Belarussian police took to the streets of Minsk yesterday in a rapid snatch type squad in Jeeps and a bus to brake up a small group of some 40 to 50 people who defied an official ban on a gay pride march.
Saturday saw a small, but dedicated and brave group of participants who took to the streets with rainbow flags and homemade signs, ignoring an official ban on such gatherings and marches. Some of the handwritten signs said "Today they ban gays, tomorrow they will ban you," the event organised by Russian and Belarussian Slavic Pride rights group was short lived, as very soon Police wearing black berets and armed with batons rushed in snatching the rainbow flag and some of the protesters.
"The police reaction was completely disproportionate to the threat which they thought the protesters posed," Russian activist Nikolai Alekseev told Reuters. "There were 20 people there, behaving peacefully, there were no scuffles and there was no basis for such a rough operation by the authorities."
The police arrested some 15 to 20 of the protesters and there are unconfirmed reports of some being beaten and hit with batons. President Alexander Lukashenko is under Western pressure to enact political reforms and encourage broader civil rights in his country, which has seen ties with traditional ally Russian worsen recently. But whilst homosexuality was officially decriminalized in the early 1990's there is very little official 'tolerance' or acceptance.
Video of the small band of protesters, some being arrested has already been placed on YouTube.
Jason Shaw
© 2010 Copyright Jason Shaw
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