Gay bar owner: we were afraid this would happen – The Slovak Spectator
It’s up to the society to stop the hate, says LGBT initiative.
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The LGBT+ community has been sounding the alarm for a long time, warning where inciting hatred might lead society.
“We were afraid this would happen,” stated Roman Samotný, owner of the Bratislava establishment on Zámocká Street where the LGBT+ community meets. On Wednesday, two men were murdered in the bar and one woman suffered injuries.
Samotný stated that the shooting was a deliberate attack on the LGBT+ community. The community is under attack all over Slovakia, and several top politicians are also to blame, he charged, calling upon the public to think about the situation.
“It can be one of the first acts and can even worsen. We still have the chance to stop it so that no more innocent people are executed,” said Samotný.
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Community shaken
According to the Inakosť Initiative, the Slovak LGBT+ community is deeply shaken by the incident. “It’s now up to all society to finally stop the trend of growing hatred towards LGBT+ people,” said Martin Macko, head of the initiative.
“Yesterday’s murders struck deeply in the heart of our community. In the world where so many people despise us, attack us verbally and hate us, this was the place where we could feel accepted, without any judgement, where our home was,” said Lucia Plaváková, lawyer, human rights activist, and co-founder of the Dúhové Rodiny (Rainbow Families) civic association.
“This cannot happen again. I address you, politicians, to halt your hatred towards us, members of the LGBT+ community,” Plaváková wrote on social media. Plaváková has been a vocal supporter of the LGBT+ community, offering members legal counsel free of charge.
The queer students club Light FiF UK at Comenius University echoed Plaváková’s words.
“What happened yesterday was not a sudden incident. The long-term hate speech, activities, attacks on queer people have created conditions for such a crime to be committed,” read the statement on social media. One of the victims was a student of the Faculty of Philosophy of Comenius University, and he had participated in club activities.
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Memorial events
In the coming days, various events to support the LGBT+ community at this difficult time will take place in Bratislava, Banská Bystrica and Košice, as well as abroad.
There will also be a meeting in front of the Permanent Representation of the Slovak Republic to the EU in Brussels at 19:00. Several memorial events will take place in the Czech Republic as well, one at 19:00 in Ostrava at Masarykovo Square and the other in Brno at 19:30 in front of the Consulate of Slovakia.
On Friday, at 17:00 in Bratislava, starting on Zámocká Street, there will be a march to condemn hatred against LBGT+ people. Follow the link to the Facebook event page (in Slovak).