Brussels, 29/05/2007 (Agence Europe) - “We are very concerned by police behaviour” against the peaceful Gay Pride demonstration in Moscow this weekend, a spokesman of the European Commission said on Tuesday, stressing the importance of freedom of speech and assembly. When several peaceful demonstrators were aggressed by an extremist group on Sunday, the police intervened only to arrest a number of activists but did not take action against the aggressors. Marco Cappato, MEP of the Italian Radical Party who took part in the demonstration, was one of the persons arrested. On Tuesday, the Greens-EFA Group said it wanted a joint response from the European institutions to the acts of violence on the part of the police, as well as a debate within the EP committee on civil liberties. Monica Frassoni commented that “clashes took place in Moscow last Sunday showing once more that democracy in Russia is pure fiction”. She said: “given the unending violations of fundamental rights and the ambiguity of rule of law, the EU must stop considering Russia a democratic partner”. She hoped Javier Solana, EU High Representative for CFSP, would include this question on the agenda of the next G8 from 6 to 8 June. (ab)