Source: DPA via Monsters & Critics, AFP, UK Gay News
Warsaw -- About 2000 people marched today in the Polish capital's annual gay rights parade amid heavy a police presence and counter-protests by right-wing nationalist groups.
The hundreds of gay men, lesbians, and supporters set off from a downtown square in the Warsaw Pride parade, waving rainbow-colored gay pride and European Union flags. They were led by several trucks blasting techno music, filled with dancers and women wearing Las Vegas-style feathered headpieces.
Most of the young, colorfully dressed participants made their way through the city in cars and on foot past the government headquarters near Lazienki Park.
The march proceeded without major incident, although at the start about 100 members of the radical nationalist All Polish Youth and National Radical Camp (ONR) parties tried to disrupt the event, DPA reports.
Police intervened to prevent a confrontation according to the German press agency. The nationalists shouted 'Shame for Poland', 'Man and woman are families', and, 'God, Honor, Nation'. They yelled at the marchers to 'go get medicated' to the tune of 'Guantanamera.' Many raised their middle fingers as the demonstrators set off on their route.
But as marchers made their way past the British Embassy along the route, they were given a friendly salute with a rainbow flag flying alongside the Union Flag.
The Embassy announced last week that it would fly the gay pride symbol during the parade as was done the week before when the British Embassy in Latvia flew the rainbow flag to mark Riga Pride and Friendship Days, UK Gay News reports.
"The UK remains committed to promoting the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people overseas," said British Ambassador Ric Todd.
"This small gesture is a symbol of the British Embassy’s commitment to equality and acceptance for all."
Poland was condemned by the European Court of Human Rights after a ban on a gay pride march in Warsaw in 2005 by the then mayor, Lech Kaczynski, now the country's president.
Kaczynski, a conservative Catholic, had likewise forbidden the parade in 2004, but the 2006 and 2007 events went ahead, despite repeated calls for a ban from conservatives and far-right Catholic groups.
The parade is "so we can show we can normally walk down the street and not be afraid," said Grzegorz Czarnecki of the Campaign Against Homophobia.
Marchers wove through Warsaw's main streets to end the parade in front of prime minister's office. The counter-protesters didn't follow, and police had set up guard at metro stations along the parade's route.
Czarnecki gave out gay pride flags to onlookers along the parade route. He said that while Poland is becoming more tolerant, there is still plenty of discrimination and no marriage rights for gays.
'You can't be open in public ... because there's potential for physical danger, but mostly it's everyday disapproval,' Czarnecki said to Deutsche Presse-Agentur.
An opinion poll published Saturday showed that people in the deeply Catholic country are largely hostile to homosexuality, AFP reports. The survey showed that 69 percent of Poles believed gays should keep silent about their sexual preferences, 37 percent disapproved of homosexual relationships, and 31 percent said homosexuality should not be tolerated, AFP reports.
Of the 1,116 adults questioned between May 9 and 12, 76 percent were against gay marriages, and 90 percent objected to adoption of children by gay or lesbian couples.
Full article: Polish gay pride marchers under police guard | Monsters & Critics (dpa)
Parade for tolerance and rights for gays in Poland | Monsters & Critics (dpa)
2000 parade for gay rights in Warsaw | AFP
British Embassy in Warsaw Flies Rainbow Flag in Support of Gay Pride | UK Gay News