LATVIA: Activists Call For Government Protection At EuroPride 2015 In Riga

EuroPride 2015 takes places this weekend in Riga, Latvia and Amnesty International is calling on the government to protect attendees from the violence that has marred earlier local pride events. Latvian President Andris Berzins has denounced EuroPride, saying that "homosexuality should not be advertised and imposed."

“It is disturbing to see the Latvian government’s evident discomfort at hosting EuroPride. Instead of welcoming an event meant to champion openness and tolerance, Latvia’s leaders seem to be turning their backs on it. As the country holding the presidency of the European Union, Latvia should be leading by example in the fight against homophobic discrimination,” said Lucy Freeman, Director of Amnesty International’s Gender, Sexual and Identity Programme. “With homophobic violence a clear and present danger for activists in post-Soviet states, this week’s EuroPride will hopefully send a message that progress is possible and deep-seated discrimination can be uprooted and replaced with tolerance,” Freeman continued. “The sad fact is the majority of Latvian society is against EuroPride and advancing LGBTI rights remains a struggle: same-sex couples are invisible for the government, homophobic hate crimes are not recognised and high-level politicians employ vicious homophobic rhetoric,” said Kaspars Zalitis, a board member of Mozaika, the Latvian group organising EuroPride 2015.

Earlier this year a group calling itself "No Homo" attended to block EuroPride by reserving all of the Riga venues planned for use during the event. On the "No Homo" website, the group declares, "Homosexuality is a disease. Homosexuality is treatable."

RELATED: EuroPride launched in London in 1992 and has since been hosted by Berlin, Rome, Paris, Copenhagen, and other major European cities. EuroPride 2016 will be hosted by Amsterdam.

LATVIA: "No Homo" Group Blocks Festival Venues For EuroPride 2015 In Riga

Gay Star News reports:

A group of  "no-homo" activists is trying to kill off EuroPride 2015, due to be held in Riga, Latvia. Calling themselves "Anti-Globalists" (Antiglobālisti), the homophobic activists appear to have found a way to ensure the Pride event for Europe will not happen on its scheduled date of 20 June and may not happen at all. When Mozaika, the gay rights group planning this year's EuroPride, turned up to Riga City Council first thing on 20 February - they got a shock. The "traditional values" campaigners had already booked a protest for 'sexual deviations and various perversions, as well as other strange things' at the time and in the locations Mozaika wanted to use. Antiglobālisti had used a loophole to get around the rule that an application to hold an event can only be filed four months in advance. They made their event a week-long festival, starting before and finishing after EuroPride, allowing them to apply before Mozaika.

The Riga City Council plans to appeal to the Ministry of Justice for a ruling. On the "No Homo" website, the group declares, "Homosexuality is a disease. Homosexuality is treatable."

RELATED: EuroPride launched in London in 1992 and has since been hosted by Berlin, Rome, Paris, Copenhagen, and other major European cities. EuroPride 2016 will be hosted by Amsterdam.

Gaga Talks LGBT Rights At Europride

WARSAW: EuroPride Held For First Time In Eastern Europe

The 17th annual EuroPride took place in Warsaw, Poland today, the first time the traveling event has been staged in Eastern Europe. Approximately 2000 Polish riot police were on hand to protect marchers from far-right and Catholic extremists.

The parade, part of the EuroPride gay rights festival, is meant to give a boost to the fledgling gay rights movement in Poland. Gay rights were strongly repressed during the communist era, and gays and lesbians have struggled since communism fell 20 years ago for acceptance in a society still strongly influenced by the church. "We feel like they are 20 years behind the Netherlands," said Ad Bakker, a 39-year-old from Holland who traveled to Warsaw to show solidarity with Polish friends. "But the atmosphere is good and we hope that EuroPride will help." A Polish friend of his, Sebastian Blaszczyk, 36, said the situation in Poland "gets better and better every year," but the country still has far to go in accepting gays. An initial police estimate put the number of participants at 8,000.

Catholic groups opposing homosexuality distributed pamphlets to parade goers with an image of Jesus Christ saying: "I have not come to condemn but to redeem." They also held prayer vigils at local churches "in the intention of redeeming parade participants." The decision to hold Europride in Warsaw sparked controversy in deeply-Catholic Poland -- where gays have long complained of intolerance, and openly homophobic remarks by politicians are far from rare. "We started lobbying already in 2005 against all odds and amid a very unfriendly atmosphere towards gay rights in our country," said Adam Biskupiak of the Equality Foundation, the Polish group which is organising the rally.

Police arrested eight men for pelting the crowd with rocks and eggs. Unfortunately, among those attacked were my longtime friends Jerry and Martin, the latter of whom took a rock to the head. Jerry reports that Bibles were also thrown at them. Unswayed by the hatred, our heroes bought a hat to cover Martin's gash and continued on to Warsaw's bear dance party. Below, Martin displays his blood and egg-flecked shirt.

RELATED: Europride 2011 will be held in Rome.

Zurich Gets Lesbian Mayor

Zurich joins Paris and Berlin as a major world city with an openly gay mayor. LGBT activists are especially thrilled as Zurich is the host to this year's EuroPride.

Zurich, Switzerland, has elected its first female and first openly lesbian mayor, Corine Mauch. A member of the centre-left Social Democrats, Mauch has been elected with a lead of 11,000 votes over her opposition following the surprise resignation of previous incumbent Elmar Ledergerber late last year. Mauch will be delivering a speech at the opening of the Europride 09 parade, alongside European Parliament member Daniel Cohn-Bendit and Moldavian human rights activist Mihaela Copot. A spokesman of the EuroPride said: “This is a real stroke of luck for the EuroPride in Zurich. None of us really expected that”