More anti-gay protests in Lithuania

May 21, 2007
From wire reports

Sweden's ambassador to Lithuania has drawn the ire of homophobic protesters in Lithuania by calling for the rights of gay and lesbian people to be upheld.
Ambassador Malin Karre delivered a speech to the Lithuanian Parliament on Wednesday May 16 to commemorate the International Day of Fighting Homophobia.
At the event, she told parliamentarians that the Swedish government was "opposed to any goals to trample human rights, including the rights of people with non-traditional sexual orientation."
The comments angered anti-gay activists, who protested outside the Swedish embassy in Vilnius on May 18.
The leader of the For Honor and Nation group, opera soloist Vaidas Vysniauskas told BNS that the speech of the ambassador "hurt religious feelings of faithful Lithuanian citizens."
"We are worried that the representative of the foreign country does not understand that maybe the virtues possibly acceptable for Swedish are not acceptable for Lithuanians," Vysniauskas said.
"Everything that destroys the family institute should not be allowed and the publicity of homosexuals violates the right of the majority of the society to protect their values."
It is the latest homophobic outburst in Baltic states in recent months.
Trolleybus drivers in Vilnius and Kaunas recently refused to drive vehicles carrying advertisements calling for sexual tolerance, and surveys show that many Lithuanians consider homosexuality to be a disease.
Lithuania's church leaders weighed into the fray on May 19, with a conference of Catholic bishops decrying the propagation of homosexuality in public spaces.
However, the Lithuanian Bishops Conference also attempted to back away from harsh statements by saying that homosexuals should be "respected," but called for them to "live purely."

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