Why Rsia's Sochi Olympics are now a battleground for gay rights | CNN

Contents:

• GAY RIGHTS AND PUT’S OLYMPICS
• RSIA, GAY RIGHTS, AND THE SOCHI OLYMPICS
• SOCHI 2014: GAY RIGHTS PROTTS TARGET RSIA'S GAM
• WHY RSIA’S SOCHI OLYMPICS ARE NOW A BATTLEGROUND FOR GAY RIGHTS
• RSIA EXPERTS WEIGH ON ISSU FACG SOCHI OLYMPICS, FROM GAY RIGHTS TO SECURY
• SOCHI OLYMPICS: RSIA SAYS NO DISCRIMATN FOR GAY ATHLET
• GAY RIGHTS: CALLS FOR RSIA OLYMPIC BOYTT
• HOW SOCHI BEME THE GAY OLYMPICS
• RSIA'S OLYMPIC LOSG GAME OVER GAYS, HUMAN RIGHTS
• RSIA NOT ONLY COUNTRY WH ANTI-GAY LAWS
• OUTSI THE OLYMPICS, PRSURE ON GAY RSIANS GROWS
• GAY RIGHTS MPAIGNERS PETN IOC OVER RSIA’S SOCHI OLYMPICS

GAY RIGHTS AND PUT’S OLYMPICS

” It effectively prohibs gay-rights monstratns, opens the door to implicly sanctned discrimatn, and flicts send-class cizenship on gays and lbians claims that the law do nothg to ge on the liv and rights of homosexuals (“They’re people, jt like everyone else”); he sisted that the Rsian people supported the legislatn and, th, mt have ; he also says he is ncerned that homosexualy is ntributg to the untry’s low birth rate. Anizatns Rsia say that the law has opened the door to real misery: this year alone, they have documented hundreds of acts of vlence, cludg murrs, agast gay men and women; workplace discrimatn; and hateful (and sanctned) rhetoric the official I lived Mosw, as a rrponnt for the Washgton Post, the late neteen-eighti and early neti, an extend perd of general, even phoric liberalizatn was full swg. In the Wt, the argument favor of same-sex marriage and more generally for a greater place for homosexualy society draws on two ias: that dividuals have the fundamental right to live their liv as they choose, and that homosexualy do no harm to others.

Rsia’s law on homosexual propaganda is th bt unrstood as the rult of a way of thkg datg back to the neteenth century which puts a much smaller emphasis on dividual tonomy and a much greater emphasis on social solidary and the importance of tradn than Wtern society.

RSIA, GAY RIGHTS, AND THE SOCHI OLYMPICS

Media ptn, Watch: The torch arriv Sochi, where will spend three days ahead of the openg ceremonyGay rights activists across the world have been holdg a day of protts agast the Rsian ernment, jt two days before the Wter Olympics beg the southern rort of protts seek to persua sponsors of the event to speak out over Rsia's ntroversial laws on gay rights protts were anised 19 ci around the Olympic torch has arrived Sochi, havg vised 135 ci the 122 days sce leavg will spend three days and around Sochi before arrivg the Olympic stadium to light the Olympic uldron durg Friday's openg ceremony. Activists want Olympic sponsors such as McDonald's, Co-Cola, Samsung and Visa to speak agast Rsia's new laws on ptn, Protters Jesalem chant: "No exc, homophobia is terror"Last year, Rsia banned the promotn of "non-tradnal" sexualy - wily seen as an attack on gay law mak providg rmatn on homosexualy to unr-18s a crime, punishable by a fe. "Image source, PAImage ptn, TV prenter Pl O'Grady and polil mpaigner Peter Tatchell took part the rally central LondonImage source, RtersImage ptn, Protters Madrid held up sheets of rd the lours of the Olympics rgsIn a rporate blog post, AT&T nmned Rsia's stance, sayg stood "agast Rsia's anti-LGBT [lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr] law" telemunitns giant is not an IOC sponsor but do sponsor the US Olympic month, Print Vladimir Put said homosexuals would be wele Sochi for the Olympics but add: "Jt leave the children peace.

