Peter Tatchell slandered by Russian Gay Activists
28/05/2009
Submitted by
Project GayRussia.Ru
Peter Tatchell slandered by Russian Gay Activists
False accusations of PR stunt to support his non-existent election bid for the European Parliament
Following Peter Tatchell’s support and participation in Slavic Gay Pride in Moscow on 16 May 2009, Slava Revin from the group "LGBT Rights" in Russia has circulated false and slanderous information about Mr Tatchell – that he only came to Moscow as a PR stunt to further his bid for election to the European Parliament.
This lie seems to be part of a bid to discredit Mr Tatchell and the Slavic Pride event.
On his blog, Mr Revin wrote: "Approximately in a month, there will be elections to the European Parliament in Europe and Mr Tatchell is taking part in them as a candidate from Green Party."
This is not true. In an email statement received by GayRussia.Ru today, Peter Tatchell confirmed that he is not standing for election to the European Parliament. His name does not appear on any candidate list for the European elections.
“I do not have, and never had, any plan to stand for election to the European Parliament,” said Mr Tatchell. “These false allegations bring shame to Mr Revin and LGBT Rights Russia.”
Mr Revin organised a poll on the reasons of Mr Tatchell’s trip to Moscow.
“What was the purpose of Peter Tatchell’s arrival to Moscow?” asked the poll.
According to the result of the poll, of those who read the article, 52.9% choose the answer that Tatchell effectively came to Moscow “For his own PR before elections to the European Parliament.”
This false rumour has been spread among gay groups opposing the Slavic Gay Pride event in Moscow and has been republished on several gay websites known to oppose any gay pride parade initiative in Russia.
Among them include the www.anti-dogma.info run by Ruslan Porshnev, a project on social, moral and spiritual LGBT well-being, proud member of the Russian LGBT Network since 2006. This article became one of the most popular on this site with 91 comments left. http://community.livejournal.com/ru_antidogma/501527.html
It has also been reproduced in Belarus by the editor of the site Gay.By, Alexander Paluyan, who is well known for his opposition to the Slavic Pride movement in this country. http://apaluyan.livejournal.com/
In Moscow, in recognition of his long-time support for LGBT rights in Russia (dating back to the Soviet era), Tatchell was presented by LGBT activists the International Award of the Slavic Pride movement with the title “A Life of Gay Activism”.
Mr Tatchell staged the first ever gay rights protest in a communist country, in East Berlin in 1973. He was arrested and interrogated by the secret police, the Stasi. Despite his arrest, throughout the 1970s and 1980s he continued to secretly support underground LGBT activists in Soviet-occupied Eastern Germany, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Romania and Russia. He also campaigned in support of liberal, democratic and left-wing opponents of the Soviet regime, including Andrei Sakharov, Vladimir Bukovsky – and more recently Anna Politkovskya, Gary Kasparov and many others.
Mr Tatchell told GayRussia.Ru:
“I have campaigned for democracy and human rights for all Russians since the 1960s - during Soviet tyranny times. For 40 years I supported Russians campaigning for trade union rights, the right to protest, the rights of pensioners and against the oligarchs and the new capitalist class that has plunged so many Russians into economic hardship. The fight for LGBT rights in Russia is part of the same struggle for democracy and freedom for all Russians,” he said.
GayRussia.Ru
False accusations of PR stunt to support his non-existent election bid for the European Parliament
Following Peter Tatchell’s support and participation in Slavic Gay Pride in Moscow on 16 May 2009, Slava Revin from the group "LGBT Rights" in Russia has circulated false and slanderous information about Mr Tatchell – that he only came to Moscow as a PR stunt to further his bid for election to the European Parliament.
This lie seems to be part of a bid to discredit Mr Tatchell and the Slavic Pride event.
On his blog, Mr Revin wrote: "Approximately in a month, there will be elections to the European Parliament in Europe and Mr Tatchell is taking part in them as a candidate from Green Party."
This is not true. In an email statement received by GayRussia.Ru today, Peter Tatchell confirmed that he is not standing for election to the European Parliament. His name does not appear on any candidate list for the European elections.
“I do not have, and never had, any plan to stand for election to the European Parliament,” said Mr Tatchell. “These false allegations bring shame to Mr Revin and LGBT Rights Russia.”
Mr Revin organised a poll on the reasons of Mr Tatchell’s trip to Moscow.
“What was the purpose of Peter Tatchell’s arrival to Moscow?” asked the poll.
According to the result of the poll, of those who read the article, 52.9% choose the answer that Tatchell effectively came to Moscow “For his own PR before elections to the European Parliament.”
This false rumour has been spread among gay groups opposing the Slavic Gay Pride event in Moscow and has been republished on several gay websites known to oppose any gay pride parade initiative in Russia.
Among them include the www.anti-dogma.info run by Ruslan Porshnev, a project on social, moral and spiritual LGBT well-being, proud member of the Russian LGBT Network since 2006. This article became one of the most popular on this site with 91 comments left. http://community.livejournal.com/ru_antidogma/501527.html
It has also been reproduced in Belarus by the editor of the site Gay.By, Alexander Paluyan, who is well known for his opposition to the Slavic Pride movement in this country. http://apaluyan.livejournal.com/
In Moscow, in recognition of his long-time support for LGBT rights in Russia (dating back to the Soviet era), Tatchell was presented by LGBT activists the International Award of the Slavic Pride movement with the title “A Life of Gay Activism”.
Mr Tatchell staged the first ever gay rights protest in a communist country, in East Berlin in 1973. He was arrested and interrogated by the secret police, the Stasi. Despite his arrest, throughout the 1970s and 1980s he continued to secretly support underground LGBT activists in Soviet-occupied Eastern Germany, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Romania and Russia. He also campaigned in support of liberal, democratic and left-wing opponents of the Soviet regime, including Andrei Sakharov, Vladimir Bukovsky – and more recently Anna Politkovskya, Gary Kasparov and many others.
Mr Tatchell told GayRussia.Ru:
“I have campaigned for democracy and human rights for all Russians since the 1960s - during Soviet tyranny times. For 40 years I supported Russians campaigning for trade union rights, the right to protest, the rights of pensioners and against the oligarchs and the new capitalist class that has plunged so many Russians into economic hardship. The fight for LGBT rights in Russia is part of the same struggle for democracy and freedom for all Russians,” he said.
GayRussia.Ru
