ZAGREB, Croatia — Thousands of Croatian far-right supporters marched Saturday in downtown Zagreb to protest an international convention they said indirectly legalizes gay marriages and gives rights to transgender people. The protesters sang patriotic songs and chanted slogans against Croatia’s centre-right government, which last week approved the Istanbul convention that was adopted by the Council of Europe in 2011, but still hasn’t been ratified by Croatia’s parliament. Top Croatian Catholic Church clergy have said before the rally attended by some 10,000 people that all those who support the Istanbul Convention should no longer be considered believers. Speakers at the rally on Zagreb’s Bana Jelacica square blasted the EU for allegedly wanting to “conquer” Croatia with its liberal policies. “The Istanbul convention is against the Christianity.”Several smaller counter-protests were set up along the route of the march, including one with a siren that tried to dampen the speeches by the conservatives on the main square.

Source: National Post March 24, 2018 12:12 UTC