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Polish opposition rallies to condemn attack on LGBTQ march

A week after an LGBTQ rights march was attacked by far-right groups, hundreds staged a rally against violence in downtown Warsaw on Sunday.
Image: Protesters attend a march against violence that took place at an LGBT pride march in July in Bialystok, Poland, on July 27, 2019.
Protesters attend a march against violence that took place at an LGBTQ pride march in July in Bialystok, Poland, on July 27, 2019.Kacper Pempel / Reuters
By Associated Press

WARSAW, Poland — Poland's opposition left-wing parties have staged a rally against violence in the eastern city of Bialystok where a LGBTQ rights march was attacked last week by far-right groups.

Hundreds attended the downtown rally Sunday, many carrying rainbow and European Union flags.

Left-wing leaders who addressed the crowd criticized Poland's right-wing ruling party of having tolerated aggression against the LGBTQ community ever since it won power in 2015. The issuer is gaining new prominence ahead of the fall parliamentary election in predominantly Catholic Poland, where many church leaders have spoken against LGBTQ rights.

Government officials condemned the violence at the Bialystok march but some local ruling party activists were seen among the attackers.

Among the three parties holding the rally Sunday was the Spring party of LGBTQ activist Robert Biedron.

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