ROMANIA: Gay Rights Far From Being Acknowledged

By Claudia Ciobanu Reprint | | Print |

Claudia Ciobanu

BUCHAREST, Jun 27 2007 (IPS) - The third Gay Pride Parade that drew strong opposition earlier this month underlines the fact that gay rights are far from being accepted in this country.

In a rather conservative society, participants in the Jun. 9 rally had to face opposition from the Orthodox Church, from an extreme right organisation, and enraged football fans.

About 85 percent of Romania’s 22 million inhabitants are Orthodox Christian. The Orthodox Church has traditionally been a key political actor in the country, even during the Communist dictatorship (1945-1989). The Church officially condemns same sex relationships.

Until 2001, public manifestations of homosexuality were illegal in Romania and could be punished by one to five years imprisonment. The government legalised homosexuality as a condition for European Union integration, which came at the beginning of this year.

The first Gay Pride Parade took place in Bucharest in 2005. It was organised by ACCEPT, the largest group in Romania to defend and promote the rights of sexual minorities. About 300 people then marched in the parade, under the motto “We too want to love”.

Attendance was higher one year later, when 800 people came out to the streets to call for “same rights, same responsibilities”.

This year, the event had the slogan “celebrate diversity”. Although around a thousand people had been expected to participate, only about 300 showed up, some being deterred by the rain. About 800 policemen guarded the gay march this year, more than twice the number of participants.

Like in 2006, the demonstrators called for legalisation of same sex civil partnerships.

The stated premises of Gay Pride, which takes place in numerous countries around the world are: people should feel proud of their sexual identity and orientation; sexual diversity is a gift of nature; and sexual identity and orientation are innate, not the result of personal choice.

“The role of the Gay Pride is not to attract followers,” says Razvan, creator of popular blog Gay Generation, who asked to be quoted only by his first name. The aim, he said, is “to show that we exist, ask for the same rights as the majority, celebrate, and show the world that we have a gay culture. Also, it is meant to draw attention to the social exclusion affecting gays and lesbians who openly declare their sexual orientation.”

But few people in Romania think this way. While some openly support the Gay Parade, journalist Razvan Vintilescu describes the more popular view in his column: “If homosexuals accept to live in a country where they are perceived as curiosities, it’s their business. Only that, in this case, they must be ready to face the same risks as a dinosaur stepping out of the TV screen onto Unirii Boulevard.” Unirii is one of the main boulevards in Bucharest.

The website of The New Right declares it was established in 2000 to “protect the Romanian nation from the numerous threats posed to its morality.” Among such “dangers”, the self-proclaimed descendants of the legionnaires name homosexuals, Hungarians, Roma, abortions, and U.S. culture.

The New Right was active this year as well, and took out a ‘march for normality’ a few hours before the beginning of the gay parade. Orthodox priests attended this march, the group claimed.

The Orthodox Church also protested directly against homosexuality. Representatives of the Church stood by to protest against the gay march, carrying a banner saying “No to homosexuality”, calling out “shame, shame on you” to members of the rally, and singing religious hymns.

“The Church makes gays feel bad about themselves because they cannot conform to the so-called Christian morality,” Razvan told IPS.

But Daniel Zavoianu, member of ACCEPT, said that this year the message of the Orthodox Church was less aggressive than before. “They prayed for our salvation,” Zavoianu told IPS.

Still, gay marchers faced violence. Eggs, garbage, firecrackers and stones were thrown at them. The police arrested 100 assailants. Many are members of football club galleries.

Ovidiu Todoran, leader of the group Head Hunters, assembled around 35 people and had them distribute stones and firecrackers to passers-by. Todoran later justified his actions. “How do you think a normal couple feels when they see a homosexual couple kissing on the street?” he told local media. “That is why we came to Bucharest, to show that we don’t want to see something like this on the streets.”

Todoran added: “Perhaps we will be even more violent next year. This is how we are and this is how we know to transmit our message.”

But participants in the event do not want to focus on such incidents. Razvan says the Gay Parade should be seen as celebration.