Posted on 10/03/2001 9:59:43 PM PDT by kattracks
Gay rights are not high on the agenda in Romania, not even where American diplomats are concerned, writes Kate Connolly The fact that the sexual orientation of Michael Guest, America's new ambassador to Romania, triggered such banner headlines, illustrates just how far many Romanians have to go before they accept even the concept of homosexuality, let alone having gay people in their midst. A nationalist group, the Union of the Romanian Hearth, which claims to protect Romanian values, criticised the appointment as an "affront to Romanian traditions". In a letter to the daily Ziua, in which he addressed America, the group's head, Ion Coja wrote: "Through tradition and vocation, Romanians have created a society ... and mentality which puts duty and obligations above anything. The supreme duty of any living being is to procreate." In contrast, most politicians have welcomed the ambassador. They are keen to court the Nato expert who may well speed their entry into the military alliance. Denouncements on homosexuality could jeopardise Romania's chances of joining the European Union and Nato, and leading politicians have been keen to point this out to heads of the Orthodox church who continue to speak out against such "evils". Romania was one of the last countries to legalise homosexuality and to - theoretically - end discrimination against gays and lesbians. In 1994 the country was praised for taking what seemed to be the first step towards establishing a more tolerant attitude towards homosexuality as the constitutional court suspended the communist-era legislation under which homosexual acts were prohibited. It suggested new legislation should be drafted to bring Romania in line with the recommendations of the European Convention on Human Rights. But in 1996, parliament adopted an even more draconian law. Even if practised in private, homosexuality was a crime. Marian Cetiner was the first person to be imprisoned under the new legislation and suffered police brutality and abuse during the two years of a three-year sentence she spent in jail. She was adopted as one of Amnesty International's prisoners of conscience, and protests were triggered around the world. In London protesters stormed the stage of a production of Aida by the Romanian National Opera, a government-sponsored body. In the Netherlands gay rights protesters jeered the Romanian president. Since then, as part of a general overhaul of its crime-fighting legislation, Romania has decriminalised homosexuality, adopting the French legal model. How much the government is just doing this to appease the western clubs it's so desperate to join, and how much the new legislation reflects a new, tolerant society, remains open to examination. Gay rights activists are not optimistic, but at least admit that if the elected representatives of the country have said it's tolerable, slowly the message might filter down. But you do not change a population's entire system of belief over night. That is evident across the region. A Sky television crew in Belgrade this spring to cover events as Slobodan Milosevic was sent to the Hague, happened to find themselves in a city square just as gay rights activists were marching through. As if out of nowhere, a band of thugs descended on the group, knocked them to the ground and started beating up both men and women. The reporter, Tim Marshall, said what appalled him most was not so much the attack as the people sitting in the cafes around the square who laughed and chortled at the spectacle. In Poland things are only mildly better. The rightwing Solidarity bloc government which enjoyed the overwhelming support of the Catholic church, used to openly denounce homosexuality as an "illness" requiring medical treatment - a view that surveys show is supported by one third of Poles. Towards the end of its governing days, playing that card was also seen as an effective way for the conservatives to boost their flagging popularity. As a combined result of decades of communism and the influence of the church, only 27% of Poles express tolerance towards gays, while 88% say they don't know anyone who's gay. In July a survey by the Warsaw-based Lamda lesbian and gay association found that three quarters of Polish homosexuals are unwilling to come out. It also said that gays were not infrequently denied medical attention if they revealed their sexual orientation. It called on the government to introduce legislation to ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Whether the two-week-old government, the Alliance of the Democratic Left, will act on this remains to be seen. The message from its central office was simply: "We're looking at some sort of 'don't ask, don't tell policy'." And then the spokesman added quickly: "Of course, we'll quash any legal charges against gays."
Wednesday October 3, 2001
No sooner had he got off the plane at Otopeni airport in Bucharest than the newspapers were trumpeting the news: "American ambassador is homosexual!"
Actually, my Bible says God loves everyone. Although I don't pretend to speak for God, the Bible does say God loves all of his children. Maybe you have an updated version that I haven't read yet.
And you suggest that I'm the one who's ranting?
Let me ask you... Is your life going to be made better by that fact that with this ambassadorial appointment, we've offended many in Romania?
Take a look at the map. Your condescending and dismissive crack about "a former eastern bloc country" notwithstanding, we really don't need to make any more enemies in the region between the Balkans and Turkey.
It's that story with fire from heavan in the updated version with the Old Testament.
They want to keep AIDS/HIV down. It is practically non-existent in their country.One in 325 is infected with the virus in the United States, one in 3.200 is infected in Romania.
It's not toleration, it's minding one's business. When we're going to war, why are these issues blown out of proportion? Geez
Hehehe…
Wow, when you make an ass out of your self, you go all the way, don’t you? You might try learning the correct definitions of words before you start throwing them around in public.
A bigot is one who is intolerant of race, politics or religion; it has nothing to do with behavior or an act. Homophobes/homophobia is the result of repressed homosexual urges that the person is either unaware of or denies. Those that simply find perversion to be filthy behavior certainly don’t have “repressed homosexual urges”, although you can pretend they do if it helps you justify the baseness and repugnance of certain individuals.
Amazing the type of pressure used to force acceptance of homos. Oh, and nice slam on the Church...
A shot at the Rightwing, and a shot at the Catholic Church (with a hinting of collusion between them) and a shot at conservatives.
Someone earned their keep.
Why bother with an ambassador in Romania if he will not be accepted or respected? Why aggitate these people?
Frankly, I'm quite sick of being forced to accept the "flavor of the week" and I know others are as well. If Romania wants to outlaw homos, all the power to them- not our problem.
Rush, even when awake, has been such a cheerleader for the Bush Administration on several other questionable issues, that it makes one think if he really cares about Bush appointing an open homosexual to a prominent position.
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