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Support for Slavic Gay Pride in Moscow from IDAHO Founder

Louis-Georges Tin plans to attend
 

■ Louis-Georges Tin with Nikolai Alekseev during filming last week in Paris. photo courtesy GayRussia.ru

MOSCOW, December 3, 2008 (GayRussia.ru)  –  Louis-Georges Tin, the founder of the International Day Against Homophobia and president of IDAHO French Committee, has said that he fully supports the staging of Slavic Gay Pride in Moscow next year on the day of Eurovision song contest final in mid May – and that he plans to part in it.

His comments came in a wider ranging video interview for the GayRussia website.

In the interview, recorded in Paris last Friday, November 28, Mr. Tin said: “I am very happy to know that there will be a great event in Moscow around the Eurovision.

“And to make a connection seams to me as a very good idea.

“So, of course I would love to be there – and I think I have to be there. .I think we have to take any opportunity to raise awareness.

“So if it is Eurovision, if it is any festival in the world, we have to be there as well, to assert LGBT rights. I think it was quite clever to identify this event.  It happens to be in May, so we can make a connection and be there as well,” he says

Louis-Georges Tin stressed that the date May 16 2009 was ideal because “IDAHO day is just after, so we can make a connection of both events”.

Activists are planning to conduct second conference of IDAHO in Russia’s capital.

Answering a question from Nikolai Alekseev about the fact that some people accuse the activists of using Eurovision to promote their own interests, Mr. Tin said that human rights needed to be tackled on any platform.

So when people are dying, I think it is a bit shocking to say ‘Oh, please, die in another place’  So I think it is very important to take any opportunity to raise awareness.

And I think the persons who say so, don’t really understand themselves when they make the accusations”.

According to Louis-Georges Tin, “people who want to promote culture should be happy to see that culture and human rights can go together.  I support culture very much but I wouldn’t like to be in a cultural event that rejects human rights”.

In May 2006, Moscow hosted first world conference of the International Day Against Homophobia which was part of first Moscow Pride events.  Mr. Tin took part both in the conference and also in the public actions next to Moscow City Hall on May  27..

Project GayRussia.r is the coordinator of the International Day Against Homophobia in Russia.

The idea of Slavic Gay Pride movement was adopted during the unification meeting of Russian and Belarusian gay activists which took place in Minsk last month

Full video of the interview with Louis-Georges Tin will be available by the end of the month.
 

■ Louis-Georges Tin (right) with Peter Tatchell avoid the OMON security police to get across the "gay rights" message in Moscow during the 2006 Pride.  In the background is Moscow City Hall.. photo: UK Gay News

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