Reacton to a statement made by presidental candidate Milan Bandic
11/01/2010
Submitted by
Sanja Juras, Lesbian Group Kontra
PRESS RELEASE
31 December 2009
To whom it may concern,
We are writing to you in order to react to a statement made by presidential candidate Mr Milan Bandic in the presidential candidates’ debate on 30 December 2009 at 2000 hrs on HRT.
Specifically, when asked by the journalist: “If you discovered that your daughter was a lesbian, would you allow her to live in a same-sex marriage?” Mr Bandic answered: “We live in the 21st century, but I would do everything I could in bringing her up to avoid such a situation.”
We would like, by means of this letter, to publicly put the question to Mr Bandic: “What methods of upbringing do you consider suitable for changing the sexual orientation of a child?”
Sexual orientation is part of an individual’s identity and denying persons their right to self-determination while they are growing up is an attack on the individuality of the person.
We remind Mr Bandic that the Constitution (Art 63 para 2) states: “Parents are responsible for ensuring the right of a child to complete and harmonious development of his or her personality”, while discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is banned in Croatian legislation by a range of laws.
The making of such discriminatory statements by a presidential candidate is a reflection of the disparagement of people on the basis of their sexual orientation and creates an environment in which this is justifiable, if not also desirable. Such an environment is against civilised principles of equality in society and represents a real degradation of all advancements in the protection of human rights and basic freedoms. The fact that a presidential candidate during a debate displays ignorance of the legislation of his own country as well as disrespect towards basic human rights and basic freedoms by the use of discriminatory statements in public is worrying for all citizens of the Republic of Croatia who care for the building of a democratic society which respects the rights of individuals to their own identity and self-determination.
We therefore seek a public apology from Mr Bandic, as well as a guarantee that he will not act in the same way again.
With best regards,
Sanja Juras,
Coordinator, Lesbian Group Kontra
Bojana Genov,
Coordinator, Women’s Network of Croatia
31 December 2009
To whom it may concern,
We are writing to you in order to react to a statement made by presidential candidate Mr Milan Bandic in the presidential candidates’ debate on 30 December 2009 at 2000 hrs on HRT.
Specifically, when asked by the journalist: “If you discovered that your daughter was a lesbian, would you allow her to live in a same-sex marriage?” Mr Bandic answered: “We live in the 21st century, but I would do everything I could in bringing her up to avoid such a situation.”
We would like, by means of this letter, to publicly put the question to Mr Bandic: “What methods of upbringing do you consider suitable for changing the sexual orientation of a child?”
Sexual orientation is part of an individual’s identity and denying persons their right to self-determination while they are growing up is an attack on the individuality of the person.
We remind Mr Bandic that the Constitution (Art 63 para 2) states: “Parents are responsible for ensuring the right of a child to complete and harmonious development of his or her personality”, while discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is banned in Croatian legislation by a range of laws.
The making of such discriminatory statements by a presidential candidate is a reflection of the disparagement of people on the basis of their sexual orientation and creates an environment in which this is justifiable, if not also desirable. Such an environment is against civilised principles of equality in society and represents a real degradation of all advancements in the protection of human rights and basic freedoms. The fact that a presidential candidate during a debate displays ignorance of the legislation of his own country as well as disrespect towards basic human rights and basic freedoms by the use of discriminatory statements in public is worrying for all citizens of the Republic of Croatia who care for the building of a democratic society which respects the rights of individuals to their own identity and self-determination.
We therefore seek a public apology from Mr Bandic, as well as a guarantee that he will not act in the same way again.
With best regards,
Sanja Juras,
Coordinator, Lesbian Group Kontra
Bojana Genov,
Coordinator, Women’s Network of Croatia
