LONDON, July 25, 2006  –  The Liberal Democrats, Pride London and Amnesty International have all hit out at the events in Riga on Saturday when the banned Gay Pride march was moved into an indoor event to comply with a court judgement.

Baroness Sarah Ludford, MEP, the Liberal Democrat spokeswoman  on European justice and a Member of the European Parliament’s ‘Intergroup’ on gay and lesbian rights described the situation in Riga as “pure homophobia”.

Emma Hands, vice chair of Pride London, said that the failure of the police to protect those taking part in Riga Pride was “shameful”, while Amnesty International demanded that the police and judicial authorities should in future “act with due diligence” to protect LGBT people against violence from the wider community.

In a statement, Baroness Ludford said:  “This is pure homophobia and a deplorable violation of the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

“European human rights law obliges Latvia to respect the right to freedom of assembly and expression, she continued.  “Thus the Riga authorities must take active measures to protect march participants.

“This unacceptable discrimination against gay people in parts of ‘new Europe’ must be speedily ended.

“The European Commission should instigate action against Latvia for failing to respect EU laws on freedom, dignity and equal rights for all citizens,” she insisted.  “European laws must also be strengthened to include measures for combating homophobic hate crime.”

In January, MEPs voted overwhelmingly to condemn discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in their resolution ‘Homophobia in Europe’, in which member states and the European Commission were urged to ensure that freedom of demonstration – guaranteed by all human rights treaties – is respected in practice.

At Pride London, Ms. Hands said:  “We are shocked and appalled to witness the violent scenes which unfolded in Riga this weekend.  As a member of the European Union, Latvia has a duty to protect its citizens from discrimination and violent oppression.

“The ban on the Pride march by the Riga authorities in the first place clearly shows that the forces of bigotry take precedence over human rights in Latvia.

“The failure of the police to protect those taking part from brutal homophobic vigilantes is a shameful betrayal of an oppressed minority community,” she added.

Anders Dahlbeck, Amnesty International’s researcher on Latvia, pointed out that the Latvian authorities had breached their obligations under international law and standards to respect the rights to freedom of assembly and expression by banning the Riga Pride 2006 march.

“They have compounded this breach by failing to adequately protect the participants in the other events organized by the LGBT community,” he said.

“Why, after the Riga Pride 2006 march had been cancelled due to perceived ‘security threats’ to the LGBT community, was so little protection afforded during the events organized by the community on Saturday 22 July,” he asked?

Amnesty International maintains that the Latvian authorities should also make clear that such violence is a criminal offence and will not be tolerated.  Specific directives and training should be given to law enforcement officials on their duty to protect the human rights of all individuals, regardless of their sexuality, and on how to identify and investigate homophobic crimes, AI says.

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