Russia's powerful
Orthodox Church proposed Friday a referendum on banning gay relations in
the face of Western pressure over human rights ahead of next month's
Winter Olympics in Sochi.
The Church's
abrupt intervention came amid a growing debate over whether the Kremlin
should mount a firmer defense of traditional values that many in the
overwhelmingly conservative country view as coming under attack from
Europe and the United States.
Church
spokesman Vsevolod Chaplin pointed to polls showing more than half of
Russians viewing homosexuality as either an illness or a crime as a sign
that the country was ready to revert to a Soviet-era homosexual ban.
"There
is no question that society should discuss this issue since we live in a
democracy," Chaplin told the online edition of the pro-government
Izvestia daily.
"For this
reason, it is precisely the majority of our people and not some outside
powers that should decide what should be a criminal offence and what
should not," he said.
High-profile
global celebrities and sports stars have already urged athletes
attending the February 7-23 Olympic Games on the Black Sea coast to show
their support for Russia's lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender (LGBT)
community by flashing protest signs.
Chaplin -- an
outspoken but also influential Church figure who airs weekly shows on
state TV -- claimed that most countries viewed homosexuality as a crime.
"I
am convinced that such sexual contacts should be completely excluded
from the life of our society," said the Church spokesman.
"If
we manage to do this through moral pressure, all the better. But if we
need to revert to assistance from the law, then let us ask the people if
they are ready for this."
The
Soviet Union criminalized homosexuality in 1934 at the height of
repressions by Joseph Stalin that saw millions die in labor camps.
Most Russians back gay ban
A
study conducted by the independent Levada centre a month after the
"homosexual propoganda" ban's adoption showed only one in five Russians
believe that people were actually born gay.
More
than a third said homosexuality should be treated medically and 13
percent backed the idea of making it a crime -- results suggesting that
Chaplin's proposal would pass easily if ever put to a vote.
The
Kremlin did not immediately respond to the Chaplin's suggestion. But a
prominent member of Putin's ruling party who oversees parliament's
legislative committee said international treaties adopted by Russia made
passage of such a ban unlikely.
"It
is absolutely clear that such a law will not be adopted -- in part
because of our international obligations," he said in apparent reference
to the European Convention on Human Rights.
Some
members of Russia's LGBT still treated Chaplin's comments as part of a
worrying trend that has seen opposition views suppressed under Putin's
14-year rule.
"If you stage a
referendum in Russia, 90 percent would back both the death penalty and
the idea of shooting all homosexuals," gay pride parade organizer Eduard
Murzin said in a telephone interview.
"By discriminating against minorities, the authorities want to deflect attention away from other problems," Murzin said.
Prominent Russian LGBT leader Nikolai Alexeyev said the Church spokesman appeared to be lobbying the Kremlin to back his idea.
"It
may be that the authorities do not want to do this ... because this
would only escalate tensions between Russia and the West," said
Alexeyev.
"But these people are trying to give the idea a push," Alexeyev told AFP.
Doesn't Vsevolod Chaplin just look like he's full of Christian love, forgiveness and charity?
He has the demeanor and air of a benevolent, selfless, pious man, and like Joan of Arc, a regular saint...and also like her, can't we tie him to a stake and set him on fire and send him on his way to his much desired martyrdom?
Juz say'in it's what he would want us to do. ; )
1 comment:
What a piece of shit.
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