New study - high levels of anti-gay prejudice in Latvia
17/07/2006
By
Mozaika
As Pride date approaches, anti-gay rhetoric escalates; new study indicates high levels of
anti-gay prejudice and intolerance in Latvia
With the Riga Pride 2006 march scheduled for this Saturday, July 22, the Riga city government still has not ruled on whether and where to allow the march to take place, and some politicians, religious leaders and extremist organizations are escalating their anti-gay rhetoric in opposition to the march. Meanwhile, the results of a new survey, released last Friday, indicate shockingly high levels of anti-gay prejudice and intolerance in Latvia.
Political irresponsibility
A key actor in the unfolding drama is Latvia’s First Party, the self-proclaimed defender of “Christian values” in parliament, which led the backlash against Latvia’s first Pride march last year. This year the party initially refrained from calling on Riga officials to ban the march, and instead urged them to allow it only on the outskirts of town. Last Wednesday, however, Latvia’s First Party member, Interior Minister Dzintars Jaundžeikars stated on national television that the Interior Ministry would be unable to guarantee security during the Pride march and called the march the “greatest security risk” since Latvia gained independence in 1991. “We cannot guarantee that someone won’t throw something on the marchers from the windows of nearby buildings,” Jaundžeikars said.
Mozaīka strongly condemned the Interior Minister’s remarks, calling them “cynical and irresponsible.” If the situation were not so serious, noted the Mozaīka board in a press release on Thursday, it would simply sound ridiculous to claim that a country that recently hosted the ice hockey World Championship and is about to host a NATO summit is afraid of people throwing things out of windows. The Minister has still not replied to Mozaīka’s letter of 27 June requesting a meeting to discuss security issues, although he is legally obliged to reply.
Also on Wednesday Riga Vice-Mayor Almers Luvdiks (Latvia’s First Party) called on the city council not to allow the Pride March, citing security risks and opposition by the general public. The previous week Riga city council executive director Ēriks Škapars (New Era) had suggested that the council would allow only a non-downtown route, due to security concerns. (Last year Škapars attempted to revoke the march permit, but was overruled by the Riga Administrative Court.) The city council is required by law to announce its decision no later than Thursday, July 20.
Threats from radical groups
Radical organizations have been escalating their anti-Pride rhetoric in recent days. On July 7, the popular folk singer Kaspars Dimiters, who was one of the main anti-Pride activists last year and led efforts to use civil disobedience to disrupt the march, published an advertisement in several Latvian newspapers with the headline “Don’t sleep at home – lie down in the streets!” “We don’t have to tolerate the deceipt, lies, psychological violence and aggression with which the sodomites want to achieve their goals,” stated Dimiters in the ad. “Pride is a provocation of intolerance. By continuing to support these provocateurs with military force, the government is fostering the radicalization of groups representing the majority of the nation and psychologically facilitating local terrorism in the future.”
Dimiters’ efforts are supported by several radical organizations, including Against the Current, Klubs 415 (www.klubs415.lv), and NoPride (www.nopride.lv), which have been mounting a united front against the Pride march. They claim to have collected over 13,000 signatures on a letter to the city council and national government appealing for the march to be banned. They are urging their supporters to gather in front of the Riga City Council building every day this week in an anti-Pride protest, and to come out into the streets on Saturday to disrupt the march.
The radical nationalist organization National Power Unity (www.nss.lv) has gone even further, declaring recently on its website that its members and supporters “are prepared to use not just nonviolent forms of protest to protect our children and fellow human beings from the amoral forced sexualization of society” (emphasis added).
Religious attacks
On Friday at a meeting of the governmental Religious Affairs Council attended by Prime Minister Aigars Kalvītis (People’s Party) and members of parliament, representatives of Latvia’s mainstream religious confessions called for the Pride march to be banned. The charge was led by Roman Catholic cardinal Jānis Pujats, who said: “The constitution already declares that the state must protect the family, therefore [the state] does not need to permit events organized by people who want to teach others immorality.”
