Moscow mayor outlaws May Day gay events
The Moscow mayor's office said on Wednesday it would not allow gay pride marches -- previously broken up by ultra-nationalists -- to take place on this year's May Day holiday.
The announcement came as a gay rights leader said he planned events throughout May to highlight the repression of sexual minorities in Russia.
"The council will act decisively and uncompromisingly to prevent attempts to hold such events because society is overwhelmingly opposed to the gay lifestyle and philosophy," council spokesman Sergei Tsoi was quoted by Interfax as saying, in comments confirmed to AFP by a member of his staff.
"It is a matter of surprise and indignation that gays plan to carry out unsanctioned gatherings in various parts of Moscow during the Festival of Peace and Work," Tsoi said, referring to May 1, one of the most important Soviet-era holidays.
He said the council was taking into account threats of violence made by radical Orthodox and other anti-gay groups.
"There could be bloodshed and no one wants that," Tsoi said.
Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov has been an outspoken opponent of gay pride marches, referring to them once as "Satan's work."
An unsanctioned parade on May 27 last year, the anniversary of the abolition of a Soviet law that criminalised homosexuality, ended with ultra-nationalists throwing eggs and punching and kicking gay activists.
The leader of the pressure group Gay Russia, Nikolai Alexeyev, said the group planned to apply for permission to hold five events a day throughout May in various parts of Moscow.
"This is not a question of security. It is only a question of the personal hatred of the Moscow mayor towards gay people," Alexeyev told AFP.
He added that the events would not resemble the flamboyant carnival atmosphere synonymous with such marches in Western cities.
"If everyone sees that these people are not nude or wearing make-up... there will be many questions about why this event was banned," he said.