Gay community holds week of Gay Pride celebrities

TIRANA, May 17 – A small group of people rode their bikes through downtown Tirana in a public demonstration promoting gay rights.
Police detained two youngsters who threw firecrackers at the cyclists.
The two gay civil groups that organized Monday’s event thanked police for protecting the bike riders.
The gay community had long planned a gay pride celebration mainly scheduled in Albania on Thursday.
On Wednesday they also opened an exhibition and more celebrations were held Thursday, like a meeting in front of the Albanian parliament to press for gay rights and to send messages to lawmakers.
The European Union and organizations such as Human Rights Watch have condemned a comment that an Albanian Cabinet member made in March saying that people who join that celebration should be beaten.
But Ekrem Spahia, deputy defense minister and also leader of the monarchists Legality Party, again came out Tuesday to denounce the celebrations and called on police not to allow the Thursday celebrations, the International Day against Homophobia.
The gay community strongly denounced Spahia and asked authorities to declare them illegal.
In Monday’s riding they were accompanied by police and also resisted the heavy rain. The blast of the homemade tube bombs thrown at them didnot hurt any of the demonstrators and they cycled on.
In its efforts to become a member of the European Union, Albania must demonstrate its readiness to protect human rights, and has passed laws against discrimination because of sexual orientation.
Albania passed an anti-discrimination law in 2009, which does not allow same-sex weddings. There is still widespread homophobia in the tiny western Balkan country, but no aggressive behavior against gays has been reported until now.