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Opponents of Lithuania’s first gay pride parade today threw smoke bombs and tried to break through a barrier, but were stopped by police firing tear gas.
Protesters also threw rocks and street signs at security forces, and two Lithuanian politicians were detained after trying to climb the barrier.
About 400 people took part in the two-hour march - dubbed “For Equality” - in a sealed-off area in the capital Vilnius. Holding large rainbow flags and dancing to music blaring from loudspeakers, they walked along a road near the city’s Neris river.
Participants included many foreigners, diplomats and members of the European Parliament. The parade included gay activists from Latvia and Estonia and other EU countries, as well as a delegation from Amnesty International.
“We are here because we believe... in a just society. Labels are for filing, for clothing, not for people. And we are here today to remove labels from people,” said Birgitta Ohlsson, Sweden’s minister for European Union affairs.
Some 800 police were mobilised to provide security and keep more than 1,000 demonstrators at bay.
Protesters carried crosses and signs and shouted insults at rally participants. A Catholic Mass at the nearby national cathedral was held to pray for homosexuals.
“Sweden has already wiped out traditional families. Now they came over here to tell us how to live, how to think and who to sleep with. Lithuania will not allow such perversions,” said Jonas Kempinskas, who walked from the cathedral to the protest holding a huge cross.
Police officials said 19 people were detained and one officer was slightly injured. The two politicians were later released.
It was the first gay pride event in Lithuania, a largely Catholic nation of 3.4 million people that acquired independence from the Soviet Union two decades ago.
