According to the mayor, it is possible to submit a state complaint to
the European Court in Strasbourg. A judge can then compare the Russian
anti gay law with the Convention on Human Rights. Van der Laan, a former
lawyer, suggested this option for the first time and did not discuss it
yet with the government. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs could not yet
give a response on Sunday.
Russia, according to Van der Laan, is the only country where the
rights of privacy are curtailed rather than expanded. The mayor wore in
addition to the normal chain of office a multicolored rainbow necklace,
that his predecessor Schelto Patijn wore at the Gay Games.
Gay lobby group COC Netherlands and Pride United wanted to be heard
at the same time the Russian state organized a gala concert on Sunday
night. They wanted to draw attention to the developments in Russia,
where gay rights are under great pressure.
Initially they wanted to ban the gala concert. The municipality of
Amsterdam, however, thought that would not be appropriate and offered
room for a counter-action, which could be held from 6.00 to 8.00 pm. The
two organizations decided to organize the To Russia With Love concert.
The gala concert was organized to show the beauty of Russian culture.
The organizers of the counter concert emphasized that they didn’t want
to disturb the by the Russian state organized concert.
It is estimated there were about 2,500 people gathered for the
protest. Next to the stage was a large inflatable version of the Russian
President Vladimir Putin.
No comments:
Post a Comment