Its official theme is "Every Child A Gift: Large Families – The Future of Humanity", but in fact this congress will feature notorious top anti-LGBT activists, some of whom have contributed to the adoption of anti-LGBT laws in Russia (and, consequently, the surge in anti-gay hate crimes) and Uganda where the Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Act punishes gay people with a life imprisonment.
To stress the significance of religious fundamentalism and ultra-conservatism for contemporary Russia, the venues of the World Congress of Families will include the Congress Hall of the Kremlin, the Christ the Savior Cathedral, and the Russian Parliament (Duma).
The Congress will be opened by Russia's current president Vladimir Putin, Russian Orthodox leader Vladimir (Kirill) Gundyaev and Russian oligarchs Vladimir Yakunin and Konstantin Malofeev. The latter is known for providing financial support to pro-Russian right-wing extremists in Ukraine, and has recently convened, in Vienna, a secret meeting of Russian and European fascists and right-wing politicians and ideologues such as Aleksandr Dugin (International Eurasian Movement, Russia), Marion Maréchal-Le Pen and Aymeric Chauprade (National Front, France), Heinz-Christian Strache, Johann Gudenus and Johann Herzog (FPÖ, Austria) and Volen Siderov (Ataka, Bulgaria).
In October last year, anti-LGBT activists from ten countries already visited Moscow to plan World Congress of Families VIII.
(For some reason, the width of this photo - as featured in their official newsletter - is 666 pixels.)
IMPORTANT UPDATE: Thanks to the comments from the readers, I now know that:
Planning for World Congress of Families VIII – the Moscow Congress (scheduled for September 10-12, 2014) – has been suspended for the time being. The situation in the Ukraine and Crimea (and the resulting U.S. and European sanctions) has raised questions about travel, logistics, and other matters necessary to plan WCF VIII.
According to the WFC website, the VIII congress in Moscow has been suspended, the reasons being "The situation in the Ukraine and Crimea (and the resulting U.S. and European sanctions) has raised questions about travel, logistics, and other matters necessary to plan WCF VIII." Obviously, an aggression and annexation are not reasons enough for WFC to stop dealing with their friends in the Kremlin.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info!
DeleteWith the exception of Jobbik and Polish parties, European right-wing is not anti-LGBT at all. FN-VB-FPO-LN-PVV (the main allies of Putin) are not religious nor have in mind any anti-LGBT law. They even use LGBT rights as an argument against muslim immigration.
ReplyDeleteMore extreme far right parties/organisations in Europe are anti-LGBT, so it's not only Jobbik, Falanga, Polish National Movement (?), but also the British National Party, Forza Nuova, Ataka, etc. As for the National Front, there is a very strong group withing the FN that is anti-LGBT.
DeleteSeems that for many in Western Europe, the issue has become gay marriage while for Russians and perhaps Ukrainians, the struggle for LGBT is to avoid beatings and discrimination at an even-more basic level.
DeleteFor example the Le Pen family seems to be divided about gay marriage (http://goo.gl/9rNeaW) - but that is in France where homophobia is much lower than in Russia according to Pew survey (http://www.pewglobal.org/2013/06/04/the-global-divide-on-homosexuality/)