Gay Pride banned and neo-Nazis rampage, as state security is invoked to deny the right to protest.
Having successfully intimidated Latvia’s judges and politicians into banning the Riga Gay Pride march, a violent homophobic alliance of neo-Nazis, Christian fundamentalists and extreme nationalists were given an almost free hand by the police to terrorise an indoor gay rights rally in the Latvian capital last Saturday, 22 July.
Private armed guards had to be drafted in to provide security, after the Latvian police repeatedly failed to halt the aggression of the homophobic mob.
I was there and witnessed the hate, abuse, threats, intimidation and violence first-hand, in the heart of an EU member state, where Latvian and European law was trampled into the ground by politicians, judges and police.
Riga Pride was a litmus test of Latvian democracy and Latvia failed the test.
The government of Latvia has a duty, under its own laws, to resist threats of homophobic violence, protect its gay citizens and safeguard the right to peaceful protest. It failed on every count.
I blame the Latvian authorities. Riga City Council paved the way for last Saturday’s anti-gay attacks when it banned the Riga Pride gay rights march. Latvian judges reinforced the climate of homophobic intolerance by upholding the ban.
Far from being appeased by this state repression, homophobic right-wingers were emboldened by it. Having been given the de facto green light by the Latvian authorities, they were hell-bent on confrontation.
The decision to ban Riga Pride contradicts Latvia’s agreed commitment to democracy and human rights as a member of the EU and the Council of Europe. It was not just an attack on Latvia’s lesbian and gay community. It was also an attack on the right to protest and freedom of expression. The ruling against Riga Pride sets a dangerous precedent, which is a threat to the democratic rights of all Latvians. Who and what will they ban next?
After the banning of the march, the Latvian gay rights movement, Mozaika (www.mozaika.lv), switched to holding an indoor rally in the prestigious Reval Hotel Latvia, in the heart of downtown Riga. By opting for an indoor private rally, Mozaika had hoped to cool the inflammatory atmosphere. But the homophobes were not satisfied.
The Reval Hotel was under siege all day on 22 July by about 250 protesters from the anti-gay “No Pride” movement – a menacing alliance of Christian fundamentalists, ultra-nationalists and neo-Nazis, who represent a worrying revival of pro-fascist sympathies among sections of the Latvian population.
White-t-shirted No Pride thugs roamed the streets outside the hotel, searching for gays and lesbians to attack. Anyone who looked the tiniest bit unstraight was liable to abuse and assault, even innocent passing tourists. For much of the afternoon and evening, the police seemed to stand back and let the No Priders terrorise people with virtual impunity.
Perhaps this hands-off approach was a deliberate policy authorised at the top? The man in charge of the police, the Latvian Interior Minister, Dzintars Jaundzeikars, is also a leader of the First Party of Latvia, which led the campaign to stop Riga Pride last year. In the run-up to this year’s planned march, he warned that the Interior Ministry would not be able to provide adequate security.
It seems he was true to his word. There was only a small police presence outside the hotel; a mere 30 officers at the most. Why were more reinforcements not bought to the scene, when the officers on the ground were clearly over-stretched and unable to cope? Whether by design or default, the police allowed over 200 highly belligerent anti-gay protesters to completely blockade the hotel entrance. Several hotel guests, all unconnected with Riga Pride, were assaulted by the mob, on mere suspicion that they were gay.
At one point, a group of neo-Nazis infiltrated the second floor of the hotel, where the Riga Pride rally was taking place. They tore up Mozaika posters, abused and threatened Riga Pride participants, and assaulted a well-known openly gay pastor, Rev Maris Sants. Non-white gays and lesbians were abused as “mixed race paedophile scum.”
The hotel management feared the homophobic mob in the street would try to storm the building and attack the Riga Pride rally. They rushed in private security guards armed with hand guns. The hotel clearly had little confidence in the ability or willingness of the Latvian police to protect the event.
Many Riga Pride participants were trapped in the hotel for up to seven hours; afraid of being attacked if they tried to leave. They were eventually evacuated by Mozaika in mini-buses via a rear entrance. As they left, some of the vehicles were pounded with fists and pelted with eggs by the anti-gay crowd.
