EU Consuls in Petersburg: Tourists Fear to Visit the City
In a joint letter the consuls of EU countries have informed the Saint-Petersburg authorities about their views on anti-gay discriminatory laws adopted in the northern capital of Russia, i.e. the amendments to the regional Administrative Code that implemented fines for the so-called "Homopropaganda" among adolescents.
"Tourists from Europe start to consult their diplomatic missions because they fear to visit Petersburg", cites Radio Echo of Moscow in Saint-Petersburg the words of Benedict Haller, the Consul General of Germany in Saint-Petersburg as saying. "The adopted law has stumbled on the incomprehension from Germany and other EU states. We get a lot of questions from tourists and those people who want to visit Saint-Petersburg - they ask questions because they believe that sexual minorities are banned from visiting this city. Certainly we are trying to explain the real things but this situation has already negatively affected the image of Petersburg...", said Mr.Haller.
He stressed that EU consulshave already expressed their united position in a joint letter to the local authorities. "We have had and continue to have continuous talks with Saint-Petersburg authorities". According to Mr. Haller, consuls consider that "some decision" would be made, but up to now the Russian authorities have not responded in anyway.
For reference: Earlier the Russian Foreign Ministry has accused the Governments of the US, UK, France and other countries that had expressed their concerns with anti-gay laws adopted in Russia, "of meddling with the Russian domestic affairs". "We seek to protect our society from homopropaganda and this recurrently frays EU's nerves. These attempts, I believe, go beyond the universally recognized values...", said the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, in his interview for "Commersant FM" Radio in March 2012. According to him, Russia refuses to consider the LGBT rights issue within the framework of the Unversal Human Rights concept. He has called the issue of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transsexual rights as "the make-weight to the universal values".
English translation presented by Yerdna Bananes
"Tourists from Europe start to consult their diplomatic missions because they fear to visit Petersburg", cites Radio Echo of Moscow in Saint-Petersburg the words of Benedict Haller, the Consul General of Germany in Saint-Petersburg as saying. "The adopted law has stumbled on the incomprehension from Germany and other EU states. We get a lot of questions from tourists and those people who want to visit Saint-Petersburg - they ask questions because they believe that sexual minorities are banned from visiting this city. Certainly we are trying to explain the real things but this situation has already negatively affected the image of Petersburg...", said Mr.Haller.
He stressed that EU consulshave already expressed their united position in a joint letter to the local authorities. "We have had and continue to have continuous talks with Saint-Petersburg authorities". According to Mr. Haller, consuls consider that "some decision" would be made, but up to now the Russian authorities have not responded in anyway.
For reference: Earlier the Russian Foreign Ministry has accused the Governments of the US, UK, France and other countries that had expressed their concerns with anti-gay laws adopted in Russia, "of meddling with the Russian domestic affairs". "We seek to protect our society from homopropaganda and this recurrently frays EU's nerves. These attempts, I believe, go beyond the universally recognized values...", said the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, in his interview for "Commersant FM" Radio in March 2012. According to him, Russia refuses to consider the LGBT rights issue within the framework of the Unversal Human Rights concept. He has called the issue of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transsexual rights as "the make-weight to the universal values".
English translation presented by Yerdna Bananes
