MOSCOW, January 29, 2007  (GayRussia.ru)  –  The Mayor of Moscow has this afternoon dubbed his city’s gay pride parade as being a “Satanist happening”.

The outburst by Yuri Luzhkov came hours after Pride organisers formally announced that they were taking their case over the ban of last year’s parade to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

Mayor Luzhkov said today that he will not even allow this year’s Pride march, scheduled for Sunday May 27.

“Last year, Moscow was unprecedentaly pressured to allow here a gay parade which can only be called a Satanist happening,” he said in a speech at the State Kremlin Palace during 15^th Christmas educational readings.

“We did not allow this gay parade and will not allow it in future.”

Mr. Luzhkov then thanked Patriarch of All Russia, Alexi II, for his support in this difficult situation when, according to Luzhkov, Moscow authorities found themselves in the situation of huge pressure, especially from the West.

He said that is not appropriate “to propagate same-sex love” and “blasphemy, as if it is creativity and freedom of speech”.

Nikolai Alekseev, a co-organiser of Moscow Pride, said that he was shocked at the Mayor’s outburst.

“We are shocked by the statements of Mr. Luzhkov that “gay pride is a Satanist happening” and consider them as personal insult against the organisers and potential participants of the gay pride,” he said.

“Such words in respect to huge number of homosexual people who live in Russia are not worthy of an official of such high standing”.

Mr. Alekseev compared the words of Mr. Luzhkov with the period of Inquisition.  “To read such comparisons in the historical books covering Middle Ages is not surprising.

“But to hear such comparisons in the 21st century, and in particular from the Mayor of one of the largest cities in Europe, is just outrageous,” he said.

Mr. Alekseev said that he would “personally sue Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov for the insults to himself and those peaceful and democratic aims that Gay Pride in Moscow was pursuing”.

He also compared the statements of the Moscow Mayor last year about Gay Pride with his insults of several families in one of Moscow’s districts “Butovo” who are fighting for their rights to housing.

Mr. Alekseev added: “This is just more proof for the European Court that the real reasons for the denial of the pride last year were not in the sphere of Mayor’s concern for participant’s security but his Middle Aged hatred towards homosexuality.”

SEE ALSO

Moscow Gay Pride Ban Goes to the European Court of Human Rights.  Organisers of last year’s first-ever Moscow Gay Pride have today formally taken their case of the ban by the authorities in the Russian capital of both a parade and a “picket” to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France. (UK Gay News, January 29, 2007)

■  Read Peter Tatchell's "on the spot" report of Moscow Pride 2006 (UK Gay News, May 27, 2006)

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