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Prague Pride to Boost Security After Berlin Attack
🇸🇰 Slovakia /Conflict & Security

Prague Pride to Boost Security After Berlin Attack

From SME · () Slovak

Translated from Slovak, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources New plan
  • Prague Pride will enhance security measures in response to a recent attack at the Berlin Pride event.
  • The festival's main program will move from Letná Plain to Štvanice Island, and the rainbow march route will be adjusted.
  • Organizers and officials expressed solidarity with victims and condemned prejudice-motivated violence, referencing a past attack in Bratislava.

Prague Pride is strengthening security measures for its upcoming festival in response to a violent attack at the Berlin Pride event last weekend. The week-long festival is set to begin on Monday, with specific security details to be announced by the police on Friday.

We do not want to allow anything to happen in the Czech Republic that even remotely resembles the recent violent incidents in Berlin.

— Lubomír MetnarCzech Interior Minister, expressing the need for enhanced security.

"We do not want to allow anything to happen in the Czech Republic that even remotely resembles the recent violent incidents in Berlin," stated Czech Interior Minister Lubomír Metnar. In response to the heightened security concerns, the main part of the Prague Pride program will be relocated from Letná Plain to Štvanice Island. The annual rainbow march will also be rerouted, starting from the lower part of Wenceslas Square and proceeding through the historic city center to Štvanice Island.

Organizers plan to observe a moment of silence for the victim of the Berlin attack before the march begins. "Thousands of people standing in silence will be a reminder that we will not be silent about violence motivated by prejudice," said festival director Kamila Fröhlichová. She also drew a parallel to a 2019 attack in Bratislava, where a radicalized perpetrator fatally shot two people at a queer bar called Tepláreň. Fröhlichová emphasized the importance of societal solidarity with victims and condemned attempts to justify perpetrators' actions. She also criticized some Czech politicians for not issuing clear condemnations of such acts, linking it to political parties that target LGBTQ+ individuals in their campaigns. "Hatred begins with words," she warned.

Thousands of people standing in silence will be a reminder that we will not be silent about violence motivated by prejudice.

— Kamila FröhlichováDirector of Prague Pride, explaining the planned moment of silence and the festival's stance against hate.

The attack in Berlin occurred when a perpetrator drove a vehicle into a crowd during the Pride march, killing one woman and injuring 29 others. The suspect fled the scene but was located and shot by German police on Sunday evening. The Prague Pride organizers and authorities are working to ensure the safety of attendees while affirming their commitment to combating prejudice and hate.

Hatred begins with words.

— Kamila FröhlichováDirector of Prague Pride, commenting on the role of political rhetoric in fostering intolerance.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by SME in Slovak. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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