a bus surrounded by several hundred aggressive protestors shouting 'Beat them to death' and 'Don’t let them escape'. After being forced by the neo-fascists to destroy their pride materials – colourful balloons, posters with anti-discrimination slogans and flags of the EU – Pride participant’s bus was eventually allowed to go. Police forces merely observed the violence and attacks and did not bother to intervene."

Said Romeva: "It is unacceptable that Moldova exposes its own citizens, along with foreign visitors, to such violent attacks. Perhaps the European Union should reconsider its relations with a state so gravely breaching International Human Rights Obligations."

(image source)

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Moldovan Police Stand By As Nationalists Attack Gay Activists

Sixty gays and lesbians aboard a bus headed to march at a Gay Pride rally (which late on Friday the mayor of Moldova's capital Chisinau announced the city would not allow) were surround by hundreds of nationalists and neo-Nazis who threatened to kill them while the police stood by and watched it happen, according to UK Gay News:

"The law on freedom of assembly of Moldova guarantees peaceful assembly to everyone, and puts an obligation on the police to guarantee the exercise of the right and the safety of participants. 'The police did not facilitate the exit of pride participants from the bus into the street, did not prevent the rival aggressive groups from intervention, and through their passivity encouraged escalation of violence and the build up of the all-permissive hostile atmosphere,' GenderDoc-M said in a statement this afternoon. Independent human rights observers witnessed hatred shouts, such as 'Beat them to death' and 'Don’t let them escape'.

Six police cars were allegedly parked 100 meters away but there was no interference of the riot by law enforcement.

UK Gay News adds: " Two unidentified well-built men wearing the signs of the rival groups, forced the doors from both sides of the bus and demanded the destruction of all march materials (banners asking for anti-discrimination law and tolerance, European Union and Moldovan flags and rainbow balloons) as condition for lifting the blockade of the bus. According to the estimates of independent observers some 200 to 400 people had surrounded the bus. The core of the crowd were teenagers, some dressed military-style, some wearing black masks and others skinhead-like carrying A4 posters with derogatory homophobic messages and signs. The outer ring of the crowd was mostly middle-aged men wearing black clothes encouraging the youths."

Below, left, nationalists knock on the door of the gay and lesbian headquarters in Chisinau and on the right, members of the gay and lesbian community rest in a hotel after the incident.

Moldovan Police Stand Accused of Letting Protestors Highjack Bus Carrying Gay Pride Participants [uk gay news]

Previously
Moldova Kicks Off Pride Festivities with Symbolic Gay Marriage [tr]
Mayor Bans Moldovan Gay Pride Parade [tr]

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Mayor Bans Moldovan Gay Pride Parade

That first-ever Moldovan Gay Pride parade I posted about earlier has been banned by the mayor of the nation's capital Chisinau.

Organizers sent out a notice earlier today, part of which read: "It is already sixth time that a peaceful LGBT demonstration is banned in Moldova, despite pressure and criticism of the Council of Europe, European Union and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe. From the police, city hall and mass-media we have learned that a number of groups is planning violent attacks on pride participants. We believe that the unlawful decision of the city hall was designed to shift the responsibility for any victims of this violence from local authorities and the police to pride organizers. The actions of the Chisinau city hall and the police are in violation of the European Convention for Human Rights and the Universal Declaration for Human Rights, to which Moldovan is a signatory, as well as other international human rights obligations of the Moldovan state. It is also against the European Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, which Moldova has aspirations to join."

Many plan to march anyway, in defiance of the order.

Previously
Moldova Kicks Off Pride Festivities with Symbolic Gay Marriage [tr]

(thanks, rex)

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Moldova Kicks Off Pride Festivities with Symbolic Gay Marriage

The small Republic of Moldova, sandwiched between Romania and the Ukraine in eastern Europe, kicked off its Pride festivities yesterday, a feat unto itself as such observances have in previous years been banned. The weekend's not over yet, however, and organizers hope to stage a parade. Here's what happened last year after officials banned the parade from taking place in the capital of Chisinau.

This year, according to gay groups there, it looks like the parade is a go. They write: "The public manifestation will be held under the slogan “All different – all equal” and it coincides with the celebration of the 10th anniversary of GenderDoc-M work in Moldova. The manifestation will take place on Sunday, 11 May from 11 till 12 a.m. the route of the manifestation is planned to start at the National Library and head to the Central Square of the City. We do hope that this year LGBT community will be able to benefit from the new law and nobody will ban it as previous years."

Yesterday's symbolic wedding ceremony included two brides wearing masks, and a fire breather. That's hot!

Moldova became independent from the former Soviet Union in 1991.

First time in Moldovan history LGBT community will have legal public manifestation [gay.md]

Previously
Moldovan Gays Protest Ban on Gay Pride [tr]

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Moldova hopes to hold its first Gay Pride ever: "Organisers of the Gay Pride in Moldova – 'Rainbow over the Dniester' – are hopeful of being able to stage a parade this year in the country’s capital, Chisinau. The Pride is the seventh to be organised, but in previous years the parade has been banned by the authorities. 'During three previous consecutive years, public authorities have banned the public manifestations on various pretexts,' said a spokesperson for GenderDoc-M, the Pride organisers. 'This year after we applied to the City Hall to inform the authorities about planned public manifestation within the Pride, we got the information, which gave us hope.'"

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Moldovan Gays Protest Ban on Gay Pride

Gays in Moldova assembled outside the capital of Chisinau's City Hall on Friday with rainbow stickers taped over their mouths to protest the government's ban on gay pride events in that city. It is the third year in a row that officials in the small country sandwiched between Ukraine and Romania have upheld the ban on the event.

In mid-April, the nearby city of Tiraspol welcomed the rejected marchers to their city.

Moldovan activists called to activists in London to join them in protest on Friday: "We can take no more abuse of our dignity, self-respect and belief in human rights ideals that we cannot let go. The idea is to go out with brooms in specifically marked T-shirts to 'sweep out' homophobia from our country. We are writing to you because Moldova has an embassy in your country. We therefore ask you to manifest the solidarity with us and around the same time, 15.00 your local time, on Friday 27th April, as we go on the Chisinau streets (despite security risks). Protest before the Moldovan embassy in your country, preferably with brooms, but if that is not possible you can let your activist imagination flow!"

Moldova became independent from the Soviet Union in 1991.

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