POLAND: VIOLENT ATTACK ON KRAKOW GAY MARCH

In the latest indicator of the growing climate of homophobia in Poland since the election of the notoriously anti-gay President Lech Kaczynski and his twin brother Jaroslaw, who controls parliament (photo right), a Gay Tolerance March in the city of Krakow was attacked today by rival demonstrators from the All Poland Youth Group, the ultra-homophobic youth arm of the League of Polish Families, the reactioonary, anti-Semitic, Catholic extremist political party. The All Poland Youth group, its ranks composed in part of skin-head thugs, is noted for its violent attacks on gay events.

The BBC reported within the last hour that,  "Several arrests were made after members of the far-right All Poland Youth Group began throwing stones and eggs at the participants of the tolerance march. More than 1,000 people, including an ex-deputy PM, took part in the march to promote tolerance to gays and lesbians."

"At the same time, activists from the nationalist All Poland Youth were holding what they called a 'tradition' march. Some held banners daubed with the words, 'Stop deviation'. Others chanted, 'Lesbians and gays, all of Poland is laughing at you.' The tolerance demonstration changed its route to avoid a clash, but some members of the tradition march ran after it, hurling stones and eggs," the BBC added

For background on the anti-gay climate in Poland under its new ultraconservative and homophobic regime, see these previous DIRELAND articles: March 31, 2006: Warsaw: Police Attack Le Madame, Expel Occupants; March 29, 2006: The Siege of Le Madame--A Polish Stonewall? December 1, 2005: Polish Gays Fighting Back: Demonstrations in 8 Cities; November 21, 2005: Poland: A First-Hand Account of an Official Gay-Bashing; October 28, 2005: "Is Poland's New President Another Putin, or Another Peron?"; October 25, 2005 "Poland Could Lose E.U. Rights Over New Leadership's Homophobia"; October 24, 2005 "Poland Elects a Hard-Right, Homophobic President"