Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-01-18-Speech-2-654-000"
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"en.20110118.24.2-654-000"2
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"Madam President, my colleague, Mrs in ’t Veld, has already explained what the resolution is about and referred to it and I strongly agree with the question she put to you, Commissioner: what about a road map for LGBT rights in this common European Union?
But I would like to take a different angle to hopefully convince those in this Parliament who have not yet decided on voting in favour of this resolution. You know what? Last summer, four Members of the European Parliament, Mrs in ’t Veld, myself, Mr Cashman and Mr Fjellner, representing four groups, the majority of this Parliament, were in Vilnius, in Lithuania, together with the first Baltic Pride to be held in Vilnius, empowering and supporting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in this city and we were there under the European flag telling everybody, ‘this flag protects us, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, and that is true also for Lithuania’.
Now, what would happen to us and to Lithuanians who next year might go marching in favour of our equal rights in Vilnius if this law is adopted in the Seimas? Each one of us could be fined up to EUR 2 900 for publicly promoting sexual orientation – meaning homosexuality in this case, because I guess for heterosexuality that does not apply. Is that really what this Parliament would want? Is that what the Parliament of Lithuania would want, the parliament of a country which, 20 years ago, struggled for its own freedom, with lesbians and gays among the people struggling for that freedom?
So I am very happy that the President of Lithuania, Mrs Grybauskaitė, former Commissioner, and the government of Lithuania, have already said that this proposed law contravenes Lithuania’s obligations under its own constitution. I hope it will be clear that different forms of sexuality, of sexual orientation, of forms of living, have been part of all cultures and of all societies and are so in Lithuania, as well, and that hiding facts like that from the public, from young people, is simply a basis for inciting hatred, hate speech and hate crimes. That is something that I think nobody in this Parliament or in the Lithuanian parliament would want.
Therefore, I hope that we will have the support of this Parliament and of the Commissioner for the resolution. We do not need your support, but I hope we have it."@en1
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