Czech President Vaclav Klaus has
condemned supporters of Prague's first-ever Gay Pride festival.
According
to the AP, Klaus has lashed out at a group of 13 western
diplomats based in Prague who issued a joint statement in support of
the festival which opens on Wednesday.
U.S. Ambassador to the Czech Republic
Norman Eisen was among the signatories.
Klaus condemned the statement and
accused the ambassadors of attempting to influence the political
debate.
We stand in “solidarity with the
lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities in the Czech
Republic, supporting their right to use this occasion to march
together peacefully and lawfully,” the ambassadors wrote.
Earlier, Klaus defended his deputy
chancellor Petr Hajek's statements criticizing Prague Mayor Bohuslav
Svoboda for his support of the upcoming event.
Hajek said the march is “a political
demonstration … of a world in which sexual or any other deviation
becomes virtue.” He also called on Svoboda to quit the Civic
Democratic Party, the nation's ruling party.
Critics called on Hajek to apologize,
but Klaus came to his defense, saying he was not “proud” of the
event.