Stop anti-LGBT+ attacks by government, church & far right extremists
London, UK – 24 August 2019
Over 100 British and Polish LGBTs and allies rallied outside the Embassy of Poland in London on Saturday afternoon, 24 August, in a show of support for the beleaguered LGBT+ community in Poland.
“We stand in solidarity with the LGBT+ community in Poland. It is under sustained attack by the right-wing government, Catholic church and far right extremists,” said Peter Tatchell of the human rights organisation, the Peter Tatchell Foundation, who attended the vigil.
“There have been violent attacks on Pride parades and ‘LGBT-free zone’ stickers have flooded the country. Already 30 towns, cities and provinces have declared themselves to ‘LGBT ideology-free.’ Schools that introduced LGBT-inclusive lessons were forced to cancel them on the orders of the education minister. The leader of the ruling party has warned that LGBT+ people are an ‘attack on the family and children’ and a ‘threat to Polish identity, to our nation, to its existence and thus to the Polish state.’ According to the Archbishop of Krakow, a ‘rainbow plague’ is sweeping across Poland. In this toxic atmosphere, opinion polls show that public acceptance of LGBT+ people is declining.
“We urge the Polish government to respect the human rights of its LGBT+ citizens, in accordance with the equality and non-discrimination clauses of the Polish constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights, which Poland has signed and pledged to uphold. If the Polish government refuses to do so, the EU should apply sanctions on its political leaders. There should be no tolerance of intolerance,” he said.