TEXT: WEDDING FOR HOMOS
00:00
00:04
It is a sunny summer afternoon in Brno, and the day of the first Gay and Lesbian parade in the Czech Republic
00:17 Duamila Stehlikova
Minister for Minorities
OT (beginning d. Translation: 00:20)
"It is very important that society sees minority groups ... If homosexuality is visible - as it is here today – we are promoting tolerance "
00:37
The Czech Republic was the first post-communist State to introduce civil partnerships for gay couples
0:50 The first gay wedding was two years ago and the occasion was marked by large celebrations
00:42 - 00:53 OPEN
Pavel Vitek 01:02 OT
Singer
"A civil servant said to us, ‘why do you want a ceremony? All you need to do to make it legal is sign the contract’. She didn’t understand. We had to explain how important it is for us to have this special day and the wonderful memories it will create"
01:28 Pavel Vitek further OT
"We’re having a full-blown wedding. It’s our way of saying to other gay people; ‘this is great!, You can have this too"
01:41 OT MARTA DYSLOVA
Pensionistin
"In the past you’d never have seen this kind of thing. Honestly, I find it a bit strange "
01:49 OT Ivan Dysel
Pensioner
"If gay people wish to live in that way, I have nothing against them getting married"
01:56 OT Vanda Imolikova
Student
"It will help, because it lets people put who they are out in the open, without fear. They are people like us. That is why most people in the Czech Republic don’t mind civil partnerships".
02:17 OT Jiri Hromada
Gay Rights Activist
"In 1990, there was a public poll on this issue. At that time, only 10% of the population supported our way of life and the civil partnership. Two years ago, when the law came into force, 70% of Czechs accepted it. And now 75% agree with gay partnerships "
02:41 Hromada and a small group of fellow activists have had a long struggle for social acceptance of homosexuals. But right-wing extremists often oppose them, this time with flyers.
02:59 OT Jolana Navratilova
Sociologist
"We’ve been trying to get this parade to happen for a long time, and now the nationalists are threatening to disrupt our march."
03:05
Their aggression is clear. They called their leaflet, "Down with Queers"
Ot 03:11 Jiri Hromada
"Better queer than austere!"
03:16
Gays and lesbians are now construed as sexual minority. The equal treatment of minorities is a fundamental right, ratified by EU treaties. Most Czechs welcome growing tolerance as an achievement of democracy. The church, however, is concerned.
03:35 OT sister Angelika
Borromäerin
In German
"I wonder whether after 10, 20 years, the paedophiles will say: I want my rights, my sexuality ... I have problems with my sexuality and heterosexuals and homosexuals have their rights... what about my rights? The question for me is: what is coming? "
K 03:58
Only 27% of Czechs are Catholic and the majority are not religious. Europe’s increasing secularism is nowhere more pronounced than here.
So in politics the Church does not carry much weight. In Parliament only the smallest party, the Christian Democrats, voted unanimously against the gay partnership.
04:24 OT Martin Horalek
Spokesman of the Christian Democratic Party (KDU-CSL)
"We are part of the European People's Party, and as such we are of course against this law. [4:56] We support the family structure – which means a man and a woman. The point is not the man-woman relationship itself, it is about creating a healthy environment for children to grow up in"
Pavel Vitek 04:59 OT
Singer
"The government and state institutions should support every tax-paying citizen. This is not a religious issue, it is just the way the system works"(5:15)
05:15 - 05:19 Open
05:19
Under Communism homosexuals lived hidden lives. Being different was too risky. That changed after the Velvet Revolution, but not immediately. Pop singer Pavel Vitek and his life-partner and manager Janis Sidovsky have had negative experiences.
05:33 OT Janis Sidovsky
Music producer
"I worked for President Vaclav Havel. And one day, the press demanded I give them information about Havel. They tried to blackmail me. They said: If you do not give us what we want, we will expose your relationship in the papers. "
Pavel Vitek 06:03 OT
Singer
"So we decided that the moment had come, and we came out as a couple. All of our problems were solved. (06:23)
06:24
’Do not hide, come out with pride!’ That was the slogan of the first parade, which was a few days ago. 500 people took part, which annoyed traditionalists in the Catholic and Orthodox Churches.
.
Libor Halik 06:03 OT
Orthodox priests
"There was once a town called Sodom. It was destroyed by God. If people in Europe today live as the Sodomites did they will be struck dead! "(6:: 58)
06:58 - 07:02
7:02
Right-wing extremists try to stop the parade by attacking. The ultra Right party are here, campaigning against the decline of traditional family values.
07:11 OT Duamila Stehlikova
Minister of Human and Minority Rights
"You can’t lay the blame for the crisis in the traditional family wholly on homosexuality, it’s due to many changes in society. Civil partnership is not the same as marriage, because gay partners in the Czech Republic cannot adopt children. "(07:32)
07:32 - 07:38 OPEN
07.38
A large police force breaks up the violent anti-gay campaigners
07:45
Gay Pride marches are a barometer, showing how seriously countries take protecting homosexuals. 07:56
08:01
The organizers of the first Gay Pride Parade in the Czech Republic are more than satisfied.
08:05 OT Jolana Navratilova
Sociologist
"We were scared because of the threats, but in the end a huge number of people came. It was fantastic (08:26)
08:13 -08:16 OPEN
08:16
It is a week later and Jolana and her partner Barbora are celebrating their wedding day.
08:22
They take their vows at the registry office in Brno Town Hall
8:33
So far about 600 same-sex couples in the Czech Republic have been registered for a civil union.
Even if it is not legally on a completely equal footing with heterosexual marriage, they celebrate their wedding as one step towards a more equal society.
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