Belas - GlobalGayz

Contents:

• HOPE IS TH AS GAY ACTIVISTS JO BELAS PROTTS FOR CHANGE
• 'BETTER A DICTATOR THAN GAY,' BELAS PRINT ALEXANR LASHENKO SAYS
• TOP GAY DTATNS: BELAS
• 'BETTER A DICTATOR THAN GAY,' BELAS PRINT ALEXANR LASHENKO SAYS
• BETTER TO BE A DICTATOR THAN GAY: BELAS PRINT ALEXANR LASHENKO ATTACKS GERMAN FOREIGN MISTER OVER SANCTNS

HOPE IS TH AS GAY ACTIVISTS JO BELAS PROTTS FOR CHANGE

(Eds: attentn language para 35)Sept 24 (Thomson Rters Foundatn) - LGBT+ activists Belas hope mass protts for mocratic le Belas will also help liver long-awaed gay rights and rid the former Soviet state of they nce such hop might be far off their eply nservative untry, wh no anti-discrimatn laws to protect LGBT+ some of their fellow protters are homophobic, they say, expectg a long fight before glimpsg equaly. Lashenko ni the electn was THE MARCHThe protts have featured women learship rol, joed by stunts, teachers, cizens young and old, as well as gay people have tradnally lacked visibily Belas - clost to Rsia of all ex-Soviet republics - but have marched the hope of wng equaly law and daily life. “We want a public announcement that LGBT people exist, ” said Dasha Churko, who works for women’s rights centre ‘Her Rights Msk’ rights Belas are among the worst Europe, says the advocy group ILGA Europe, wh homophobia only about 30 LGBT+ people marched openly, Bredova said many more monstrated whout rabow flags or helped behd the scen, aidg the taed and monorg urts.

”After his abpt swearg on Wednday, was not clear whether Lashenko would stay; the EU said he lacked EXISTSame-sex relatns have been legal Belas sce 1994 but there are no anti-discrimatn laws that protect LGBT+ people and some state officials openly exprs homophobic 2012, Lashenko famoly said was “better to be a dictator than gay” after a German mister lled him “Europe’s last dictator”. Earlier this year, the Catholic church and some members of the Orthodox church supported a petn llg on the print to ban the “promotn of homosexualy” among print’s prs service did not rpond to a requt for ment.

Homophobia and transphobia rema wispread Belas. Homosexualy was crimalised Belas 1994, but anti-gay sentiment among many Belasians remas strong. The high level of homophobia the untry n be summarised by the famo words of print Lashenka 2012: ”It is better to be a dictator than gay.

'BETTER A DICTATOR THAN GAY,' BELAS PRINT ALEXANR LASHENKO SAYS

and monstratn of homosexualy to mors. In 2013, Rsia troduced a ntroversial “gay.

But homophobic Belas, except among the most privileged part of the LGBTQ muny, “queer” don’t mean anythg. The Department of Jtice rejected the applitn and the Supreme Court nfirmed the cisn, lg that there was no need to create such an anizatn as there’s no homophobia and that the nstutn protects all equally. The next year, the archect Mikhail Pischevsky, a gay man, was attacked Msk.

But a judge led that the crime had no homophobic motive, even though happened jt outsi the entrance to a gay nightclub.

TOP GAY DTATNS: BELAS

Even a popular Belasian rock band replaced the “OMOH” letters that are on the uniforms of special forc wh “HOMO” to sult them.

'BETTER A DICTATOR THAN GAY,' BELAS PRINT ALEXANR LASHENKO SAYS

A popular Belasian rock band replaced the “OMOH” letters that are on the uniforms of special forc wh “HOMO” to sult them | Siarhei Lkiec/AFP via Getty Imag.

Vyachasl Bortnik, 39, a rights activist om the cy of Homel, and Shawn Gaylord, 44, a U.

Lawyer and adviser for a gay-rights anizatn, married a ceremony Washgton, D. Supreme Court lg on lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr (LGBT) rights paved the way for Bortnik to rema the Uned Stat. Bortnik and Gaylord ma sure they did meet aga, although not whout nsirable difficulty.

BETTER TO BE A DICTATOR THAN GAY: BELAS PRINT ALEXANR LASHENKO ATTACKS GERMAN FOREIGN MISTER OVER SANCTNS

They were nsirg movg to Canada, where gay marriage is legal.