11) CANADIAN GROUPS SPEAK OUT ON ANTI-LGBT LAW

PV Vancouver Bureau

            World-wide protests continue against the homophobic legislation adopted in June by the Russian Duma (parliament). Hundreds of people gathered outside the Russian Consulate in Vancouver on Sept. 3, for a lively and dynamic demonstration. Such protests may escalate with the news of further legislation, including measures to remove children from LGBT parents in Russia.

            In late August, over 100 Canadian organizations sent an "open letter against hate" to the governments of Russia and Canada, and to the International Olympic Committee. The letter was also sent to prominent corporate sponsores of the Sochi Winter Olympic Games, which will be hosted by Russia next February.

            The letter says, in part, "We, the undersigned Canadian civil society organizations, call upon you to stand against the rising tide of hate against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in Russia. We are deeply troubled by the ongoing and intensifying attacks against LGBT, not least those led and encouraged by President Vladimir Putin and the federal Parliament (Duma). These actions include, most recently, the unanimous adoption of a federal law banning the distribution of "propaganda of non‑traditional sexual relations" (Federal Law 135‑FZ of June 29, 2013).

            The letter points out that LGBT people risk prosecution for exercising their freedom of expression and association, "as does anyone who defends the human rights of LGBT people or even mentions the existence of LGBT people in an approving fashion." Individuals can be fined up to 100,000 rubles ($3000) for breaking the law, and organizations can be fined up to 1 million roubles ($30,000) and closed down for up to 90 days.

            The letter lists a series of actions against LGBT people in Russia, from the banning of Pride parades, to violent street attacks: "LGBT youth and adults are being assaulted and tortured by thugs who then broadcast video recordings of these attacks online. So far, Russian authorities have turned a blind eye to such hate crimes, even though some perpetrators are easily identifiable."

            This climate of hatred, the letter notes, flies in the face of not just international human rights law but the ostensible spirit of the Olympic Games."

            The signing organizations call on the government of Canada to continue to speak out against the anti‑gay legislation, and to oppose the "traditional values" resolution being advanced by Russia at the UN, "which is a patent attempt to cloak bigotry and hate in the legitimacy of a Human Rights Council resolution."

            Among other proposals, the letter urges the International Olympic Committee and International Paralympic Committee to host a Pride House in Sochi, and "to include explicit reference in their respective Charters to discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity as incompatible with the Olympic and Paralympic Movements, as is already done with grounds such as race, gender and religion." (The Paralympic Movement already includes sexual orientation in its Charter.)

            The letter calls upon the CBC, as the exclusive Canadian broadcaster of the Sochi Games, to "commit to reporting, before, during and after the Sochi Games, on human rights abuses in Russia, including against LGBT people, other minorities and political dissidents targeted by the Russian government."

            Signing groups range from the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network and other health advocacy organizations, to Egale Canada, the BC Civil Liberties Association, the Canadian Anthropology Society, and the United Church of Canada.

            Labour movement endorsers include the Canadian Association of University Teachers, Canadian Labour Congress, Canadian Union of Public Employees, CAW Canada, Ontario Federation of Labour, OPSEU Rainbow Alliance, Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario, United Steelworkers.

(The above article is from the September 16-30, 2013, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50 CDN per year. Send to People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)