(ANSA-AP) - UDINE, 24 LUG - A right-wing weekly magazine in Poland has provoked widespread anger by distributing an anti-LGBT sticker. The outcry began last week when Gazeta Polska magazine said on Twitter it would be distributing "LGBT-free zone" stickers Wednesday featuring a rainbow flag with two black bars across it. Opposition politicians condemned the stickers and distribution points, including BP Polska gas stations, refused to accept Wednesday's issue, arguing they were discriminatory.

The European Trade Union Confederation is appalled and calls on the newspaper to desist from distributing such trouble-making stickers. "It is a provocation, an insult to members of the LGBT community and should be avoided", Etuc reported on a press release. The Etuc calls on the Polish and European authorities to condemn and take appropriate action against the publication and use of such stickers. A debate on LGBT rights is growing in predominantly Catholic Poland ahead of parliamentary elections in the fall.

Conservative government members have spoken against same-sex marriage, but they also condemned violence by radical groups Saturday against the first LGBT rights march in the city of Bialystok. (ANSA-AP)