Officers and
Counterprotesters Disrupt
Gay Rights Rally in
Russia
By MICHAEL SCHWIRTZ,
NYTimes on the Web, May 28, 2007
MOSCOW, May 27 — Police
officers and riot troops quashed a gay rights rally in Moscow on Sunday,
detaining organizers as well as at least two European lawmakers, while members
of Orthodox Christian and nationalist groups badgered the demonstrators with
insults, eggs and fists.
Barely had Nikolai A. Alekseyev, the event’s main organizer, appeared in front
of City Hall when the police pushed him and several other demonstrators into a
police bus.
Skirmishes between gay rights protesters and counterprotesters broke out across
from City Hall along Tverskaya Street, Moscow’s main thoroughfare. The
general disorder made it hard to determine the number of people actually
participating in the demonstration. Mr. Alekseyev had predicted that 200
people would participate.
A man in camouflage clothing struck Peter Tatchell, a British gay rights
campaigner, in the face as he tried to speak to the news media. Officers
arrested the man who threw the punch and took Mr. Tatchell to a police van for
his protection, a police spokesman said.
Later, Marco Cappato, a European Parliament member from Italy, traded blows with
another man wearing camouflage as riot police officers looked on.
The police detained Mr. Cappato, along with Volker Beck, a member of the German
Parliament, but later released them. It was unclear what happened to the
man who had been fighting with Mr. Cappato.
In all, the police detained 31 people, though it was unclear how many of those
would face charges, the police spokesman said. Speaking by phone from a
detention center, Mr. Alekseyev said that he had been charged with disobeying
police orders and that he would spend at least one night in jail.
Representatives from the nationalist and radical Orthodox groups arrived shortly
before noon, when the rally was to begin. The attempted rally, skirmishes
and arrests were over within an hour.
Sunday’s protest was the second effort by organizers to hold a gay pride
demonstration in Moscow. A similar event last year ended in bloodshed when
more than 100 ultranationalists and radical Orthodox Christians attacked gay
rights demonstrators in Moscow.
As was the case for last year’s protest, organizers of this event had not won
government approval to hold the rally. But organizers said protesters
faced less violence this year.
Still, many protesters, some holding rainbow flags, others chanting slogans,
faced antigay remarks from representatives of the radical Union of Orthodox Flag
Bearers and a group calling itself the Black Hundreds.
A group of people surrounded one demonstrator shouting, “Sodom will not stand!”
Several protesters were hit by eggs.
In contrast with some Western European countries, there is little public
acceptance of homosexuality in Russia, where prominent public officials have
made disparaging remarks about homosexuals.
Representatives from gay rights groups, however, seemed undaunted by the
violence and vowed to continue organizing demonstrations.
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