Friday also saw the conclusion of an international evangelical Christian conference in Riga called “Let Your Kingdom Come,” attended by pastors and missionaries from the United States, Ukraine, Nigeria and Uganda. According to news reports, several speakers focused on the struggle against the “oppressive power” of the gay rights movement. Scott Lively, president of the California-based Abiding Truth Ministries, said: “A war has begun between Christians and homosexuals.” The conference was organized by the New Generation megachurch, whose pastor Aleksey Lyedyaev has been a leading voice in Latvia’s anti-gay backlash. During the conference Lyedyaev, who has previously declared “war” against gay rights in Latvia, described homosexuality as “parasitical” and the “death of civilization.” “Homosexually oriented people want children, but they plan to take them away from normal families,” said Lyedyaev.
New survey data on homophobia
Finally, on Friday the public policy portal dialogi.lv announced the results of Latvia’s first substantial public opinion survey on attitudes toward homosexuals. The survey painted a fairly alarming picture of prejudice, stereotyping and intolerance. For example:
· 26% of respondents object to both homosexual people and the “homosexual lifestyle,” while 37% object to the lifestyle but not the people and 25% object to neither.
· 28% disagreed with the statement “Homosexual orientation does not make people worse.”
· 37% characterized homosexuality as a disease, 32% as licentiousness, 26% as perversion, 23% as the product of inappropriate parenting, 21% as a product of Western cultural influence and 14% as a sin. On the other hand, 34% identified it as an inborn characteristic, 28% as a private individual matter and only 10% as a natural form of sexuality. (Respondents were asked to select up to three choices.)
· Only 23% agreed that “a homosexual couple can form a stable relationship just as successfully as a man and woman can.”
· 32% agreed that “homosexuals molest children more than other people.”
· 30% agreed that “gays and lesbians try to turn other people into homosexuals.”
· 53% believe gays and lesbians should be protected from employment discrimination, but 45% support their exclusion from certain professions (schools and the military).
· 68% oppose same-sex marriage, while 14% support it; 54% oppose and 6% support civil partnerships (33% are neutral).
· 53% agreed that “if a person has homosexual urges, he/she should do everything possible to overcome them.”
· 51% believe gays and lesbians should be offered medical treatment to change their sexuality, while 20% support criminalization of homosexuality and 14% believe gays and lesbians should be “isolated from society.”
· 23% “would gladly participate in a demonstration against homosexuals.”
· 29% are not “upset by incitement to violence against gays and lesbians.”
In short, the survey data suggest that 1/3 to 1/2 of the Latvian population harbor damaging misconceptions about homosexuality, including viewing it as a disease that should be treated and linking it to child molestation. Only 14% support extending partnership rights to same-sex couples. More alarmingly, a solid one out of four Latvians is actively hostile toward gays and lesbians, and 10-20% harbor attitudes that could be described as neo-fascist (supporting criminalization of homosexuality, isolation of gays and lesbians from society, or incitement to violence).
These survey results underscore the obstacles and dangers facing Latvia’s LGBT community as it prepares for Friendship Days, starting this Wednesday, and Riga Pride 2006 on Saturday. In this highly tense situation, with radical organisations issuing open threats and politicians and clergy fanning the flames of intolerance, it is all the more imperative for Latvia’s political leaders to behave responsibly and take all appropriate measures to guarantee public safety and to protect minority groups in the expression of their freedoms of speech and assembly.
In this volatile situation, the presence of international observers and media is also critically important. If your organisation is not already planning to cover the Pride events, we urge you to consider sending a representative or correspondent to Riga this week. Mozaīka will be delighted to help coordinate your visit. Please see our website (www.mozaika.lv - go to the English language version) for information on the programme, international visitors and accommodations.
.
