Bulgarian police arrested 60 skinheads who
tried to disrupt the country's first Gay Pride parade Saturday, the Interior
Ministry said.
A large police presence in the capital Sofia separated the several dozen
parade participants from opponents from nationalists groups who threw
firecrackers.
Amnesty International had warned that Bulgaria's first Gay Pride parade could
be attacked. Nationalist groups had threatened not to allow the march to go
ahead.
The Bulgarian National Union has been allowed to gather signatures for a
petition against "homosexuality and child abuse" at the same time as
the parade.
The parade, organized by the Bulgarian Gay and Lesbian group Gemini, was also
been criticized by the country's Christian Orthodox Church and by Muslim
representatives.
The venue was relocated twice within 24 hours on grounds of safety and morality
and is now to take place on the Bridge of Love near the Cultural Palace in the
centre of the capital.
The mayor relocated the parade from a park on the outskirts of the city because
"many children play there."
The parade was also to have taken place on Sofia's main street, dpa reported.