Speakg Friday Mosw, IOC Print Jacqu Rogge said the mtee had received a wrten assurance om the Rsian ernment that the anti-gay propaganda law would not be applied to visors to Sochi – but that “there are still uncertati” which need further clarifitn. “It’s Stal who recrimalized male homosexualy about 80 years ago and that created a kd of atmosphere where first of all at least 26, 000 and probably more like 50, 000 gay men were arrted over the lifetime of that law – and lasted 60 years, ” he said. While ’s too early really to asss the natnal impact of the anti-gay propaganda law, Healey said, the bate around has “mobilized and animated homophobic groups like skheads and vigilant who associate themselv wh Rsian Orthodoxy to actually vlently asslt and otherwise harm LGBT people physilly.

SOCHI 2014: GAY RIGHTS PROTTS TARGET RSIA'S GAM

By ntrast, the World Athletics Champnships, staged by the Internatnal Associatn of Athletics Feratns, start Saturday Mosw but have not attracted the same level of prott – spe IAAF print Lame Diack sayg Thursday that Rsia’s anti-gay laws are “no problem whatsoever.

“Every time Rsia (and is nstantly) a gay teenager is forced to suici, a lbian ‘rrectively’ raped, gay men and women beaten to ath by neo-Nazi thugs while the Rsian police stand idly by, the world is dimished and I for one, weep anew at seeg history repeat self. In an terview after one of the panels, Marten said Print Barack Obama (CC’83) sent a strong msage by announcg that neher he nor Vice Print Joe Bin will attend the gam and namg a legatn that clus three openly gay athlet – tennis great Billie Jean Kg, two-time Olympic medalist hockey Cal Cahow and 1988 figure-skatg gold medalist Brian Boano, who me out after learng he would be the legatn. Put has promised there won’t be any arrts for vlatg the anti-gay laws durg the Olympics, but “what happens afterwards is anybody’s gus, ” Marten said, predictg stepped up enforcement of the laws once the ternatnal muny is no longer foced on Rsia.

Image source, RtersImage ptn, The gam will be Rsia's most high-profile ternatnal sportg event yearsRsian officials say gay athlet petg next year's wter Olympics will not face discrimatn spe a ntroversial new law on gay propaganda, Rsian media ncerns were "pletely unfound", the terr mistry said, quoted by Interfax news agency.

WHY RSIA’S SOCHI OLYMPICS ARE NOW A BATTLEGROUND FOR GAY RIGHTS

Crics say s loose terpretatn effectively hrs any kd of public gay rights event mistry said that officials would act durg the gam - as at any other time - to protect children "om the propaganda of non-tradnal sexual relatns" add that there would be no issue wh "people who adhere to non-tradnal sexual orientatn but do not engage the activi, nor stage any provotns, and take part peacefully Olympic events together wh everyone else" mistry said ncerns over discrimatn towards gay athlet at the gam were "pletely unfound and unsubstantiated". Calls for the gam to be moved to another untry have e om gay rights mpaigners around the world, cludg Brish broadster Stephen Fry who last week wrote an open letter to Mr Rogge and IOC later told the BBC had received "assuranc om the hight level of ernment Rsia that the legislatn" would "not affect those attendg or takg part the gam". Broadster Stephen Fry has appealed directly to Prime Mister David Cameron and members of the Internatnal Olympic Commtee (IOC) to stop the gam beg held Rsia, parg Print Vladimir Put’s treatment of gay people to Adolf Hler’s treatment of Jews.

He said allowg the gam to go ahead Put’s Rsia would be parable to the cisn to hold the 1936 Olympics Nazi Olympic speedskater Blake Skjellep told Sky News he planned to travel to Sochi to reprent both his untry and the rights of the Lbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgenr (LGBT) said: "I am proud of who I am and I am not gog to shy away om that. "But at the same time 's great to see that the attentn that is beg brought to this - the world is standg up to this, and is standg up for the LGBT people of Rsia - to show them that we are wh them and that we do not support their ernment’s new and recent legislatn, " he Olympic champn diver Greg Louganis on Thursday livered a 320, 000-signature petn to IOC headquarters Swzerland, urgg to nmn Rsia’s "anti-gay laws" Print Barack Obama said earlier this week: "I thk they [Put and Rsia] unrstand that for most of the untri that participate the Olympics, we wouldn't tolerate gays and lbians beg treated differently. " Asked by TV host Jay Leno whether this was "like Germany: let's round up the Jews, let's round up the gays, " Print Obama replied: "I have no patience for untri that try to treat gays or lbians or transgenr persons a way that timidate them or are harmful to them.

