German ambassador thanks security forces for 'protection' after rainbow flag backlash

BEIRUT — German Ambassador to Lebanon Andreas Kindl on Wednesday thanked Lebanese security authorities for protecting his country's embassy after it raised a rainbow flag to commemorate the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOT), which was met with backlash from some groups in Lebanon.

A source at the German embassy confirmed to L'Orient Today that some people had protested in front of the embassy to express their anger towards the flag.

Aside from the protest, social media users also expressed discontent at the flag.

One video on WhatsApp and TikTok showed a man addressing his fellow "Soldiers of God," who described the German embassy as having raised "the flag of the devil" and called for its removal.

The Soldiers of God are a radical Christian group and have previously threatened the LGBTQ+ community. Last year during pride month, they posted a video of their members tearing apart a billboard in Achrafieh in which the LGBTQ+ rainbow flag was formed with flowers.

"The flag of the devil should be raised in their own countries, in front of their children, not in our country," the man in Wednesday's video said. Commenters posted similar rhetoric on Twitter, including some commenters who appeared to be Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) supporters. 

Responding to the controversy, Kindl on Wednesday tweeted: "Not only today, but every day, we raise the rainbow flag in front of our buildings in Beirut in solidarity with LGBT+ people in challenging times." "

Thanks to Lebanese security authorities for protecting the integrity of a diplomatic mission," he added.

Lebanon technically criminalizes same-sex relations under Article 534 of the Penal Code, though there have been several cases of judges ruling in favor of the LGBTQ+ community in the past.