■ Louis-Geroges Tin.

PARIS, May 17, 2008  –  The founder of International Day Against Homophobia was arrested yesterday outside the Presidential Palace along with a small group of supporters as they demonstrated and staged a ‘die in’ in support of persecuted gay and lesbians worldwide.

They were held in police cells for a short time before being released.

“Here, in France, the situation is very complex, the founder of IDAHO, Louis-Georges Tin, said by email overnight.

“The conservative government was totally opposed to our cause.

“The battle was, and still, is very hard.

“We had to organise an illegal demonstration in front of the Palace of the president.  We wore the names of countries that criminalise homosexuality on our T-shirts, and we staged a ‘die-in’.

“We were sent to jail for a few hours.”

As a result, all progressive parties and NGOs criticised the government, and we expect some positive reactions later today.

“The minister of human rights is going to meet with the main LGBT organisations, and allegedly, we will have a positive outcome of all that,” Mr. Tin said..

“We have a few clues, but it is a bit too early to know what she is going to say exactly.”

While matters concerning IDAHO are difficult with the French Government, Gordon Brown’s government is showing less enthusiasm on IDAHO than was shown by Tony Blair.

UK IDAHO coordinator Derek Lennard is expected to make an announcement this afternoon.

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Posted: 17 May 2008 at 11:00 (UK time)