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Slovakia's first Gay Pride was marred by violence on Saturday, when a group of neo-Nazi's attacked spectators at the parade, leading to injuries and 29 arrests.
Slovakia's first Gay Pride was marred by violence on Saturday, when a group of neo-Nazi's attacked spectators at the parade, leading to injuries and 29 arrests, the Financial Times is reporting.
The youths threw canisters of teargas into an estimated crowd of 500, which included some families with children. A two-year-old girl was seriously injured after inhaling fumes.
Police in riot gear quickly worked to take control, but some of the events following the parade were either delayed or cancelled due to the threat of additional violence. After waiting over four hours for the situation to die down, participants were finally allowed to attend an after-party scheduled to take place on a boat on the Danube River.
Robert Kalinák, interior minister, said he was satisfied with the response by police forces, and insinuated that the violence was the fault of the parade organizers. "There is no question they were sufficiently prepared," he said on a political talk show on Sunday.
He then passed the blame to the Pride organizers, accusing them of upsetting the parade route, "the only thing they achieved by doing that was to make the extremists more visible." He went on to say that if the organizers wanted to ensure security, "they could have hired a private security firm."
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