Controversy and name-calling once again surrounded the forthcoming Gay Pride Parade due to take place in Sofia on June 27.

The Rainbow Friendship march has received the support of 11 embassies, including those of the US, UK, Germany and France. But the parade has also drawn fierce criticism. Students from Sofia University’s Theology Department marched on June 21 to protest. Bulgarian Orthodox Christians, clergy and the Brotherhood of Sofia’s Orthodox Churches also supported the counter-demonstration.

"We are not against the right of everyone to identify themselves and belong to a certain group, but we don’t think it benefits society to brazenly advertise homosexuality," the declaration of the initiative committee reads. They said that the gay parade was an attempt to blur the boundaries between "normal" and "abnormal" behaviour.

The head of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Maxim, called on Sofia authorities to stop the parade and denounced homosexuality as the "fruits of darkness". The leader of Bulgaria’s Muslim community also condemned the march.

Homosexuality is legal in Bulgaria but gay marriages or civil unions are not recognised. In such a traditionally conservative country – and perhaps wary of losing votes in the run-up to the July 5 parliamentary elections – no leading politician has openly expressed support for the Rainbow parade. Not even politicians from left-leaning parties, traditionally the most sympathetic to the cause of ending discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, have expressed sympathy for the plight of gays in Bulgaria.  

Last year’s parade, the first of its kind in Sofia, was marred by violence after more than 60 people, mostly identified as far-right protesters, tried to attack and harass marchers. A demonstrator threw a Molotov cocktail at the crowd.

This year Western voices pre-empted the inevitable backlash by vocally supporting the rally in advance. British ambassador to Bulgaria Steve Williams was one of the first ambassadors to endorse the parade but was criticised by Boyan Rasate, leader of the far-right Bulgarian National Union, which led the opposition to last year’s parade. "He should mind his own business," Rasate told reporters. "He has no right to tell Bulgarians how to live in Bulgaria."

Williams responded that "the United Kingdom supports human rights across the globe. That is reflected in my message of support for the Rainbow Friendship rally in Sofia".
US ambassador Nancy McEldowney also backed the gay pride march, posting congratulations to the rally’s organisers on her embassy’s website and noting that US president Barack Obama had declared June as Gay and Lesbian Pride Month.

"Celebrating diversity, promoting tolerance and ending discrimination lie at the very core of respect for fundamental human rights, and this accrues to the benefit of everyone," McEldowney said.