WARSAW, Poland - A human rights group said Thursday that homophobic rhetoric has escalated in Poland since a socially conservative party came to power, threatening the rights of gays and lesbians in this Roman Catholic country.
ADVERTISEMENT
Human Rights Watch, a New-York based group, also said it had written a letter to new President Lech Kaczynski calling on him to "affirm all citizens' equality."
In his previous post as Warsaw mayor, Kaczynski sparked controversy for banning gay pride parades in 2004 and 2005, arguing that he opposed letting gays and lesbians openly "propagate" a homosexual lifestyle.
"Kaczynski opposed the right of lesbian and gay people to basic freedoms and equal respect," said Scott Long, director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Rights Program at Human Rights Watch. "As president, he will determine whether Poland protects rights or chips away at them. Europe is waiting for the answer."
The group cited several other cases of what it called "official homophobia."
These included Prime Minister Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz calling homosexuality "unnatural" in an October interview and saying that if a homosexual "tries to infect others with their homosexuality, then the state has to intervene in such an abuse of freedom," the group said.
"Since Lech Kaczynski was elected president ... homophobic rhetoric from members of his Law and Justice party has escalated," Human Rights Watch wrote in a statement.
Law and Justice, led by Kaczynski's twin brother Jaroslaw Kaczynski, won September parliamentary elections and now heads a minority government that is committed to maintaining the country's strict abortion laws and keeping gay marriage illegal. Lech Kaczynski won October presidential balloting and took office in December.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060216...h9vaA8F;_ylu=X3oDMTA5aHJvMDdwBHNlYwN5bmNhdA--
ADVERTISEMENT
Human Rights Watch, a New-York based group, also said it had written a letter to new President Lech Kaczynski calling on him to "affirm all citizens' equality."
In his previous post as Warsaw mayor, Kaczynski sparked controversy for banning gay pride parades in 2004 and 2005, arguing that he opposed letting gays and lesbians openly "propagate" a homosexual lifestyle.
"Kaczynski opposed the right of lesbian and gay people to basic freedoms and equal respect," said Scott Long, director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Rights Program at Human Rights Watch. "As president, he will determine whether Poland protects rights or chips away at them. Europe is waiting for the answer."
The group cited several other cases of what it called "official homophobia."
These included Prime Minister Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz calling homosexuality "unnatural" in an October interview and saying that if a homosexual "tries to infect others with their homosexuality, then the state has to intervene in such an abuse of freedom," the group said.
"Since Lech Kaczynski was elected president ... homophobic rhetoric from members of his Law and Justice party has escalated," Human Rights Watch wrote in a statement.
Law and Justice, led by Kaczynski's twin brother Jaroslaw Kaczynski, won September parliamentary elections and now heads a minority government that is committed to maintaining the country's strict abortion laws and keeping gay marriage illegal. Lech Kaczynski won October presidential balloting and took office in December.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060216...h9vaA8F;_ylu=X3oDMTA5aHJvMDdwBHNlYwN5bmNhdA--