‘See you in court’: LGBTQ+ activist vows to take action after police ‘block’ Pride event in Romania

A Belgian LGBTQ+ activist has vowed to take action after police in Romania were said to have blocked a Pride event in the north-western city of Oradea. 

On Sunday (27 July), the activist, Rémy Bonny, took to TikTok to share footage that appeared to show local police trying to stop the parade from taking place.

Bonny, who is the chief executive of Belgium-based LGBTQ+ fund Forbidden Colours, told viewers: “Pride is officially being blocked here in this Romanian city. We will do everything in our power to make sure that we will still be able to march. This is not how it should happen in the European Union (EU). 

‘They tried to hide us. We made history instead’

“We need to take this to the court of justice. We need action by the European Commission. [It] is because of the inaction of the European Commission that autocratical leaders from all over the European Union feel they can take away our rights. But we will not let this happen. See you in court.” 

A caption for the clip reads: “They tried to hide us. We made history instead… If Oradea bans queer rights, it should lose EU funding.”

@remy.bonny They tried to hide us. We made history instead. 🏳️‍🌈 Police blocked the city center of Oradea to stop our visibility. But we marched — the first-ever Pride here. Now we’re taking this to Brussels. If Oradea bans queer rights, it should lose EU funding. #OradeaPride #QueerResistance ♬ original sound – Rémy Bonny

According to Marcel Boloș, the former minister of European investments and projects, Romania has received more than €100 billion (£86.75 billion/$116.6 billion) in EU funds since joining the bloc in 2007. The money has been invested mainly in infrastructure and community development.

LGBTQ+ rights in Romania

Despite homosexuality being decriminalised in 2001, same-sex marriage and civil partnerships are still not recognised in Romania. Gender-affirming care is legal, through a complex process, but, although discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity is prohibited, members of the LGBTQ+ community still face hardships when it comes to equality. 

The Equality Index ranks Romania’s rights for LGBTQ+ people at 44 out of a 100, placing it below Ukraine and Albania and Hungary, and a survey of 25 Equality Index users, who have lived in or visited the country, revealed that only 36 per cent felt safe from verbal abuse. 

Over the border in Hungary, hard-right prime minister Viktor Orbán was ironically named the “king of Pride” after the country held its largest–ever parade in Budapest despite his efforts to ban the event.

In March, his right-wing Fidesz party passed a law banning Pride marches, claiming that depictions of homosexuality were a threat to minors. In response, 20 EU nations signed a joint statement, expressing deep concern at “recent legislative and constitutional amendments infringing on the fundamental rights of LGBTIQ+ persons which were adopted by the Hungarian parliament”.

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