MP Robert Biedron (L) during Saturday's Equality Parade. Photo: PAP/Jakub Kaminski
“This was an unpleasant incident, and it shows that there is perhaps no sense in burying one's head in the sand,” said Robert Biedron of the liberal Palikot's Movement party, in an interview with TV channel Polsat News.
“You cannot call bandits patriots, a tendency that one often hears from the lips of politicians,” he said.
Biedron said that the attack took place in a cafe in central Warsaw where the MP was relaxing with a group of friends following the march.
“An aggressive man insulted us, using homophobic statements. He began to choke one of my friends and punched him in the face.
“When he recognized me he spat in my face, raised his fists and and kicked me in the stomach,” the MP said.
According to Biedron, the assailant then ran away but was arrested shortly afterwards.
Meanwhile, Biedron noted that the march itself had been considerably less problematic this year.
The MP stressed that there were no signs of stones or bottles being thrown at marchers on Saturday, in contrast to some previous occasions.
Several thousand people marched through the capital this year. Besides appealing for civil partnerships, the participants also called for equal treatment for all Polish citizens, regardless of sexual orientation, religion or skin colour.
Robert Biedron has been an MP for the liberal anti-clerical Palikot's Movement since the general election of 2011, when the party took a surprise 10 percent share of the national vote, becoming the third largest party in parliament.
Nevertheless, the issue of civil partnerships has proved a thorny one, with Prime Minister Donald Tusk struggling to find unity in his centre-right Civic Platform party on the matter. Meanwhile, chief opposition party, the conservative Law and Justice, has opposed civil partnerships. (nh)
Source: Polsat, TVN