No way, if you are gay. Moscow bans gay parade
Galina Toktalieva for Die Wiener Nachrichten
Moscow City Hall does not allow a gay parade that activists had planned, according to Russian news agencies.
City Hall spokesman Sergei Tsoi said “there have never been gay parades in Moscow and there never will be”
Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov has described homosexuality as “satanic” and tried to justify official discrimination against gays in Russia by telling they spread the AIDS virus.
Russian gay rights movement leader Nikolai Alexeyev said the May 16 parade would go ahead in spite of ban.
“I would like to point out that police and City Hall will be responsible for any negative consequences of the event,” he said, adding that right to be gay or not guaranteed by Russian constitution.
Russia decriminalized homosexuality only in 1993, but opposition to it remains widespread. Russian spiritual leaders have claimed that homosexuality threatens traditional Russian values.
When Vladimir Putin was asked by one of the young journalists what was his personal attitude toward prospect of having gay parades in Moscow, he replied his attitude was justified by difficulty of demographic situation in the country. Reply was met with laughter and applause of audience.
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