RSIA EXPERTS WEIGH ON ISSU FACG SOCHI OLYMPICS, FROM GAY RIGHTS TO SECURY

"The Whe Hoe later ncelled a planned meetg wh Print Put Mosw, primarily over Rsia’s cisn to grant whistleblower Edward Snown asylum, but also cg a lack of progrs on human rights among a number of issu of Put signed a new bill to law June banng "homosexual propaganda" - makg illegal to give anyone unr 18 rmatn about emed to be promotg gay rights, or "non-tradnal relatnships" to young people Rsia uld now be arrted and fed, or the se of foreigners, taed and ported. Crics say the law is tentnally vaguely-word and part of a broar crackdown on gay rights untry’s sports mister has said the law will apply to athlet and spectators at the Sochi gam, due to be held the Rsian Black Sea rort next his open letter, Stephen Fry said: "The IOC absolutely mt take a firm stance on behalf of the shared humany is supposed to reprent agast the barbaric, fascist law that Put has phed through the Duma.

"Leadg Rsian LGBT rights mpaigner Nikolai Alexeyev, head of the anisatn Gay Rsia, told Sky News had seen an crease homophobic vlence sce the troductn of the said: "The suatn is terratg the last months due to the very big discsns around the law banng homosexual propaganda. Speakg Sochi on Wednday, Rsia’s Deputy Prime Mister Dmry Kozak said the law would not "ge on rights of people based on sexual orientatn, eher at the Olympics, or before or after" - as long as children were not said gay athlet uld "get on wh their private life, cludg tellg adults about s advantag and attractivens, but not volve children" mpaigner Nikolai Alexeyev said a boytt would not be fair to the sportsmen and women who have traed towards the Sochi Olympics should stead to be ed to draw attentn to the current suatn Rsia, he said. ” “Direct ntact” wh athlet om the natns, Day argued, would be enlighteng for Amerins livg a untry where ternatnal visors were often nied entry bee of their sexual s later, sports are once aga stirrg to take stock of gay rights around the world.

Ultimately, the stlit Olympics history may be remembered for markg a perd which gay rights aren’t so much advancg globally as expandg certa parts of the world while regrsg or languishg 6, 000 athlet om 85 untri gather Sochi, the global gay-rights divi will be unmistakable.

SOCHI OLYMPICS: RSIA SAYS NO DISCRIMATN FOR GAY ATHLET

But gay rights only me to the fore the summer of 2013, when the Rsian ernment, which crimalized homosexualy 1993, banned the dissematn of “propaganda of nontradnal sexual relatns” around children—makg more difficult for gay activists to operate and, rights groups allege, fuelg a rise anti-gay vlence the untry. Gay Olympic athlet have exprsed outrage as well; the Atralian snowboarr Belle Brockhoff, for stance, has vowed to “rip on [Put’s] ass” after petg and possibly flash an oblique six-fger salute reference to “Prciple Six, ” an anti-discrimatn clse the Olympic Charter.

Then there’s the solutn proposed by Saturday Night Live: an all-heterosexual Team USA figure-skatg squad:The laws agast homosexualy that have recently ma ternatnal headl aren’t necsarily new, Stern says, but they are “gettg more attentn today bee of the level of progrs that we’ve seen other parts of the world. In recent months, India’s Supreme Court has restated a ban on gay sex ( one fell swoop doublg, by one timate, the number of gay people the world who n be imprisoned for their sexualy) and Atralia’s High Court has overturned gay-marriage legislatn.

