Romanian NGO Announces Gay Pride March On May 22

Representatives of the NGO said the festival will include LGBT-themed events, including a photo and text exhibition, film screenings, creative workshops, parties and a march for diversity.

According to the press release, the beginning of this year's festival will coincide with the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, the worldwide anniversary of the day homosexuality was no longer considered an illness by the World Health Organization.

The two-hour gay pride march will take place on the last day of the festival in downtown capital Bucharest. Officials expected to attend include Michael Cashman, an executive committee member of Britain's Labor Party, Robin Barnett, the British ambassador to Romania, Csaba Asztalos from the National Anti-Discrimination Council and Jonathan Rosenzweig, a secretary with the Israeli Embassy in Romania. .

Previous gay pride parades in Bucharest ended with violent incidents, which prompted authorities to assign the supervision of last year's parade and two other marches "for normality" to 700 gendarmes and 400 police.

Ambassadors to Romania of Great Britain, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and Sweden joined the 2009 gay pride parade in support of gay rights.

Romanian NGO "Accept" promotes and protects the rights of the LGBT minority (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual). Prior to last year's gay pride march, NGO representatives said LGBTs in Romania continue to be discriminated against, harassed and considered second-rate citizens, which is unacceptable in a European country that claims to observe human rights.

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