Around 30 skinheads attacked marchers in the third gay pride parade in Tallinn, Estonia, on Aug. 12. They beat them with sticks, threw rocks at them and bombed them with eggs.
At least 15 marchers were injured. Three of them were transported to hospital emergency rooms. Police made at least six arrests for public-order violations.
Pride spokesman Lisette Kampus said there were not enough cops along the parade route. ' [ The skinheads ] attacked the middle of the march—and first, the women,' she told GayRussia.Ru. ' [ Y ] oung Estonian men attacking young Estonian woman—it is completely shocking for us. There are no words. It is something extremely shameful.'
In an e-mail, Kampus added: 'We are all in ... real massive shock. Anything like this has never, never happened in Estonia during any demonstration, parade, etc. We consider ourselves to be a peaceful nation, even when it comes to gay issues.'
Indeed, Tallinn's previous pride marches have been trouble-free, but this year has seen a rash of antigay actions directed at gay parades in the region, with marches being banned, attacked or both in Russia, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and, now, Estonia.
'I think that we are seeing what kind of impact such situations that took place in Riga, Krakow or Warsaw can have on neighboring countries,' Kampus said. 'Latvia is exporting its homophobia. Things in Riga were an encouragement for stupid people in Estonia.'
About 500 people took part in the Tallinn march, which started 20 minutes late because of a bomb threat. Police didn't find any bombs. Prior to the march, the small Christian Democrats political party had called for the parade to be banned.
Party Chairman Aldo Vinkel told the Baltic News Service, 'The laws oblige sellers to keep porn and sex publications away from display areas that can be viewed by children. It is evident that live models conveying the same message pose a significantly bigger threat to children.'
