BRATISLAVA, June 3, (WEBNOVINY) – Chairman of the liberal SaS and Parliament Speaker Richard Sulik has invited all fans and sympathizers to come to the Rainbow Pride on Saturday in Bratislava. As he said at a news conference on the eve of the event, he and his party colleagues will be attending.
Labor Minister Jozef Mihal of the same party will participate as well, confirmed the ministry’s press department “I’m convinced that Slovak citizens who live with each other as same sex partners should have equal rights to everyone else,” underlined Mihal. State Secretary of the Labor Ministry Lucia Nicholsonova, who also supported the Pride last year, shares the same opinion. “I think that Slovak society should be more tolerant against all forms of being different. Politicians should be the example, that’s why I support this activity,” said Nicholsonova.
KDH Chairman and Deputy Speaker of Parliament Pavol Hrusovsky has different plans for Saturday than the Pride. “I see no reason for calling attention to anything in this way. There is rather space for a dialogue behind a negotiation table,” says Hrusovsky, who considers the entire issue to be a political matter, and he sees also the initiative of the SaS in this light as the party does not conceal that it is its agenda.
Zygmunt Zimowski, president of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Health Care Workers, who is currently visiting Slovakia, also commented on the Rainbow Pride: according to him the Church does not condemn inclinations, but sins. Thus, the Church condemns no one in connection with the Rainbow Pride. He also pointed out that there are several documents on pastorisation of homosexuals and underlined that there always have been homosexuals, from the beginning of the world. He, however, emphasized that the Saturday’s march is not in favor of the culture of life and he considers it to be questionable whether it would help with better education of children.
Opposition SNS Chairman Jan Slota considers this Saturday’s Pride to be a provocation. “Individuals with such sick orientation should quietly suffer their illness as every sick person. They should not violate Slovak society,” Slota told the SITA news agency. According to him, there is a symbolism in a minority making such event on the day of the 140th anniversary of the Slovak National Party.
The Rainbow Pride march is aimed at supporting the equality of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people and is organized by Queer leaders Forum. Last year, about one hundred rightist extremists disturbed the peaceful march by throwing stones and tear gas capsules at the participants. They beat up at least two people carrying rainbow flags. The neo-Nazis even attacked Austrian member of European Parliament Ulrike Lunacek during her speech.
SITA