1,000 gay activists in Amsterdam in Russia protest

AMSTERDAM — More than 1,000 gay rights supporters have protested in Amsterdam, waving rainbow flags and chanting slogans criticizing the Russian government's homosexuality policies.

yesterday's protest was organized in response to a concert featuring a Russian state orchestra and choir to be held on the same place, Museum Square, later in the evening.

Speakers at the protest, titled "To Russia With Love," included Amsterdam Mayor Eberhard van der Laan, who spoke of the city's longstanding tolerance for gay rights. Van der Laan declined to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin when he visited the Netherlands in March.

Protesters said their main focus is opposition to the law adopted by Russia's parliament in June making "propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations among minors" illegal.