Baltic Pride 2010 is coming to Vilnius in May, but it remains to be seen how much city hall will resist the event. Here, demonstrators carry a rainbow flag and Lithuanian flag at Baltic Pride 2009 in Riga.
VILNIUS — The gay tolerance advocacy group Lithuanian Gay League applied Friday for a permit from the Vilnius municipal government to hold the Baltic Pride 2010 rally in May.
Previous attempts to hold gay pride events in the Lithuanian capital were barred by city authorities, who cited security concerns. In 2007 the Vilnius city council unanimously barred an EU-sponsored tolerance of minorities rally from taking place, citing fears that anti-gay protesters may become violent. Meanwhile the Baltic Pride 2009 parade in Riga was met with a large anti-gay counter-rally, where demonstrators carried signs saying phrases like “Gay pride, AIDS pride.”
“In the parade will be gays, lesbians, their parents, friends and people who support human rights,” Vladimir Simonko, a Lithuanian Gay League co-director told Defli.lt. “We invite many guests … I think that there will be considerable support at the international level and I hope that this will encourage our local community and other citizens to join this campaign.”
If approved, the march would follow a short route between the Conti Hotel on Raugyklos Street to and the historic city hall building in Rotušės Square. The parade is a part of a series of events for “Baltic Pride 2010,” which will include the displaying in central Vilnius of the biggest rainbow flag ever made, measuring 30 meters in length.
The event’s stated goal is to promote tolerance and fight discrimination against homosexuals, bisexuals and transgender people in a country well-known for conservative attitudes toward people of non-heterosexual orientations.
Like there was a line in BBC’s “IT Crowd” – “I am perfectly comfortable with my sexuality, but I don’t want to be slaped in the face with their sexuality”. These parade does not achieve more tolerant response – just make people more agressive.
Yeah, Lithuanians need to grow up. We are in the EU but still have Soviet mentality.
Lithuanians would like to pretend that gay people do not exist. They force them into the closet & they blame them for all ills. It is very important that gay Lithuanians hold such a rally simply to let the ignorant and hostile people in society know that they exist, are human, deserving of equal rights.
Osinsh, you don’t want to be “slapped in the face with THEIR sexuality”, but do you ever think you holding your girlfriends hand in public slaps them in the face with YOUR sexuality? … how sad for the whole of Lithuania that it is such an ignorant & homophobic country.