Some 5,000 people join EuroPride 2015 gay parade in Riga
Xinhua, June 21, 2015 Adjust font size:
Some 5,000 people took to the streets of Riga on Saturday for a gay pride parade, the culminating event of the EuroPride 2015 week which took place in the Latvian capital June 15-20.
Dressed in colourful outfits and costumes and holding rainbow flags and posters calling for acceptance of different lifestyles, lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people, as well as their friends and supporters marched through central streets of Riga to the beat of cheerful music.
A crowd of onlookers had also gathered to watch the parade, with some shouting their disapproval and others showing support for the march.
The parade, which was joined not only by representatives of Latvia's LGBT community but also many guests from foreign countries, notably a number of ambassadors from different countries and politicians from the European Parliament, passed off quite peacefully.
Nevertheless, three arrests were made for what the police described as minor disturbances of public order. Among those briefly detained was Andris Orols, the leader of Latvia's Anti-globalists NGO, which staged a counter-demonstration against the EuroPride 2015 parade.
The parade, which ended in Vermanes Park in downtown Riga, was followed by a rally of LGBT rights activists and their supporters. Endit