SET NAMES 'utf8'

Module start 'content'

<p>Brussels, 9th October 2012</p><p>Dear Organising Committee, dear friends in Minsk,</p><p>The right to be yourself, this year’s theme for the LGBT Forum, is anyone’s birthright; in the world, in Europe, and indeed in Belarus too. This is a right that should suffer no political considerations, no ideological boundaries nor political suppression at the hands of a state. It is a right at the core of our being.</p><p>We are very sorry we could not be with you this week. We wished to convey our full support for the LGBT Forum and Minsk Gay Pride this year. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in Minsk and in the whole of Belarus are entitled to the full set of human rights foreseen by international law: the right to life; the right to freedom of expression and assembly; the right to a private and family life, to equality before the law, and to freedom from discrimination.</p><p>At a time when freedom of association and freedom of expression are under threat not only in Belarus but in neighbouring Russia and Ukraine, you can be assured the European Parliament expresses its full solidarity with your essential work.</p><p>We hope this year’s events will unfold peacefully, and that the freedom to be yourselves will advance, if only a little, and win over minds and hearts.</p><p>
Yours in solidarity,<br />
Michael Cashman, Co-President <br />
Ulrike Lunacek, Co-President <br />
Hélène Flautre, Member<br />The European Parliament's Intergroup on LGBT Rights</p>

Module end 'content'

End