Romania: Anti-gay slurs and fireworks inside the cinema, at a gay movie premiere
23/11/2011
Submitted by
ACT-Q ROMANIA
Despite a small number of policemen and security forces at the entry, ten to fifteen men from the extremist anti-gay organization Noua Dreapta (ND) entered and held a live protest against LGBT people inside the cinema where the audience attended the premiere of the first Romanian gay-themed documentary, Noi Doi (Two of US).
The event was held in a cinema downtown Bucharest, during the International Film Festival, DaKINO, with critics, journalists and film lovers in the hall.
After the speech of the French Ambassador in Romania, Henri Paul, that remained in the audience, the movie started on the screen with some images captured during the anti-gay march organized by Noua Dreapta.
In the same time, in the back of the hall, the ND group started to repeat the words from the movie, words full of incitement to hatred against gay people. They were holding banners and lighted up fireworks inside the cinema. Security forces managed to take them out of the hall before any violent incident.
The audience was pretty relaxed since they thought that is a happening organized by the movie producers. But at the end of the movie, organizers stated that the incident was real.
The extremists continued their protest on the internet where their websites and blogs are full of anti-gay messages or against their allies, including the French Ambassador that funded the movie at the Human Rights Award.
The producer of the documentary, Parada Film Romania condemned the action of Noua Dreapta and took security measures for the next projections of the movie.
ACT-Q ROMANIA, the LGBT organization for culture and communication also condemns Noua Dreapta and it’s discriminatory protest, underlining that the lack of responsibility from the security at the entrance could have lead to a tragic event.
Although the laws in Romania condemns the discriminatory public actions and the usage of pyrotechnical materials without permission, the Police didn't comment the incident yet. We still hope that authorities will make all the necessary efforts to apply the laws and to protect its citizens, including the LGBT community, avoiding tragedies like the attack at the LGBT Center from Israel in 2009.
The event was held in a cinema downtown Bucharest, during the International Film Festival, DaKINO, with critics, journalists and film lovers in the hall.
After the speech of the French Ambassador in Romania, Henri Paul, that remained in the audience, the movie started on the screen with some images captured during the anti-gay march organized by Noua Dreapta.
In the same time, in the back of the hall, the ND group started to repeat the words from the movie, words full of incitement to hatred against gay people. They were holding banners and lighted up fireworks inside the cinema. Security forces managed to take them out of the hall before any violent incident.
The audience was pretty relaxed since they thought that is a happening organized by the movie producers. But at the end of the movie, organizers stated that the incident was real.
The extremists continued their protest on the internet where their websites and blogs are full of anti-gay messages or against their allies, including the French Ambassador that funded the movie at the Human Rights Award.
The producer of the documentary, Parada Film Romania condemned the action of Noua Dreapta and took security measures for the next projections of the movie.
ACT-Q ROMANIA, the LGBT organization for culture and communication also condemns Noua Dreapta and it’s discriminatory protest, underlining that the lack of responsibility from the security at the entrance could have lead to a tragic event.
Although the laws in Romania condemns the discriminatory public actions and the usage of pyrotechnical materials without permission, the Police didn't comment the incident yet. We still hope that authorities will make all the necessary efforts to apply the laws and to protect its citizens, including the LGBT community, avoiding tragedies like the attack at the LGBT Center from Israel in 2009.
