Statement on the brutal attack against the queer community in Bratislava

18/10/2022

Last week, we witnessed the terrible attacks in Bratislava that targeted specifically the Slovak LGBTIQ+ community. Our thoughts are with the loved ones of Matúš and Juraj after this terrible attack in Bratislava. We stand in solidarity with our Slovakian LGBTQ+ siblings and mourn together with our friends there.

Homophobic murder and hate crimes should not be left ignored. We need to address the growing number of actions like this with the long overdue extension of the EU hate crime list. This attack was a terrorist hate crime.

As Slovak President Zuzana Čaputová stated: “the hatred that motivated the 19-year-old far-right shooter was also contributed to by the words of politicians, who divide society into normal and "different" people.”

We join the words of our ambassador Lucia Plaváková from Progressive Slovakia: “We've been warning about this risk for years. We cried out for help. All those politicians, church representatives, and others who publicly spread hatred towards queer people in Slovakia must share responsibility for what happened. There is a shortcut from hateful words to hateful actions.”

Hate is learned, while LGBTQI+ identities are not. The Rainbow Platform and its partners continue to work for inclusive and diverse politics. The core concept of human dignity is the core of our liberal ideology and we keep working to fight any message of hate in politics that can lead to any future terrible outcome.

We’re united against hate, and we stand in solidarity with the victims. our commitment is to keep working for a liberal Europe where diversity is celebrated and hate is defeated.