Eighty-eight arrested over gay march attacks in Bulgaria
SOFIA (AFP) — Eighty-eight people have been arrested for trying to attack participants in Bulgaria's first-ever gay pride march, the interior ministry said Sunday.
They include Nationalist Union leader Boyan Rasate, who faces legal proceedings for hooliganism, the ministry said, after he launched a campaign against Saturday's march and urged people to openly resist it.
Security concerns had forced organisers and local authorities in the Bulgarian capital Sofia to change the route of the march twice and to deploy a large number of police to escort the 100-odd participants.
Nevertheless, the march came under atttack from nationalists and skinheads who were seen booing the small procession and throwing rocks, firecrackers and at least one petrol bomb at it.
While the law in Bulgaria does not discriminate against homosexuals, gays and lesbians in the Balkan EU member state have faced widespread hostility since the communist era.