For more information please contact:
Juris Lavrikovs, Mozaīka media coordinator: +371 22 43 1000
Katrina Schwartz, Mozaīka media coordinator: +371 28 61 8131
email: info@mozaika.lv
anti-gay prejudice and intolerance in Latvia
With the Riga Pride 2006 march scheduled for this Saturday, July 22, the Riga city government still has not ruled on whether and where to allow the march to take place, and some politicians, religious leaders and extremist organizations are escalating their anti-gay rhetoric in opposition to the march. Meanwhile, the results of a new survey, released last Friday, indicate shockingly high levels of anti-gay prejudice and intolerance in Latvia.
Political irresponsibility
A key actor in the unfolding drama is Latvia’s First Party, the self-proclaimed defender of “Christian values” in parliament, which led the backlash against Latvia’s first Pride march last year. This year the party initially refrained from calling on Riga officials to ban the march, and instead urged them to allow it only on the outskirts of town. Last Wednesday, however, Latvia’s First Party member, Interior Minister Dzintars Jaundžeikars stated on national television that the Interior Ministry would be unable to guarantee security during the Pride march and called the march the “greatest security risk” since Latvia gained independence in 1991. “We cannot guarantee that someone won’t throw something on the marchers from the windows of nearby buildings,” Jaundžeikars said.
Mozaīka strongly condemned the Interior Minister’s remarks, calling them “cynical and irresponsible.” If the situation were not so serious, noted the Mozaīka board in a press release on Thursday, it would simply sound ridiculous to claim that a country that recently hosted the ice hockey World Championship and is about to host a NATO summit is afraid of people throwing things out of windows. The Minister has still not replied to Mozaīka’s letter of 27 June requesting a meeting to discuss security issues, although he is legally obliged to reply.
Also on Wednesday Riga Vice-Mayor Almers Luvdiks (Latvia’s First Party) called on the city council not to allow the Pride March, citing security risks and opposition by the general public. The previous week Riga city council executive director Ēriks Škapars (New Era) had suggested that the council would allow only a non-downtown route, due to security concerns. (Last year Škapars attempted to revoke the march permit, but was overruled by the Riga Administrative Court.) The city council is required by law to announce its decision no later than Thursday, July 20.
Threats from radical groups
Radical organizations have been escalating their anti-Pride rhetoric in recent days. On July 7, the popular folk singer Kaspars Dimiters, who was one of the main anti-Pride activists last year and led efforts to use civil disobedience to disrupt the march, published an advertisement in several Latvian newspapers with the headline “Don’t sleep at home – lie down in the streets!” “We don’t have to tolerate the deceipt, lies, psychological violence and aggression with which the sodomites want to achieve their goals,” stated Dimiters in the ad. “Pride is a provocation of intolerance. By continuing to support these provocateurs with military force, the government is fostering the radicalization of groups representing the majority of the nation and psychologically facilitating local terrorism in the future.”
Dimiters’ efforts are supported by several radical organizations, including Against the Current, Klubs 415 (www.klubs415.lv), and NoPride (www.nopride.lv), which have been mounting a united front against the Pride march. They claim to have collected over 13,000 signatures on a letter to the city council and national government appealing for the march to be banned. They are urging their supporters to gather in front of the Riga City Council building every day this week in an anti-Pride protest, and to come out into the streets on Saturday to disrupt the march.
The radical nationalist organization National Power Unity (www.nss.lv) has gone even further, declaring recently on its website that its members and supporters “are prepared to use not just nonviolent forms of protest to protect our children and fellow human beings from the amoral forced sexualization of society” (emphasis added).
Religious attacks
On Friday at a meeting of the governmental Religious Affairs Council attended by Prime Minister Aigars Kalvītis (People’s Party) and members of parliament, representatives of Latvia’s mainstream religious confessions called for the Pride march to be banned. The charge was led by Roman Catholic cardinal Jānis Pujats, who said: “The constitution already declares that the state must protect the family, therefore [the state] does not need to permit events organized by people who want to teach others immorality.”
