Croatia Gay Pride March Disrupted By Extremists

ZAGREB, Croatia — Stone-throwing extremists disrupted a gay pride march in Croatia on Saturday, a day after the Balkan country was given the green light to join the European Union.

At least 100 people were detained and many others were injured after opponents of the march in the coastal town of Split attacked about 200 participants with rocks, bottles and firecrackers, state TV reported.

Riot police prevented direct clashes between the two groups, which were also separated by iron fences. Police said thousands lined the streets in protest of the march.

Croatia has pledged to protect human rights as part of efforts at EU membership after a series of wars in the Balkans in the 1990s. EU officials said Friday that Croatia could join in 2013, after years of tough negotiations.

But organizers of the Split march accused the police of not doing enough to protect them.

"The state institutions did not do their job properly," activist Sanja Juras said.

Amnesty International described the violence as a "disgrace."

"The Croatian authorities need to act to stop this happening in future," said Nicola Duckworth, the human right group's director for Europe and Central Asia, urging an immediate investigation and punishment for the attackers.

Comments

[nikom]

01:08 PM on 06/14/2011

it's not about Croatia being a Catholic country. They are not deeply religious anyway. It's their mentality along with Serbs that makes them like this. They're against anyone that's doesnt share their beliefs. There's been numerous cases of Serbian and Slovene tourists being attacked in Croatia simply for being Serb/Slovene. Even high school students. I lived in Slovenia for a couple of years and many Slovenes don't go on vacations in Croatia anymore because Croats treat them bad, worse then tourists from other countries and I witnessed it in person while vacationing in Istria with my Slovenian friends.
Evereyone saying Balkan as a whole is like that, WRONG! Slovenia (if you consider it a Balkan state) is very civilized and open minded. It is in my experience the safest country in Europe and it does have the lowest crime rate in EU. Most of the crime that happens is done by people whith Serbian/Bosnian/Croatian background.

[Marin Lucic]

08:20 PM on 07/10/2011

Ok, there are several misleading points in your statement.
For one, Croatians are very Catholic. Extremely catholic, over 90%. They adore the Pope, and even the youth is religious. Im a Croatian Youngster, so I have a pretty good view on this kind of stuff.
Secondly, its not that croatians are hostile to anyone who doesnt share their beliefs. Croatians are very tolerant, but they harbor a certain hate towards Slovenia for numerous reasons:
A. Slovenia looks for a large portion of their Coast, claiming it belongs to Slovenia
B. Slovenia claimed independence from Serbia hours after Croatia. Their war lasted 18 days and resulted in 33 casaualties, while Croatias lasted 5 years and resulted in the Cassualties of Thousands. The fact that their "Allies" backed out that quickly without any support angers Croatians.

The Reason Slovenia is "More Civillized" is because it did not endure 5 years of civil war and internal turmoil, followed by a extremely ineffective rule.

[KenClay]

07:36 AM on 06/14/2011

Love is the Answer.

[kayakbear]

03:45 PM on 06/13/2011

Croatia should not be permitted in the EU until they stomp out their Nazi extremists!!!

[mivogo]

03:19 PM on 06/13/2011

Having a gay pride parade in Croatia or the Middle East is like having a Boston Red Sox victory parade down Broadway in NYC. Hello?

[r henry]

11:36 PM on 06/23/2011

You have to start somewhere.

[the grange gorman]

10:07 AM on 06/13/2011

the EU should say that they cant join until Croatia has the biggest , safest , most fab gay pride march ever , lead by Elton John and Lady GaGa

[rda1911a1]

11:35 AM on 06/13/2011

I agree and they should make the Croatian flag a rainbow with a unicorn gliding on it. I like the Croats they make The Springfield series of XD tactical handguns and they even make one with a pink frame too!

[nastynorm]

07:50 AM on 06/13/2011

Who cares what GAYS do.

[Channa]

08:44 AM on 06/13/2011

You may be surprised to know that quite a few people care about others.

[intellifran]

10:20 AM on 06/13/2011

caring about others and caring what they do in the bedroom is different. No one cares what they do. If they want to parade, who cares? Unless they have free funnel cake, then of course I care and will be there. =D

[r henry]

11:37 PM on 06/23/2011

Apparently those people with the rocks and fireworks cared. Apparently they felt very threatened by it.

[BestGuest]

07:43 AM on 06/13/2011

Im so glad the article didn't say "Christian extremists"... That would just make Islam bashing a little more difficult.

[jocelynfanger]

05:09 AM on 06/13/2011

This article begins by attributing the march's disruption to "stone-throwing extremists"--but it doesn't try to identify the stone throwers or to explain the conclusion that they are "extremists." I guess it all depends on your point of view. . . .The act of throwing stones doesn't make one an "extremist," as Palestinian stone-throwers (for example) are often called "freedom-fighters". . . .I don't have a dog in this fight, but Journalism 101 students wouldn't use the term "extremists" without some better identification of the stone-throwers and their purported groups and beliefs. . . .This article would have been just fine--and with higher journalistic credibility--without the undocumented "extremist" label attached to the stone-throwers.

