Nationalist protesters disrupt gay march in Budapest
Dozens of protesters clashed with police officers escorting a march by gays and lesbians through the center of Budapest.
At least 45 protesters were detained and two police officers injured in the clashes on Saturday, said Eva Tafferner, a police spokeswoman.
The protesters pelted the marchers with eggs, bottles and rocks, and threw cobblestones and gasoline bombs at the police, setting fire to a police van.
Police officers used water cannons and tear gas to disperse the protesters at several points along Andrassy Avenue, a boulevard in central Budapest.
Katalin Levai, a member of the European Parliament for the Hungarian Socialist Party, told the Hungarian state news agency MTI that protesters broke the window of a police car in which she was riding in with Gabor Szetey, a former state secretary in Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany's cabinet, who last year became the first government official to announce he was gay.
Today in Europe
Nationalist protesters disrupt gay march in Budapest
Blast in Georgian rebel region kills 4
In Medvedev, Bush sees 'a smart guy'
Levai and Szetey took part in the gay march and were leaving the area near Heroes' Square, a large open space at the edge of City Park, in the police car when it was attacked.
There were no reports of anyone in the car being injured.
The "Dignity March," which was organized by gay groups, began at one end of Andrassy Avenue, while the protesters gathered at the opposite end and at other intersections.
The police tried to protect the march by setting up high metal barriers on both sides of the avenue and by restricting access to the areas where the march took place.
Most of the clashes took place at Heroes' Square, where a monument to historic Hungarian leaders is flanked by two arts museums.
Skirmishes between the protesters and the police lasted at least three hours before appearing to wind down by about 7 p.m.
Gay groups had said that they were marching in part to repudiate several recent attacks against them.
A gay bar and a massage parlor were attacked with Molotov cocktails, but no one was injured and little damage was done to the buildings.
The protesters, many of them from ultra-nationalist groups, said the gay march was "disgusting" and "shameful," and they vowed to "clean up the filth."
Starting in January, all Hungarians involved in long-term relationships will be allowed to register their partnerships and enjoy some of the benefits of married couples, such as inheriting from each other. This will apply to heterosexuals and gays.