There’s Uganda, yes. But also, Lithuania. “Lithuania’s parliament (the Seimas) should eliminate all discriminatory and repressive language in a new law designed to censor information available to children, Human Rights Watch said yesterday in a letter to a key lawmaker. It called on the Seimas to repeal an amendment forbidding public information encouraging “homosexual and bisexual relations.” [HRW]
lithuania
Can’t a Country Hate on Gays And Be Left Alone Anymore?
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Pete
Homophobia is really bad in all the former Soviet areas, including Lithuania. Putin promotes his macho image hugely, in his shirtless photos, pictures of him hunting, etc. A danger for gays in Lithuania is that they are also being scape-goated for the bad economy. The Catholic Church has been vociferous and nasty against gays in Lithuania also, fueling the threats that LGBT persons face. I am glad that the European Union is watching the situation, but I will not be surprised to see many bashings and deaths before it is over.
The country has an unmarried woman who is President now, rumored to be lesbian, and this is making it an act of political opposition to bash gays in the streets.
Drake
President Dalia Grybauskaite is certainly openly called a dyke by some in the press and many on the street. Lithuania had an Anita Bryant type “save our children” anti gay campaign in 2009 to keep all mention of gays or same sex marriage out of schools.
Right next door, in Poland, the former Prime Minister Jaroslav Kaczynski was very homophobic and as a life long bachelor, is rumored to be gay. His identical twin brother is currently the President of Poland, and is also a gay basher. Communism was extremely rough on gays and lesbians in these cultures. This is a legacy that does not disappear on its own, but must be challenged at every possible opportunity. The only hope for LGBT persons in these formerly communist countries is for the European Union and Human Rights groups to give a close watch. Also, we in the west can contribute to their fledgling organizations. There have been numerous, mostly unsuccessful attempts to organize Pride events in these countries. Generally they are banned as “provocations” (a nice Soviet word). When they are allowed, the governments puts on so many restrictions, and sometimes allows them only to occur in unseen out- of -the- way spots, that it is almost not worth the effort.
At the National Equality March in Washington this past October, I saw a group of persons holding different foreign flags. I walked up and spoke to them. They were from countries all over eastern and western Europe, who had all met each other at different times when doing work in grad schools in the USA. They all came to the March (from Eeropean countries), and said that the March encouraged them alot to work in their own countries. They mentioned that as much as we complain (and should), that none of them could imagine such a big event occurring anywhere in Europe. There were three young Lithuanian professors there ( all HOT) who talked about the pressures of being in the closet in theie society. Of course, they all would likely be fired if their universities denounced (another Soviet term) them as being gay.
Attmay
Eastern Europe went from domination by Nazis to domination by Communists to domination by religious fanatics. They just bounce around from one form of totalitarianism to another.