Baltic Visitor

It was reported earlier this week that trolleybus drivers in Vilnius were refusing to drive vehicles bearing pro-gay rights messages. According to Reuters,

Algirdas Krivickas, director of the trolley bus company in Kaunas, said employees had reacted strongly to the adverts which read: “A gay can serve in the police” and “A lesbian can work at school.”

Drivers had refused to take out trolley buses bearing the adverts. These had now been taken down.

“Some said they feared the trolley bus could be vandalized, some said they do not want friends to laugh at them,” Krivickas said.

The city’s mayor has backed the drivers, citing the priority of ‘family values’ and reinforcing the reputation which the three Baltic countries have for being less than gay-friendly. The annual gay pride march in Riga – started in 2005 – never fails to attract controversy, condemned by politicans and even banned last year. The march went ahead anyway and the few dozen participants were disgracefully pelted with eggs and even excrement. The ban has recently been declared illegal by the Estonian courts, and this year’s events will run from 31st May until 3rd June.

Gay pride marches in Tallinn have also been marred by violence. This year will mark their fourth anniversary in Tallinn, with a week of events culminating on 12th August. The organisers explicitly invite international participation:

Thus, knowing that we have the whole Europe behind our back, we invite YOU to join US in Tallinn on August 11th 2007 to march together in support of human rights, inclusion and equality for all.

Finally, this year sees the first ever gay pride event in Vilnius, known as Rainbow Days 2007 – the trolleybus advertisements were part of the run-up. A series of seminars has already begun, but the highest-profile event will be on 25th May:

In the centre of Vilnius, the participants of this event will display a rainbow flag, which will measure 30 meters in length and will be the longest and biggest rainbow flag in Lithuania. This public act will seek to highlight the importance of solidarity, communal spirit and support.

That night there will be a party at the Men‘s Factory nightclub at Ševčenkos 16.

I will post updates on the events in due course, and would be interested to receive any first-hand reports or photographs from readers. My hope, of course, is that there is little to report. But judging by recent evidence, the international media is all too likely to be reporting on hostility which shames these EU member states.

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