President Klaus hails loud protests against Prague Pride

Pec pod Snezkou, East Bohemia, Aug 10 (CTK) - Czech President Vaclav Klaus hailed Friday loud protests by opponents of the Prague Pride festival of sexual minorities and told CTK that it is rational and needed that people with the opposite opinion be also heard.

During the ascent of Snezka (1602m), the highest mountain in the Czech Republic, in which he traditionally took part, Klaus expressed his "clearly negative opinion" of the festival of homosexuals' pride last year already.

The second Prague Pride festival will be held in Prague on August 13-19. The event will climax with a rainbow march of pride in the centre of Prague on August 18.

It is protested against by conservatives from the D.O.S.T. initiative, abortion opponents and Young Christian Democrats.

The march met with opposition last year, too. Klaus then used the term "homosexualism" in connection with the event.

Petr Hajek, deputy head of his office, said homosexuals are "deviant fellow citizens."

Klaus said he considers the word deviation neutral.

D.O.S.T. is again loudly protesting against Prague Pride and says it is "an obscene festival" that promotes the "intolerable ideology of homosexualism."

The initiative again criticises Mayor of Prague Bohuslav Sovoboda (Civic Democrats, ODS) for having taken aegis over the festival even though he is a conservative politician.

D.O.S.T. has convoked a rally "in defence of the pride of normal people" to the upper of Wenceslas Square in Prague centre for the time of the march that is to start precisely there.

The Young Christian Democrats will hold a demonstration in support of "the traditional family" in Prague centre.

The association Citizens for Their Rights says the rainbow march at the monument of Saint Wenceslas, patron of Bohemia, in Wencesals Square, will "desecrate the symbol of Czech statehood."

Prague Pride director Czeslaw Walek told CTK that the festival's organisers are not surprised by the protests and that the protesting organisations want to make themselves visible after a year thanks to the sexual minorities' event.

The organisers have several times repeated that their event is not political and that it is to present minorities, support diversity and promote respect for being different.