Belarus, Europe

Richard Ammon GlobalGayz.com May 15, 2010 Saturday May 15 2010, gay Pride day in Minsk, Balarus, arrived and there were no unusual surprises: trouble was anticipated and trouble there was. The gay participants knew the police would try to stop them. The police knew where the marchers were and intercepted them–but not before the combined rights activists from Moscow and St Petersburg joined the Belarus activists to unfurl a big rainbow flag, about 8 meters long (25 feet), and carry it along one of the main streets for a short distance. A few other participants unfurled their own smaller flags so the dozens of reporters and photographers from local and international press could take photos and have short interviews. Read more details from Logan Mucha’s report. Events happened quickly once the police came into contact with the rights celebrants. The black uniformed troops jumped out of their trucks and quickly

                  Gay Pride in Minsk, Belarus  (Slavic Pride 2010) Despite exhuberant celebrations and huge parades in the West, Gay Pride events elsewhere, such as Belarus, remain difficult and dangereous. Gay Pride is very much still a global fight for human rights, both in the streets and in a new documentary film. By Richard Ammon and UK Gay News GlobalGayz.com May 15, 2010 Also see: http://www.xtra.ca/public/Toronto/Inside_Out_2010_Beyond_Gay_The_Politics_of_Pride-8617.aspx Over the course of a year, Christie follows Vancouver Pride Society president Ken Coolen to various international Pride events. At Warsaw Pride, a crowd of youths heckles marchers with “Great Poland, Catholic Poland.” In Budapest, marchers are separated from protesters by fencing that ultimately fails to prevent violence. Perhaps the most moving sequence features a small but dedicated group of activists in Moscow, where Pride is banned. Christie shows how organizers lure police, press and anti-gay protestors to a decoy event at city hall while

Intro: Belarus still staggers under post Soviet repressive government policies. Although homosexuality has been decriminalized it remains a shadow lifestyle and there is little breathing room or freedom for LGBT people. Below are stories and reports that offer an overview and introduction to gay Belarus. Also see: Gay Belarus News & Reports 2004 to present From: AssociatedContent.com http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/21271/minsk_gay_guide_gay_life_in_belarus.html?page=2 February 20, 2006 Commentary: Gay Life in Belarus–Belarusians Below the Radar Among the former Soviet states in Eastern Europe, Belarus is the most resistant to social change, restricting gay life to private connections out of the public eye. Homosexual behavior was decriminalized in the early 1990s, but pervasive homophobia has largely squelched the gay rights movement. Neighbors of Belarus like Russia, Poland, and Lithuania enjoy far more advanced, even if fledgling, gay life. Minsk, the capital of Belarus, provides a tenuous, semi-safe haven for gays through an underground network of private organizations