GROUP CONDEMNS MOLDOVA GAY PRIDE FIASCO

The lack of any action by Moldovan police to protect participants in last weekend’s Gay Pride in the country’s capital Chisinau – and the illegal banning of the parade by the mayor – was condemned on Tuesday by the International Lesbian and Gay Association Europe.

“ILGA-Europe is appalled by what happened last Sunday in Chisinau, said spokesperson Juris Lavrikovs, speaking from Brussels.

“We condemn the decision of the Mayor of Chisinau to ban a peaceful manifestation by LGBT people in support of anti-discrimination legislation in Moldova. His action is illegal and contradicts both the decision of the Supreme Court of Moldova and the decision of the European Court of Human Rights.

“Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people are entitled to the same rights to peaceful assembly, association and expression as any other individuals and the city of Chisinau has denied these rights to LGBT people for 7 years.”

And turning to the fiasco in the streets of Chisinau when mobs ‘hijacked’ a bus carrying participants to the Pride, Mr. Lavrikovs said:

“Even more worrying is complete inactivity by the Moldovan police who just observed how the aggressive homophobic mobs attacked the participants of LGBT manifestations, did not interfere and refused numerous calls for protection by LGBT activists stranded in the bus.

“These are grave human rights violations committed by the Moldovan authorities.

“We call upon the European institutions to seriously review the last weekend’s incidents and use various pressure tools available at their disposal to ensure Moldova respects fundamental human rights for LGBT people and complies with the case law established by the European Court of Human Rights, he said.

Meanwhile, in the corridors of the European Parliament, the word “outrageous” was being frequently used in informal gatherings discussing the events.

A Parliamentary Question to the European Commission regarding Moldova and LGBT rights is expected to be tabled, UK Gay News understands.