Russian gay pride march to go ahead despite ban

[deadparrot]

Source: AFP

MOSCOW (AFP) - Russia's homosexual community plans to push ahead with a gay pride march in the capital on Sunday despite opposition from city authorities and far-right extremists, an organiser said Saturday.

Meanwhile, a group of hardline Orthodox Christians and Russian nationalists said they would organise a counter-protest about two kilometres (1.25 miles) away from the gay pride march under the label "for a real love." Some 500 people demonstrated on Saturday in central Moscow against homosexuality.

Gay pride organiser Nikolai Alexeyev told journalists on Saturday that marchers would deliver a letter to Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov asking that the demonstration and others like it be authorised. The mayor had earlier called gay pride "the work of Satan."

The march has been banned by city authorities and clashes are feared with extreme-rightists similar to those that occurred in May last year.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070526/lf_afp/russiagaysdemo

[David__77]

1. Tough position for Russian homosexual community.

It's much easier in the West, admittedly. In Russia, only certain factions of the neo-liberal rightists support gay rights, and probably then only to appear as "pro-Western" as possible to their narrow constituency. The Rodina and communists, as the "left" in the country, are largely anti-gay, seeing it as a Western, alien influence. The question is how can the gay rights movement there link up with other nominally progressive political forces? They can only do so by adopting their demands and putting distance between themselves and the "pro-Western" forces.

[ohio2007]

4. They are lucky they live in Russia

Some parts of the world, if they were to come out of the closet, they would have their heads chopped off.

[mitchtv]

6. cause they are not murdered openly ,they are lucky?

believe me dead is dead . What a strange point of view. Something about it doesn't sit too well . It's kind of like the Faux point of view ( If you have nothing to be ashamed of , you shouldn't fear warrant less eavesdropping)

[Zynx]

7. As opposed to having them kicked in by some ultra-nationalist skinhead?

Russia is not a particularly nice place.

[Eugene]

2. Russian police detain gays as punches, eggs fly

Source: Reuters

Russian police detain gays as punches, eggs fly

By Guy Faulconbridge
17 minutes ago

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian police detained gay protesters calling
for the right to hold a Gay Pride parade in central Moscow on Sunday
while nationalists shouting "death to homosexuals" punched and kicked
the demonstrators.

Riot police detained the protesters as they tried to present a petition
asking Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov, who has called gay marches
satanic acts, to lift a ban on the parade.

Nationalists and extreme Russian Orthodox believers held icons and
denounced homosexuality as "evil" while a group of thick-set young
men turned up with surgeon's masks, which they said would protect
them from the "gay disease."

"We are defending our rights," said a young gay man named Alexey,
with blood pouring out of his nose after he was beaten up by a man
screaming "homosexuals are perverts" opposite the mayor's office.
His attacker was detained.

-snip-

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070527/wl_nm/russia_gay_dc

[High Plains]

3. Moscow cops did the same thing to pro-pot marchers two weeks ago.

They beat up and arrested several dozen people. Russian authoritarianism remains strong.

[TheLastMohican]

8. Funny

American riot police doesn't beat anyone, Yessir! The police all over the world performs the same function, it keeps the order which doesn't speak about authoritarianism one bit.

Check Europe and anti-global rallies there which end up in violence all the time. So your conclusion is flawed.

[Forkboy]

5. Very brave people...hope they get through it safely.