The Vilnius district administrational court temporarily lifted permission to hold the gay parade called “For Equality” on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, General Prosecutor Raimondas Petrauskas and Kaunas’ municipality council member Stanislovas Buskevicius addressed the court with the information that there is danger for participants if they allow the parade to go ahead.

According to the prosecutor, on Friday he received information about possible riots during the pride parade this weekend in Vilnius.

He stated that several radical and destructive groups are planning provocations and protests against the “BalticPride 2010” on May 8.

“The court thinks that the temporary lifting of the Vilnius municipality administration director’s permission to hold the parade will not make any obstacles to hold it later, when the court will have analysed the case and recognize the permission as legal and valid,” court’s decision reads.

The decision can be appealed in seven days for the Lithuania’s Supreme administrative court. The leader of Lithuanian Gay League Vladimir Simonko told Baltic News Service on Wednesday that the appeal will be made

The prosecutor stated that the court was addressed not because the sexual minorities will be rallying, but because it will be difficult to protect them from the aggressive opponents of the rally.

“We are not against gay parade, but we have received the information that it might be difficult to ensure public safety. We have written a letter to the organisers of the parade, saying that we have no purpose to ban the rally. We just think that there will be troubles during the event,” Petrauskas told Alfa.lt.

According to unofficial sources, skinheads might be organising attacks towards the participants of the parade.

“We are a European country, and we act according to the European laws, of course we are not against gender equality, but we have to have in mind the dangers. This parade is like a red rag for a bull,” the prosecutor told the BNS.

“I can’t say firmly, that there will be a riot. I am not against the parade, let them hold it, and that will happen sooner or later, and we have to conciliate with this, to get used to this, to accept it, but when the economy is in bad situation, there are lots of unemployed workers, and it’s very easy to provoke disorder,” the prosecutor said.

Arturas Rudomanskis, the leader of the Tolerant Youth Association, said that the government must ensure the safety of the participants.

“The European Human Rights Court has emphasized that the state has to provide security. If there were protests against the US president or the Queen of the UK, would they also be asked not to come?” Rudomanskis said.

The president Dalia Grybauskaite has expressed her surprise that different institutions responsible for the safety of the participants of the parade have different opinions towards it.

Earlier this week, police representatives stated that they are ready to provide the public safety during weekend’s events.