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Incident-free Prague gay parade under eye of police
Aug 13, 2011, 14:02 GMT
Prague - The Czech Republic's first gay pride parade passed off in Prague on Saturday under strong police guard without major incident, despite attempts by extremists to cause disruption.
Police kept a small group of rightwingers at bay as some 3,000 gays and lesbians marched through the city centre, according to Czech public broadcaster CT.
The broadcaster reported that most of the rightwingers had left before the end of the parade once it became clear that they would not be able to disrupt it.
The organisers had hoped for a considerably larger turnout.
Some the marchers expressed scorn at the stance taken by President Vaclav Klaus, who strongly opposed the march and other events taking place as part of the Prague Pride event, which began on Wednesday and is due to end on Sunday.
The Catholic Church also expressed its opposition.
Diplomats from a dozen countries, including the country's powerful neighbour Germany, expressly distanced themselves from Klaus' criticism. Klaus promptly accused them of 'interference in Czech domestic affairs.'
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