Poland: Attack to the International Day Against Homophobia
I'd like to give you account of what has happened in Torun exactly on May 17th 2006
Several days before we have learned that Narodowe Odrodzenie Polski (National Rebirth of Poland), a nationalist, even fascist and xenophobic organisation, planned to disrupt our event. Basically they wanted to prevent us from exercising our right to express opinions. They have registered a demonstration on the same day and place as us. Calls for taking aggressive action against "deviants" and socialist "abject" have occured at NOP's national website www.nop.org.pl as well as it's regional variation www.torun.nop.org.pl . On the day before, from credible sources, we learned that the so called 'hooligans' plan to show up as well and 'beat up some "queers" and "socialist sissies".
As this was supposed to be only a small happening, several activists, not more than fifteen turned up dressed as surgeons. They were faced with massive (more than 40 people) counterdemonstration organised by the Torun branch of NOP. Synchronically shouted slogans, such as "pedaly do gazu" (gas the queers), "chodzcie blizej' (come closer) or "znajdzie sie kij na pedalski ryj" (there'll be a bat for each queer face), could be heard easily on the other end of the square. LGBT rights activists were separated from the counter-demonstrators by City Guard unit. However the impression was that the forces provided for the event would not be sufficient in case of physical violence of larger scale. On the Teatralny square some of the marchers were physically attacked. Police have arrested four most aggressive of the attackers, who were released later that day. We do not have reports whether any chargers have been brought up against them to the court. There were no serious injuries reported.
It was terrible. Seeing all that hate coming leaping out of people. Seeing how they want to shut others up.
I hope Warsaw Pride will be very different. See you there.
