Kaunas Pride march reaches church after several arrests

Kaunas Pride LGBT+ marchers reached the Church of St Michael the Archangel in Kaunas on Saturday despite several minor incidents and arrests, LRT reported. The event was held to draw attention to LGBT+ rights in Lithuania.

Two men were detained before the march. Police said one was carrying pyrotechnic items and the other had two knives. Several more people were detained during the event for aggressive behaviour or failing to comply with officers’ instructions.

The marchers began gathering at around 11 a.m. in Independence Square, next to the Church of St Michael the Archangel, also known as the Garrison Church. The procession set off along Laisvės Avenue at about noon, heading towards E. Ožeškienės Street. At the end of the avenue, the participants turned around and returned to Independence Square.

According to Odeta Vaitkevičienė, a representative of the Kaunas County Police Headquarters, the event passed relatively smoothly and no major incidents were recorded.

During the march, one man shouted at participants, threw an egg at a police car and resisted officers as they detained him. A woman also shouted an anti-LGBT+ insult before police moved her away from the procession.

Some passers-by waved and applauded the marchers, while others watched with curiosity, filmed the event or shouted occasional remarks. A small group of protesters gathered near the municipality, carrying Lithuanian flags and crosses. They chanted “shame”, called for a “Catholic Lithuania” and said LGBT+ people would go to hell.

Although organisers had expected several thousand participants, the turnout appeared to be considerably smaller. Police deployed increased forces in the city centre, including both uniformed and plain-clothes officers.

Organisers said they were demanding adequate representation of queer and LGBTQ+ people in education, legal recognition and visibility, as well as appropriate laws and access to suitable medical services for transgender people outside Vilnius. They said the march was also a protest against transphobia and homophobia.

This was the second LGBT+ march in Kaunas. The first was held five years ago and attracted about 2,000 people. Organisers said the latest event was easier to coordinate than the 2021 march, when Kaunas Municipality did not immediately issue the required permit.