President Zuzana Čaputová expressed her support for the LGBTI community in Slovakia on the occasion of this year's Rainbow Pride march in Bratislava on Saturday. She noted that it is important to remember the importance of respect, decency and love for one’s neighbour on this day.
According to the organizers, one of the goals of the event was to raise awareness of the LGBTI+ community. They pointed to the last year's public opinion poll, which showed that 53 % of people in Slovakia do not personally know any gay or lesbian people. Some of the most notable moments of the event was the speech by 19 year old Radka Trokšiarová, who survived last year’s terrorist attack aimed against the LGBTI+ community and the coming out of police officer Dávid Púchovský.
Apart from the President, the event was publicly supported by Justice Minister Jana Dubovcova, Culture Minister Silvia Hroncova and members of the Progresívne Slovensko and Sloboda Solidarita parties. “Let's not allow the LGBTI+ community to be portrayed as a threat, wrote the Slovak Foreign and European Affairs Ministry on the occasion of the event. The Pride celebrations was reportedly attended by more than 16,000 people. The event was supported by a total of fifty foreign diplomatic missions in Slovakia and other organisations.
Rainbow Pride coincided with The Proud of Family march, organised as a reactionary event always on the same day. It was attended by several conservatively oriented politicians, such as former Labour Minister Milan Krajniar of Sme Rodina or former Speaker of Parliament Andrej Danko of Slovak National Party.
Source: TASR