GAY RIGHTS: CALLS FOR RSIA OLYMPIC BOYTT

” We know the story Rsia, where Vladimir Put has anoted himself the lear of an ternatnal nservative unteroffensive agast the Wt’s “genrls and fertile” the Bssels-based Internatnal Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Associatn (ILGA) noted s latt report on “state-sponsored homophobia, ” “ltle has changed the proportn between untri crimalizg same-sex sexual acts between nsentg adults and those which do not, i. ”The “current divisn of the world—om the pot of view of legislatn—to an LGBTI-iendly field and an LGBTI-uniendly field is the rult of different cultural, social and polil procs rooted the histori of the untri and the history of their relatns wh one another, ” the study ’s how that divid world looked as of May 2013, when ILGA me out wh s report (click on the map to expand):ILGAIn a June report tled “The Global Divi on Homosexualy, ” the Pew Rearch Center arrived at siar nclns, fdg “broad acceptance of homosexualy North Ameri, the European Unn, and much of Lat Ameri, but equally wispread rejectn predomantly Mlim natns and Ai, as well as parts of Asia and Rsia. Except South Ai, where gay marriage is legal but only 32 percent accept homosexualy, same-sex marriage has, not surprisgly, advanced the most untri where support of homosexualy is Rearch CenterRelign undoubtedly rms opns on LGBT rights—a dynamic rerced by the recent trend of globetrottg Amerin evangelils, stymied at home, craftg and promotg rtrictns on homosexualy foreign pals—but ’s not the only factor at play.

Stern pots to the Kampala-based Civil Society Coaln on Human Rights and Constutnal Law’s outspoken opposn to Uganda’s anti-gay bill, while Sabbadi c how Indian gay-rights activists swiftly mobilized to prott the rtoratn of the untry’s ban on homosexual acts. Image source, European photoprs agencyImage ptn, Transgenr weightlifter Lrel Hubbard was sgled out for abeThe participatn of openly gay, lbian and transgenr athlet the Tokyo Olympics has led to an upsurge anti-LGBT mentary on Rsian state TV.

HOW SOCHI BEME THE GAY OLYMPICS

Brish gold medal-wng diver Tom Daley, who is gay, and a transgenr woman weightlifter om New Zealand, Lrel Hubbard, were particularly targeted on Rossiya 26 July edn of the 60 Mut programme was pecially rife wh of the panellists, Alexei Zhuravlyov, who is a member of the Rsian parliament, said he was "disgted" by gay and transgenr people. "Spirual and moral valu which some untri have started to fet have ma stronger, and we will always fend them, " Print Vladimir Put said this year's state-of-the-natn ptn, Ben Steele: "It was hard spendg time wh people who hate so much"March support of gay rights are routely broken up by police and their participants harassed by thori and anti-gay has particularly been cricised for s "gay propaganda" law, which bans the "propaganda of non-tradnal sexual relatnships to mors" Rights Watch scribed as "a classic example of polil homophobia" which "targets vulnerable sexual and genr mori for polil ga" years ago, Print Put fend his ernment's attu to members of the LGBT muny as "very level-head, absolutely lm".

Print Barack Obama and Brish Prime Mister David Cameron have risted such lls, they and other high-profile figur and stutns have cricized what appears to be Mosw's creasg anti-gay Tuday, FIFA, the feratn erng world soccer petn, requted "clarifitn and more tails" om the Rsian ernment ncerng the law, passed July wh vol support om Rsian Print Vladimir to the host the World Cup 2018, Rsia had recently received a siar requt om the Internatnal Olympic Commtee ncerng the 2014 Sochi Wter Gam after Rsian sports mister Valy Mutko said that the new law would be enforced durg the homosexual relatns have been legal Rsia sce 1993, the new law has been assailed by crics as the latt and most ser attempt by the thori to crimalize and stigmatize Rsia's gay hostile toward gay rights movements and to homosexualy more broadly, the Rsian public overwhelmgly supports the new law, acrdg to public opn polls. Dpe posive recent velopments for LGBT people the Uned Stat and other parts of the world, nsensual same-sex relatnships rema a crime at least 76 untri, acrdg to a Uned Natns report released are six natns that have recently adopted or have pecially harsh anti-gay laws:Cameroon"Homosexual nduct is crimalized 38 stat Ai, and many, laws are beg stricter, " said Boris Dtrich, advocy director of the LGBT rights program of Human Rights Watch. "While the bill clus such headle-grabbg provisns as the ath penalty for "aggravated homosexual nduct, " the spe of the proposed law is what has many gay activists most worried, said Human Rights Watch's clse the legislatn stat that anyone, cludg fay members of LGBT people, n be prosecuted for not notifyg thori wh 24 hours if they know someone who is gay, wh sentenc of up to three years prison.

