"Freedom of assembly and of expression are fundamental rights in the EU and they have to be applied in all member states," says Ulrike Lunacek, Spokeswoman of the European Green Party, on her return from Riga Sunday morning. "The Latvian Minister of the Interior had not made it clear to police that they are to protect lesbians and gays from aggressive "no pride" activists who threw excrements and eggs at peaceful people who left a Riga church Saturday morning after a religious service given by a gay Latvian priest, or from vehicles harrassing visitors to ex-Nazi-concentration camp Salaspils where they commemorated homosexual victims," Lunacek criticizes. (The priest's mother, by the way, came out in support of Rigas Praids in one of Latvia's main magazines the same day!) With this refusal the Minister of the Interior "has clearly violated EU-principles," e.g. Article 13 of the Amsterdam Treaty which does not allow discrimination on grounds of, among others, sexual orientation, Lunacek recalls.

That is why the EGP demands that the EU consider consequences, for example the suspension of voting rights for the Latvian Minister of the Interior at the respective EU Council, as long as he does not apologize and make it clear that in the future he and the police will provide protection for events organized by LGBT organizations.

European Greens will put this demand forward to national governments and in th EP, in support of a resolution presented by Latvian LGBT organization Mozaikas in Riga on Saturday that calls for the resignation of the Minister of the Interior.

Besides EGP Spokesperson and Austrian MP Ulrike Lunacek other Greens present werde MEP Raul Romeva from Catalonia/Spain and Malin Björns, Board member from the Swedish Green Party.

In addressing the lesbian and gay crowd inside the hotel where Rigas Praids had to be held instead of in the streets, Romeva recalled the importance of the EU treaties in protection of minorities and Lunacek called on participants not to let fear win them over: "I am sure next year we will have a proud Praids celebration in Riga," the EGP Spokesperson said with an optimistic tone: "My optimism is based on the fact that the Latvian President and the Latvian Foreign Minister have spoken out in support of the Parade."