Skinheads attack Polish Pride marchers
Riot police were called in as ultra-conservative youths attacked gays and lesbians while they marched in a parade for tolerance in Poland’s second largest city, Krakow, last Friday. The ‘Tolerance Parade’ opened proceedings of the weekend-long LGBT forum, ‘Equality Days’.
The 1000 or so marchers changed their course at the last minute to avoid the confrontation, as the ‘All Polish Youth’, connected to the political party of Polish President Lech Kaczynski, descended upon them. The youths, many of them skinheads, denounced homosexuality with placards reading, “Stop deviation.”
Police arrested around 20 people but later released them. Dozens of people were injured, and several were taken to hospital.
The Polish LGBT community is currently facing a growing tide of homophobic action, encouraged in no small part by newly elected President Kaczynski. When mayor of Warsaw, Kaczynski banned the city’s Pride march. The gay and lesbian community marched in spite of the ban, encountering the same ultra-conservative youths. Kaczynski slammed the police for being too heavy-handed with the far-right youths, and defended their protests as justified and legal.
Since becoming President, Kaczynski has commented that homosexuality is not a feature of traditional Polish culture. The European Commission has warned the government that unless it illustrates commitment to gay rights, Poland may lose its voting rights in the European Union.