Though considered a success by Zagreb's gay community, Saturday's gay pride event in Croatia was marred by violence. About 300 people participated in the rally in Zrinjevac Park, including several members of Parliament and Croatian Interior Minister, Sime Lucin, who addressed the crowd saying, "Love each other and fight for your rights." Almost as many police as participants were present, protecting marchers from verbal and physical abuse that included 'volleys of tear-gas canisters.' Neo-Nazis rallied at the west side of Zrinjevac Park, yelling such eloquences as, "Go to Serbia," "Kill the Serb," "Fags to concentration camps," "Heil Hitler," "Sieg heil," "Die," and "We are Aryan;" though most of the real trouble came from a group of about 20 young men, some of whom carried Molotov cocktails. 10 people were injured, with two needing medical attention, and eight arrests were made.
Though supported by the current government, this is not the first time that Croatia's LGBT community has fought fierce opposition to peaceful demonstrations of pride. Zagreb's first Pride event was held in 2002 to much fanfare, and last year several tourists perceived as gay were attacked at resorts along Croatia's popular Adriatic coast. Croatia's gay and lesbian community says it regularly faces prejudice, discrimination, job dismissals and physical assault in Croatia, whose population of 4.4 million is nearly 90 percent Roman Catholic. The remaining 10 percent are largely made up of Orthodox Christians and Muslims.
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