Poland
Craków's Gay Festival Still Needs Support, Despite Agreement From University Rector
by Andy Harley
Have your say!
Visit our new "Forum" where
you can post your comments.
You have the option of "signing up" to the forum or to post views as a "guest"
While "free speech" is encouraged, please bear in mind libel etc. Any posts deemed libellous under the laws of England and Wales will be removed. Also, offensive posts will be removed.
Next month’s gay ‘Culture for Tolerance’ festival in Craków, Poland, received a boost yesterday (April 26) when the Rector of the city’s Jagiellonian University agreed that all lectures and student meetings that form part of the festival and scheduled to be held at the university can go ahead.
“This part of the festival is safe,” said Tomasz Szypula, vice-president of the Kraków branch of the Campaign Against Homophobia (KPH) and president of the Festival organisation.
The festival begins on May 6 and continues for four days. Last weekend, the future of the festival was in doubt and KPH issued an international appeal for help (see UKGayNews article).
International reaction has been very supportive, Szypula said. “The (university) rector has received lots of emails from abroad and his has been very helpful,” he said. “So now we have an arrangement with University and this part of our festival is safe.”
But it is not all good news coming from Craków.
“We have even bigger problem,” Szypula revealed this morning. “Yesterday the Parliment of Malopolska Province (Sejmik Wojewodztwa Malopolskiego) voted for an appeal to the Mayor of Kraków Jacek Majchrowski and the Rector of Jagiellonian University to ban our Culture for Tolerance festival.
“This is against the Polish constitution (article 32) and European law. They can't really do anything to us because that's only an appeal, but they are putting a lot of pressure on Mayor and Rector of the University.”
He went on to say that as Poland is not yet a member of the European Union – the country officially becomes a member on Saturday May 1 along with nine other countries, there could be no appeal to the European legal system.
“So we are asking for emails of support for our festival to be sent to both the Mayor of Kraków and the Marshal of Malopolska Province,” he said.
“Such emails, especially those from individuals and organisations within the European Union, really do help.”
n Mayor of Kraków, Jacek Majchrowski :
jacek.majchrowski@um.krakow.pl
Postal Address: Plac Wszystkich Swietych ľ, Krakow, POLAND
n The Marshal of Malopolska Province, Janusz Sepioł:
urzad@malopolska.mw.gov.pl
Postal address: ul. Basztowa 22, Krakow, POLAND
KPH website (there is a section in English)
See also http://www.ukgaynews.org.uk/Archive/2004042501.htm
27 April, 2004