VILNIUS - The Lithuanian Gay League has filed a lawsuit against the Vilnius city government for its refusal to grant permission to hoist a 30-meter-long rainbow flag in the center of Town Hall Square. The event was to be held on Oct. 25 in connection with an annual conference of the International Lesbian and Gay Association.
The LGL filed the case with the Vilnius court, requesting that it review the complaint within three days so a decision could be reached before the scheduled hoisting. The court was expected to make a decision on the morning of Oct. 24, however no announcement was made before The Baltic Times went to press that day.
The reason the city gave for the refusal was that construction works underway in square would jeopardize the safety of participants, however rights activists have rejected the explanation.
"It seems that homophobia in Lithuania is so high that even you can't even show your sexual orientation in the public eye. It is quite risky it's not so friendly of an environment," Vladimir Simonko of the Lithuanian Gay League told The Baltic Times.
"The participants of the conference have been denied their rights to freedom of assembly," said ILGA Europe activist and communications officer Juris Lavrikovs.
"The ban of public events shows that there is still more work to be done in Lithuania. It's appalling that the mayor, the city council and lawyers are disregarding the EU Court of Human Rights," he said.
The four-day conference is expected to draw 230 participants from 38 different European countries, including representatives of the European Commission, the European Parliament, the United Nations and the Swedish government.
The league has pledged to take the issue to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg if it loses its case in Vilnius.
The incident marks the second time this year the Lithuanian gay community was refused a permit to fly a rainbow flag. City officials banned an anti-discrimination rally in May for what they said were concerns over public safety. In summer Vilnius and Kaunas city officials also banned an ad campaign promoting tolerance in employment.