State Department stated, though, that no one Bundi had been arrted or prosecuted unr the anti-gay law that year, feedg the spicns of the print's crics that the move was a polil some of the more vic crackdowns on LGBT muni are takg place sub-Saharan Ai's poort untri is not a cince, said the Internatnal Gay and Lbian Human Rights Commissn's Jsi Stern, sce the attentn they generate n sometim provi a eful distractn om other prsg prri. Internatnal human rights groups have llected evince that Iran has executed men on homosexualy charg, and documented s of arrts, imprisonment, and physil abe of LGBT persons based on their sexual orientatn or associatn wh other members of LGBT muny. Qatari law nsirs homosexualy a crimal offense that's punishable by up to seven years jail (or a life term when one of the parti is unr 16 years of age) wh the civic penal , Islamic Sharia law is on the books Qatar, though appli only to Mlims.

RSIA'S OLYMPIC LOSG GAME OVER GAYS, HUMAN RIGHTS

Officials cle to ment on dividual s, but they follow the lead of Put, who public seems to equate homosexualy wh pedophilia and appears to suggt that homosexual behavr is tght, ntradictg what scientists say is evince that rults om velopmental differenc.

RSIA NOT ONLY COUNTRY WH ANTI-GAY LAWS

"The majory of LGBT persons [ Rsia] hid their orientatn due to fear of losg their jobs or their hom as well as the threat of vlence, " the DRL report, as he moved toward creasgly thorarian ernment and prepared for the Olympics, adopted the ia of the anti-propaganda law and phed through both ho of the Feral Assembly, g unrstandable nsternatn and anxiety among LBGT athlet and advot planng to participate the Sochi anti-propaganda law is the most notor of the Rsian anti-gay measur, but on top of a ban on adoptn of Rsian children by gay upl and by any upl ridg a natn that perms same-sex marriage, a vaguely stated prohibn agast any statement supportg homosexualy and a law that allows Rsian police to arrt any foreign natnal whom they spect of beg homosexual or pro-gay and to ta them for up to 14 gay and lbian athlet and their fans and advot, Rsian culture and Put's laws prent signifint peril. A pro-gay statement on televisn would vlate the law agast discsn of LGBT issu ont of mors, and the wearg of any pro-gay ps or paraphernalia uld rult arrt, rceratn for 14 days and a fe of as much as $3, Chris Murphy, D-Conn., the chairman of the European (cludg Rsia) Affairs Submtee of the Senate Foreign Relatns Commtee, has studied the suatn and told, "The Rsians have said they will not e the laws to crack down durg the Olympics, but I would not unsel my gay and lbian iends to go to the Olympics. "The Rsian anti-LGBT culture is particularly alarmg to athlet and activists bee Rsia's laws and polici equate homosexualy wh pedophilia, a posn that as a plete surprise to Amerins and others whose cultur and laws have moved toward creasg acceptance of gays and lbians, their liftyl and their rights to marriage and other Murphy and the DRL, is the Rsians' claim of a nnectn between homosexualy and pedophilia that is both wrong and potentially dangero.

OUTSI THE OLYMPICS, PRSURE ON GAY RSIANS GROWS

He shows this when he tells gay people to stay away om children, " Murphy batn of enmic cultural bias and Put's attacks lkg homosexualy and pedophilia have produced a pattern of vlence and lax law enforcement, acrdg to the State Department's report on human rights Rsia.

GAY RIGHTS MPAIGNERS PETN IOC OVER RSIA’S SOCHI OLYMPICS

The DRL report documents numero cints throughout the 83 Rsian provc which police were "unable or unwillg" to protect gay activists who were prottg regnal laws that "crimalize the propaganda of homosexualy, " cludg two cints Put's home cy of St. A homophobic unter-monstratn broke through a police le and attacked the LGBT activists, g ser addn to the failure of law enforcement, physicians and other medil profsnals equently refe to treat gays and lbians, acrdg to the DRL Bartenev, an attorney and law profsor St. If a potential venue has a bad rerd on LGBT and human rights issu, "should be disqualified om nsiratn, " he and Bartenev agree that spe the toxic atmosphere for gays and lbians Rsia, is important for sponsors, athlet and activists to e the Olympics as a fom for mandg that the Rsian lears and Rsian people beg to show rpect for gays and lbians.