DPA
Thousands of people gathered in the centre of Bratislava on Friday to commemorate the victims of a shooting at a gay bar earlier this week and to take a stand against hatred of sexual minorities.
Slovakian President Zuzana Caputova and Prime Minister Eduard Heger attended the gathering.
Caputova gave an emotional speech, apologizing to the victims. “Forgive me, I am sorry that our society failed to protect its neighbours,” she said.
A man killed two men and seriously injured a waitress near a popular gay pub in Bratislava’s city centre on Wednesday. He later posted a series of hate messages and a form of manifesto containing homophobic and right-wing extremist content on social media before killing himself.
The media blamed the act on internet incitement and derogatory comments by politicians about sexual minorities in Slovakia, a highly conservative nation, where most people are Catholic.
The protesters laid flowers at the scene of the crime and gathered at Slovak National Uprising Square. Many cheered at Caputova’s speech as she said: “I am sorry that they still feel unwanted as members of the LGBTI community in Slovakia. They belong to us and are valuable to our society.” LGBTI refers to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex community.
Caputova called on the population to unite against the hatred that had made the act possible.
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