Aigars Kalvītis, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Latvia, has responded to the concerns expressed in July by UK Gay News, and many others, in the run-up to the July 23 Gay Pride Parade in Riga, the capitol.

He admits that the Executive Director of Riga City Council “acted hastily, when he withdrew the previously granted permit”.

The Prime Minister praised what he called “highly professional and successful operation of the police, who ensured security of participants of the parade and public order, and prevented physical clashes and disorder”, a point that was made by the local gay community and an ILGA-Europe official immediately after the parade where some ugly scenes by anti-gay protestors developed.

Mr. Kalvītis went on to say that his government is against discrimination of any kind and just before the Parade the Cabinet of Ministers “adopted decisions preventing discrimination of sexual minorities in labour market”.

The full text of the e-mail received from the Prime Minister:

Riga, 31 August 2005

Dear Sirs,

Thank you for your opinion concerning the parade of sexual minorities that took place on July 23, 2005 in Riga.  I must express my regret about the unhealthy stir that was created following my interview with the LNT TV programme 900 seconds.  There were attempts to link my statements with expressions of homophobic views and hate in the society. This is not true.

The concerns I expressed in the interview on possible increase of friction within the society and attempts of some extremist elements to use this parade for stirring conflicts were largely grounded.  The information I had about planned illegal activities was alarming enough.

At the same time, I must admit that the Executive Director of Riga City Council acted hastily, when he withdrew the previously granted permit.  This can be seen from the court ruling, which allowed the parade to take place.  This can also be seen from the highly professional and successful operation of the police, who ensured security of participants of the parade and public order, and prevented physical clashes and disorder.  Individuals who acted as hooligans were arrested, and appropriate sanctions were taken against them. I think that the events that took place during the parade were a result of misunderstandings and unnecessary confrontation of views.  I hope that in the future in such situations the necessary compromise will be found by choosing appropriate time and place beforehand.

I would like to say that Latvia is a democratic country that wishes and is able to ensure human rights of every person living here.  In a democratic country, the most diverse views are listened to, and the Government of Latvia is clearly against discrimination of any kind.  It is worth noting that not long before the parade, the Cabinet of Ministers adopted decisions preventing discrimination of sexual minorities in labour market.

I would like to repeat that the Government of Latvia has never retreated from the principles of democracy, and that its whole operation is aimed at protecting every citizen of Latvia, fighting race intolerance and persons fuelling hate on national or any other grounds.

Yours sincerely,

Aigars Kalvītis
Prime Minister of the Republic of Latvia

■  Riga police  praised for their actions during Riga Gay Pride Parade.

Previous Coverage

July 24:  Lativa:  Riga Gay Pride: “A Sad, Sad Day. Society Is Sick” – Juris Lavrikovs.  By Nikolai Alekseev (GayRussia.ru).  When I called Juris Lavrikovs on Saturday evening, the first words I heard in my phone were: “I am safe, I am at home now”. Juris was very annoyed by what happened during the first ever gay pride in the history of his native country.

July 23:  Latvia:   Eggs and Abuse Hurled by Protesters at Riga Gay Pride Parade.  Anti-gay protesters have marred the first-ever Gay Pride Parade in Latvia.  The protesters hurled eggs and abuse as the parade wound through the streets of the capital, Riga.

July 22:  Latvia:  Court Says Riga Gay Pride Can Go Ahead Tomorrow.  A Latvian court has reversed the ban imposed by city authorities on the country’s first ever Gay Pride Parade in Riga tomorrow (Saturday).

July 20:  Latvia:  We Are Going Ahead, Riga Gay Pride Organisers Pledge.  Outraged organisers of Saturday’s Riga Pride have pledged that they will go ahead with their event – the first ever Pride in Latvia – despite the intervention of Prime Minister Aigars Kalvitis and his pressure on the city authorities who withdrew permission this morning (Wednesday).  “(We have) decided not to obey and to go ahead with all planned events, including the Pride March,” said Gabriels Andrejs Strautins of the Pride organising committee in an e-mail.

July 20:  Latvia:  Saturday's Pride Parade in Riga Cancelled by City Authorities.  The Pride parade scheduled to be held in the Latvian capital, Riga, on Saturday (July 23) has been cancelled, according to Russian agency reports.  This has been confirmed by the Pride office is Riga.  And UK Gay News was told that they intend to defy the ban.