(source)

UKGayNews reports that large, aggressive and well-coordinated groups blocked a bus carrying Gay Pride participants to their sixth attempt at staging a pride parade. Chisinau (capital of Moldova) police stood to one side and let extremist religious groups, members of the neo-fascist movement, “New Right”, and legionnaires prevent today’s “Gay Pride” from going ahead. 

The violent extremists then forced open the door the door of the bus before violently trying to break the windows. According to Pride organisers at GenderDoc-M, the protesters even tried to tamper with the engine. As the thugs were physically attacking the bus, they hurled abuse at those inside.

“Lets get them out and beat them up,” they yelled.

GenderDoc-M, the country’s LGBT non-governmental organisation, has informed local authorities and the Ministry of Internal Affairs as early as April 21 about the route of the march, and requested for protection.

The law on freedom of assembly of Moldova guarantees peaceful assembly to everyone, and puts an obligation on the police to guarantee the exercise of the right and the safety of participants.

“The police did not facilitate the exit of pride participants from the bus into the street, did not prevent the rival aggressive groups from intervention, and through their passivity encouraged escalation of violence and the build up of the all-permissive hostile atmosphere,” GenderDoc-M said in a statement this afternoon.

Independent human rights observers witnessed hatred shouts, such as “Beat them to death” and “Don’t let them escape”.

Some 60 Gay Pride participants were stuck in the bus for over 45 minutes. According to the estimates of independent observers some 200 to 400 people had surrounded the bus. The core of the crowd were teenagers, some dressed military-style, some wearing black masks and others skinhead-like carrying A4 posters with derogatory homophobic messages and signs.

The outer ring of the crowd was mostly middle-aged men wearing black clothes encouraging the youths.

Observers have said that they did not see any uniformed police at the location of what amounted to the ‘hijack’ of the bus by the thugs.

(source)