04/06/2008

This letter is also signed by the members of the European, Swedish and Danish parliaments, as well as representatives of various organisations which took part in Riga March for Equality 2008.

Open letter to Jānis Birks, the Mayor of Riga, and Mareks Segliņš,the Minister of Interior of the Republic of Latvia

We, the politicians and the representatives of the organisations, who took part in the Friendship Days and the March for Equality, organised by Mozaika, the Alliance of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender people (LGBT) and their Friends in Riga on 31 May 2008, express our satisfaction with the actions of the Riga City Council and the Latvian Police who ensured that LGBT people and their friends were not prevented or obstructed from hosting a peaceful March for Equality and all necessary measures were taken to ensure safety and security of the Marchers.

We are pleased to witness that for the second year the right to free and peaceful assembly which is guaranteed both by the Latvian Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights was upheld by the Riga City Council and the Latvian Police ensured that LGBT people and their supporters and friends could exercise this right without obstructions.

At the same time we hope that many of the various measures taken by the Riga City Council and the Latvian Police which restricted the access to the venue of the March for Equality for many potential participants and the general public will not be taken next year. The aim of the March was to provide visibility to the LGBT community in Latvia and give the community the opportunity to convey their messages and demands to the general public in Latvia. Unfortunately the way the Police arranged the security measures and acted at the entrance point to the territory allocated to the March means that the participants of the March for Equality were isolated and did not have an opportunity to express their messages to the general public. We are in particular concerned with following points:

• despite a specific request from Mozaika to let everyone in unless they carry objects which can be used to harm others or display NoPride symbols, the police were given order to let in only people with wristbands;
• the police were asking many people willing to join the March if they were LGBT persons and only let them in if the answer was affirmative;
• several people who were willing to take part in the March were not let in the territory after the March started.

We are also concerned that an illegal counter manifestation by several hundreds of protesters which did not notify the authorities on their event were allowed to host their protest actions and intimidate the participants of the March for Equality.

We hope that next year Riga City Council and the Latvian Police find the balanced arrangements without excessive restrictions and isolation which will enable easier and wider access for those willing to take part in the March and their greater visibility.

We also hope that at the next year’s March for Equality there will be some prominent Latvian politicians present. One of the aims of the March for Equality is to reduce prejudice and counter the hate speech towards LGBT people and the Latvian politicians can play very important role in achieving those goals.

We are happy to offer our advice and expertise to the Riga City Council and the Latvian Police to ensure that next year this event is less restricted, more visible and safe.

Sophie In’t Veld
Member of the European Parliament

Helene Goudin
Member of the European Parliament

Magdalena Streijffert
Member of the Swedish Parliament

Johanne Schmidt-Nielsen
Member of the Danish Parliament

Flemming Møller Mortensen
Member of the Danish Parliament

Anders Dahlbeck
Researcher, Amnesty International's EU team

Hanne Pilegaard
Head of Campaigns and Policy, Amnesty International Denmark

Martin K.I. Christensen and Juris Lavrikovs
ILGA-Europe, the European Region of the International Lesbian and Gay Association

Catrine Norrgård
Vice-President of Swedish LGBT Liberals

Krister Fahlstedt
RFSL, the Swedish Federation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights

Michael Kjeldsen
LBL, the National Association of Gays and Lesbians in Denmark

Petter Hojem
Skeiv Ungdom, Queer Youth of Norway

Jonatan Porsager
World Outgames 2009, Copenhagen

Jaan Kroon
NGO Diversity – Estonia

Ilke Jaspers
Tartu Gay Youth – Estonia

Virginija Prasmickaitė
Lithuanian Gay League