Reykjavík Grapevine - 05.05.2017, Page 14

Queer Rights
Activists Descend
On Russian
Embassy

Words: Elías Þórsson
Photo: Art Bicnick
NEWS Earlier this
week, queer rights
organisation Sam-
tökin 78 staged a
three-day demon-
stration outside the
Russian embassy in
Reykjavík to protest
the violent crack-
down on homosex-
uals in Chechnya.
In April, Rus-
sia n newspaper
Novaya Gazeta re-
ported that around
100 gay and bisex-
ual men had been
rounded up by po-
lice authorities and
that at least three had been killed.
“The British foreign minis-
try has confirmed that Ramzan
Kadyrov, the head of the Chechen
Republic, has said he wants to
eliminate homosexuality before
Ramadan starts on May 26,” said
Kittý Anderson, international
spokesperson for Samtökin 78.
The organisation is calling
for Icelandic authorities to put
pressure on their Russian coun-
terparts to begin a formal in-
vestigation and put an end to
anti-gay violence in the semi-au-
tonomous republic.
They have provided authori-
t ies w ith updates about the
situation and last month for-
eign minister Guðlaugur Þór
Þórðarsson called for an inves-
tigation into reports of violence.
“We are in direct contact with
the European queer rights organ-
isation ILGA-Europe and they have
been collecting donations to help
evacuate gay people from Chech-
nya,” Kittý said. “It is also vital
that an investigation gets under-
way about the situation. We fear
that if nothing is done it might
embolden other regions in Rus-
sia to commit similar atrocities.”
According to Kittý, Icelanders
can assist by donating to ILGA-
Europe in order to help with the
evacuation, but also by speaking
up. She claims that activists in
Russia follow international news
closely and that it is vital they
know “they haven’t been forgotten.”
The protest started with a
human chain outside the Rus-
sian embassy at Garðstræti 33,
and will culminate in a large
demonstration on the after-
noon of Friday, May 5 at 16:00.
“We want to encourage all Ice-
landers to show up,” she said.
“This protest is about more than
just queer rights. This is a chance
for all Icelanders to come to-
gether and show that we believe
in human rights and demand
they be upheld everywhere.”
14 The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 07 — 2017
Three protesters demonstrated in front of the
Russian embassy during the first week of May
Words: Paul Fontaine
Share this article: gpv.is/tc07
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“Ramzan Kady-
rov, head of
the Chechen
Republic, has
said he wants to
eliminate homo-
sexuality before
Ramadan.”