[Channa]

08:48 AM on 06/13/2011

Maybe so, but I find throwing rocks, bottles and firecrackers at people you don't like kind of extreme. That they were throwing them at homosexuals means they are extreme homophobes. The distinction in the labeling does not change the story for me.

[intellifran]

10:21 AM on 06/13/2011

palestinian stone throwers are extremisists as are these people.

[ilbarbieredelcemento]

04:48 AM on 06/13/2011

What Americans consider to be "extremist" are normal, everyday, fine upstanding citizens defending their societies traditions.

[meeks]

07:44 AM on 06/13/2011

By throwing rocks and with violence? Is that a part of that societies traditions?

[CapsFan1988]

11:13 AM on 06/13/2011

oh yes, because they are the pillars of society. when was the last time you started throwing rocks, and fire crackers at someone because they were different? How would you like to have rocks and fire crackers thrown at you by someone who didn't like you because you were different. Normal, everyday, fine upstanding citizens don't go out of there way to cause harm to people. Where/when are you from, 1930s-early1940s Nazi Germany?

[Caramel yum]

04:38 AM on 06/13/2011

As a Muslim woman, i must say i don't necessarily understand homosexuality completely nor agree with everything said 100% but i support anyone's basic human right to live, marry and do as they wish in life. It is disgusting to attack those purely on their sexuality. Shame.

[aFtersootdamP]

02:28 AM on 06/13/2011

We are so lucky to live in America.

[Channa]

08:49 AM on 06/13/2011

I was overseas when gay pride parades started here, but I do recall there was some kind of backlash. Times change.

[r henry]

11:40 PM on 06/23/2011

Gay Pride started as a backlash when the Stonewall Inn was violently invaded by police.

[mivogo]

03:16 PM on 06/13/2011

What are you, some kind of fascist?
You have no idea how such an obvious thought it taken by too many on this site!
(but you will soon)

[structurequity]

02:23 AM on 06/13/2011

Croatia has a march and all is not well as the protectors allow the KKK to assault the non-violent marchers. Does not bode well at all for an invite to the EU magic palace.

[intellifran]

10:22 AM on 06/13/2011

Ugh. The KKK is an American thing. I'm sure they have their own group that might not even be White or Christian.

[CapsFan1988]

11:15 AM on 06/13/2011

ugghh, what are you saying?

[fredgladys]

02:18 AM on 06/13/2011

Go on the net and you can find many examples of croatian violence at public events all over the world not only at home. If there is a football game that has a croatian side the police can be assured there can be violence. I believe that the people who marched in this gay parade are very brave and I hope that the ignorance and hatred diminishes.

[Ante Jutronic]

01:36 AM on 06/13/2011

Well, some people still has grudges against gay parades - but it's not unusual in a country that fought a brutal war in the 90s. Some guys still believe in violence as a way of expression.

[92102]

10:26 PM on 06/12/2011

Gay bashing at a pride event is indefensible under any circumstances.

Many comments on this thread are placing the blame on Catholics. While it is true that the RCC promotes bigotry and sexism in general, they are not alone. Nearly every organized christrian religion has a boogey man, and in this era it is LGBT persons. Evangelicals tend to be the most hateful as a group.

In defense of Catholics. In a recent poll, 59% of NY state Catholics favor legalized gay marriage. There is a good chance that it will pass this session. It is encouraging to see so many faithfull realizing that in this case the teachings from Rome are wrong. Other christian brands seem to focus only on anti-gay and political issues and their membership is loud and obnoxious even with their zombielike smiles.

Around the globe there is a religious based anti-gay movement with ties to the United States and specifically to C Street and The Family. Members of this group include disgraced Rs John Ensign and Mark Sanford. This group is also behind the Kill the Gays legislation in Uganda. The radical right wing christians realize they have lost the battle in the west so now they are trying to outsource their hate and bigotry.

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2009/07/21/c_street

The RCC might be taking the point in Croatia, but there are christians all over the world that are feeding the ugly beast of bigotry.

[sidejobwarriors]

02:17 AM on 06/13/2011

we all know how the story ends; God wins

[intellifran]

10:24 AM on 06/13/2011

The RCC does not promote bigotry. it states that h0m0s3xuality is a sin. It does not say people have the right to treat them like second class citizens, judge them, or hurt them. Let's not be confused.

[schnauzergirl]

10:58 AM on 06/13/2011

Sorry, but telling someone they are a sinner IS judging them.

Though I will agree that of the violent actions by religious groups, modern catholics in most countries aren't top of the offenders list.

[r henry]

11:41 PM on 06/23/2011

Homosexuality is not a sin