Friday also saw the conclusion of an international evangelical Christian conference in Riga called “Let Your Kingdom Come,” attended by pastors and missionaries from the United States, Ukraine, Nigeria and Uganda. According to news reports, several speakers focused on the struggle against the “oppressive power” of the gay rights movement. Scott Lively, president of the California-based Abiding Truth Ministries, said: “A war has begun between Christians and homosexuals.” The conference was organized by the New Generation megachurch, whose pastor Aleksey Lyedyaev has been a leading voice in Latvia’s anti-gay backlash. During the conference Lyedyaev, who has previously declared “war” against gay rights in Latvia, described homosexuality as “parasitical” and the “death of civilization.” “Homosexually oriented people want children, but they plan to take them away from normal families,” said Lyedyaev.
New survey data on homophobia
Finally, on Friday the public policy portal dialogi.lv announced the results of Latvia’s first substantial public opinion survey on attitudes toward homosexuals. The survey painted a fairly alarming picture of prejudice, stereotyping and intolerance. For example:
· 26% of respondents object to both homosexual people and the “homosexual lifestyle,” while 37% object to the lifestyle but not the people and 25% object to neither.
· 28% disagreed with the statement “Homosexual orientation does not make people worse.”
· 37% characterized homosexuality as a disease, 32% as licentiousness, 26% as perversion, 23% as the product of inappropriate parenting, 21% as a product of Western cultural influence and 14% as a sin. On the other hand, 34% identified it as an inborn characteristic, 28% as a private individual matter and only 10% as a natural form of sexuality. (Respondents were asked to select up to three choices.)
· Only 23% agreed that “a homosexual couple can form a stable relationship just as successfully as a man and woman can.”
· 32% agreed that “homosexuals molest children more than other people.”
· 30% agreed that “gays and lesbians try to turn other people into homosexuals.”
· 53% believe gays and lesbians should be protected from employment discrimination, but 45% support their exclusion from certain professions (schools and the military).
· 68% oppose same-sex marriage, while 14% support it; 54% oppose and 6% support civil partnerships (33% are neutral).
· 53% agreed that “if a person has homosexual urges, he/she should do everything possible to overcome them.”
· 51% believe gays and lesbians should be offered medical treatment to change their sexuality, while 20% support criminalization of homosexuality and 14% believe gays and lesbians should be “isolated from society.”
· 23% “would gladly participate in a demonstration against homosexuals.”
· 29% are not “upset by incitement to violence against gays and lesbians.”
In short, the survey data suggest that 1/3 to 1/2 of the Latvian population harbor damaging misconceptions about homosexuality, including viewing it as a disease that should be treated and linking it to child molestation. Only 14% support extending partnership rights to same-sex couples. More alarmingly, a solid one out of four Latvians is actively hostile toward gays and lesbians, and 10-20% harbor attitudes that could be described as neo-fascist (supporting criminalization of homosexuality, isolation of gays and lesbians from society, or incitement to violence).
These survey results underscore the obstacles and dangers facing Latvia’s LGBT community as it prepares for Friendship Days, starting this Wednesday, and Riga Pride 2006 on Saturday. In this highly tense situation, with radical organisations issuing open threats and politicians and clergy fanning the flames of intolerance, it is all the more imperative for Latvia’s political leaders to behave responsibly and take all appropriate measures to guarantee public safety and to protect minority groups in the expression of their freedoms of speech and assembly.
In this volatile situation, the presence of international observers and media is also critically important. If your organisation is not already planning to cover the Pride events, we urge you to consider sending a representative or correspondent to Riga this week. Mozaīka will be delighted to help coordinate your visit. Please see our website (www.mozaika.lv - go to the English language version) for information on the programme, international visitors and accommodations.
.
For more information please contact:
Juris Lavrikovs, Mozaīka media coordinator: +371 22 43 1000
Katrina Schwartz, Mozaīka media coordinator: +371 28 61 8131
email: info@mozaika.lv
