Bucharest gay pride march resumes after coronavirus pause

By STEPHEN McGRATH
Associated Press

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Several thousand LGBT supporters took to the streets in the Romanian capital of Bucharest Saturday for a gay pride parade that resumed after a year’s pause due to the pandemic. Marchers young and old walked through the capital’s streets, with many waving colorful flags and blowing whistles. Teodora Ion-Rotaru, executive director of ACCEPT Association, an LGBT rights group, told The Associated Press that Bucharest Pride, which has been running since 2004, “remains a protest that asks for the very basics.” Although Romania joined the European Union in 2007 and the bloc prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation, Ion-Rotaru says state protections often don’t stretch far enough.