Zurich: Attack on queer church service - what is known so far?
A few days ago a Pride service was celebrated in Zurich. In this context, a homophobic act occurred. A group of men, all hooded and dressed completely in white, stormed the queer service, which was being held at the time in the church of St. Peter. Finally, the attackers could be put to flight. But the shock remains.
It is not yet clear who is behind the attack. However, the police have already started the investigation. Relevant statistics on hate crimes against the queer community, which are kept by the police themselves, do not exist in Switzerland. However, some queer organizations have taken it upon themselves to track the crimes.
Do the perpetrators come from the right-wing scene?
Since the perpetrators stormed the church completely masked, nothing is known about them yet. However, if you take a little time to take a look at the social networks, you will quickly see that the rumor mill has long been bubbling. Among other things, the "Junge Tat" group is repeatedly mentioned in the course of the corresponding speculations. This is a name for a Swiss neo-Nazi group.
Corresponding assumptions were voiced - also via social networks - by Thomas Sutter. The co-president of the Social Democratic Party of Zurich also explained in this context that it is extremely important to hold Prides right now... Among other things, because queers are increasingly becoming victims of homophobia, which in turn comes from right-wing extremist groups. Exactly this would be a cause for concern.
Meanwhile, more and more voices are being raised demanding that events of this kind, which apparently attract right-wing or homophobic troublemakers, be better protected by the police.
More support is called for at many Prides
It is not only activists in Zurich who believe that the community and the police should work together more closely in the future. In many other larger cities, too, the demands made in the course of the parades go in a similar direction.
In addition, the aim is to support more education with regard to homophobic crimes. This means that a homophobic assault should also be recorded as such in the police file and accordingly appear in the statistics.
From this, many hope that people who otherwise have less (or nothing) to do with the scene will also be sensitized a little with regard to this topic.
Who is behind the group "Junge Tat"?
The "Junge Tat" developed in Switzerland from the so-called "Eisenjugend". Its members advocate white supremacy. Accordingly, its influences are clearly to the far right. There are also similar groups in Germany.
Once again, it is striking how closely racism and homophobia seem to be intertwined and how important it is to remain vigilant here. Incidents like these are also likely to cause demands for comprehensive protection of the community to grow louder. After all, it could be assumed - according to many Twitter users - that the queer service would also attract "critics". How far they are willing to go became clear once again with the incident in Zurich.
The Zurich Pride 2022
Apart from this appalling assault, Zurich Pride was certainly an event that in retrospect can be called a "complete success". This year, after "Corona Zwangspause", the focus was mainly on the rights of the trans community. Thousands of people came to the streets to celebrate and draw attention to their demands.
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