The No Pride protesters were very well organised. They had a military-style operation. They seemed to know everything the Riga Pride organisers had planned and were able to besiege every event the moment it started. Who was feeding them this information?
The terrifying events at the Reval Hotel capped off a day of extraordinary homophobic attacks by the No Pride thugs.
In the morning, a church service to celebrate Riga Pride, organised by gay pastor, Rev Maris Sants, was attacked by No Pride militants. Worshippers were pelted with excrement and rotten fruit as they tried to leave the church. Despite the church previously requesting police protection, no police were present to protect the congregation. Dutch MEP Sophie In’t Veld was one of the worshippers prevented from leaving the church by the homophobic vigilantes.
At an 11am press conference, the Latvian gay rights group, Mozaika, announced its decision to not defy the ban on the Riga Pride march. They wanted to show themselves as moderate, reasonable, law-abiding people – in contrast to the extremism of the far right anti-gay protesters.
In the street outside the press conference, around 70 No Pride thugs jeered and assaulted people as they tried to leave. One of those assaulted was Rev Maris Sants. The police had ignored his request for protection.
Officials and supporters of Mozaika who attended the press conference had to be rushed to waiting vans to be ferried away from the baying homophobic crowd.
As I left the press conference in a mini-bus with two of the Mozaika leaders, we were chased by fascists in a four-wheel-drive. Pelting our vehicle with eggs, they buzzed us through the streets of Riga until we got to the Reval Hotel. By the time we arrived, we could barely see out of the egg splattered windows.
The inaction of the Latvian police was scandalous. Although they witnessed the car chases and many of the attacks, they often seemed to be doing little or nothing to safeguard the Riga Pride participants. Only 14 anti-gay protesters were arrested all day, and most of them were left off with very minor administrative charges.
The day before, on Friday 21 July, the Administrative Court of Latvia met to consider an appeal by Mozaika against the refusal of Riga City Council to grant a permit for the Riga Pride march.
Justifying the ban on Riga Pride on public order grounds, the city authorities said they had received threats of serious, organised violence. They claim Riga Pride is the “biggest security risk” to the country since Latvia won its independence from the Soviet Union.
Despite this hype about major security threats, Mozaika was fairly confident that the judges would overturn the ban, as they did in 2005. But they were wrong. In a reversal of last year’s judgment, the court upheld the decision of Riga City Council to deny Riga Pride the right to march.
Although no official reasons were given for upholding the ban, inside sources say the court made its ruling on “security grounds,” based on alleged violent threats against Riga Pride. The Latvian and Riga authorities, backed by the police and the state security agencies, claimed they would be unable to guarantee the safety of the Riga Pride marchers.
This explanation does not, however, stand up. Latvia was able to guarantee security for President Bush’s visit. It is guaranteeing security for the Queen’s forthcoming state visit and for the NATO summit later this year. If Latvia can provide security for these high-risk events, then it is nonsense to suggest the police cannot protect 200 gay pride marchers.
The unwillingness of the judges to disclose the nature of the threats or who made them is curious. Moreover, the judges took the extraordinary step of declaring details of the threats a “state secret” which will remain classified, top secret for five years.
The court met in closed session. Lawyers for Riga Pride were required to sign a statement that they will not disclose anything about the threats or the security grounds cited to justify the ban – not even to their clients.
The banning of Riga Pride echoes the bad old days of Soviet tyranny.
It is scandalous that a member state of the EU has given in to threats and blackmail by religious fundamentalists and the far right. But it is not surprising.
Latvia has a shameful record of homophobia and a strong streak of fascist sympathies. The parliament in Riga recently refused to pass a law prohibiting employment discrimination against lesbians and gays, even though as a member state of the EU it is required to conform to EU law by outlawing workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation. Latvia also recently banned same-sex marriage.
Every Latvian – gay and straight – ought to be concerned by the suppression of Riga Pride. It signals a threat to the democratic and human rights of all Latvians.