Citizenship: Gay Pride banned in Moscow

At a time of the year when Gay Pride marches are being held all around the world, commemorating the Stonewall riots (which took place in New York in June 27, 1969, 37 years ago) and cellebrating the pride and right to be "different", Moscow saw the first-ever attempt to stage a gay-pride march end in violence, injuries and mass arrests, last saturday, May 27.

Despite Mayor Iuri Loujkov's ban, activists took to the streets to protest. More than hundred people were jailed for questioning by the Moscow police force and tens of protestors violently attacked by skinheads and religious extremists saturday, who shouted "Moscow is not Sodome!". The Gay Pride had been banned by the Mayor of Moscow, Iouri Loujkov, considering that such an event was morally "inadmissible". His decision had been backed up by the Tverskoi District Court.

Nikolaï Alekseïev, leader of the organisation "GayRussia", which defends gay rights in Russia, was attacked, with several other activists when they tried to approach the unknown soldier's tomb to deposit flowers, as noted a journalist of AFP. The aim of the gesture was to show a parallel between the prohibition of the Gay Pride, the fight against gay rights and the fight against nazi Germany.

Some members of Parliament, official representatives and journalists from the US, France, the UK, the Netherlands and Germany had come to Moscow to support the local gay community and to protest against the ban of the parade. Volker Beck, a German Bundestag delegate, was hit and had his face in blood, while others were also attacked. Philippe Lasnier, from the cabinet of the mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoë, was briefly taken in for questioning by the police. Another French participant declared that "the situation of gays in Russia is even worse than I imagined". Foreign delegations had come to demonstrate peacefully but were astonished by the lack of support from the police to protect the demonstrators of the attacks of skinheads and orthodox extremists.

At a time when Russia takes the chair of the Council of Europe and has won a seat in the Human Rights Council of the UN, these facts are extremely worrying. In fact the Russian authorities do not seem to allow minorities the freedom of expression. In a press conference Nikolaï Alekseïev considered that homophobia is only a part of Russia's broader problem of xenophobia.

Read more also at Ilga's website.

[seen in Le Monde] [source of the picture: Ilga's website]