The Lithuanian GLBT community suffers discrimination

VILNIUS – After years of repression by former Vilnius mayor Juozas Imbrasas, who was thrown out of office in February, new Mayor Vilius Navickas has shown little improvement in the eyes of the gay community after he said he wouldn’t condone a Gay Pride parade in the center of town. Navickas, the new conservative Mayor

Lithuania’s EU Commissioner denies she is a lesbian

A leading Euro politician has responded to speculation about her personal life. Dalia Grybauskaite is the EU Commissioner for Financial Planning and Budgets. Yesterday she confirmed that she will be a candidate for President of her homeland, Lithuania, in May’s elections. She was asked as part of an online Q&A with a Lithuanian website about

Complaint from the Lithuanian Gay League accepted for hearing

09.01.2009 5:09 p.m. Vilnius County administrative court (VCAC) accepted a complaint from the Lithuanian Gay League (LGL) regarding overruling the decision of the Equal Opportunities Ombudsman’s Service (EOOS) and obligating it to hear the complaint anew. In November of last year the EOOS decided not to examine the complaint of the Lithuanian Gay League and

Beyond the pink curtain

The death of Communism in Europe brought renewed freedom for millions in the East and although homosexuality has been legalised, homophobia remains entrenched as an institutional practice in this part of the world. Previous films have documented the problems of the region. They describe a Pink Curtain in place of the Iron Curtain and show

An Open Letter to President Barack Obama

On the occasion of his inauguration, 20 January 2009 From Peter Tatchell British and international LGBTI human rights campaigner, and human rights spokesperson for the Green Party of England and Wales Dear President Barack Obama, Congratulations on the occasion of your inauguration. On this special day, the hopes of billions of people across our precious

On 14 January the European Parliament adopted a report on the “Situation of fundamental rights in the European Union 2004-2008”, drafted by Italian MEP Giusto Catania. The report asks Member States and the European Institutions to adopt recommendations made by the Fundamental Rights Agency on homophobia as a matter of urgency. In addition, the Parliament

Speech by Mr Maxime Verhagen at UN on human rights and sexual orientation

Ladies and gentlemen, I am delighted to be here. I would like to thank the French Minister of State for Human Rights, Ms Rama Yade, for co-hosting this event with us and for her inspiring words. The statement on human rights, sexual orientation and gender identity that was [will be] delivered in the General Assembly

Statement to UN General Assembly condemns discrimination of LGBT people

On 18 December 2008, in New York, the UN General Assembly was presented with a statement endorsed by 66 states from around the world calling for an end to discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The statement, read out by the UN Representative for Argentina Jorge Arguello, condemns violence, harassment, discrimination, exclusion, stigmatisation,

Šarūnas Birutis, a member of European Parliament from Lithuania, outraged by photographs of gays at the European Parliament. He states that sexual minorities conduct ‘aggressive policy’. “Sexual minorities lobbyists are particularly actively working at the European Parliament with an aim of legalising child adoption by same-sex couples” a statement distributed by the Euro parliamentarian’s office

The first ever Baltic Pride will take place in Riga May 15 – 17, 2009

In May next year three organisations from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania will organise the first ever joint Pride event in Riga. The Pride event is aimed at drawing attention to the situation for LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) people in the three Baltic countries and encouraging people of different sexual orientation to celebrate diversity

“Tolerant” Lithuanians avoid facing the “different” – poll

Five percent of Lithuanians admit to being intolerant, but only less than one third would be able to work and communicate with other foreigners, homosexuals or disabled, shows the poll by Center of Public Opinion and Market Research Vilmorus. Specialists explain this phenomenon as “hidden intolerance” – when a person thinks and claims to be

Lithuanian minister admits national homophobia problem

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Petras Vaitiekunas told the national parliament Monday that the country’s reputation for homophobia was justified. “This is true: Lithuania is one of the most homophobic countries in the EU. This has to be viewed as a fact,” Vaitiekunas said in response to a parliamentary question from Member of Parliament Ausrine Marija Pavilioniene.