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The New York Times
Hungarians Test
Eastern Europe's Gay Taboo
By REUTERS, from
nytimes.com on the Web, July 25, 2007
BUDAPEST -- "I am Gabor Szetey.
A faithful Hungarian-European. Citizen, public official, member of the
government. And gay."
Of all the arenas in which a senior government politician could come out,
Szetey's choice -- two days before a Gay Pride march earlier this month in
post-communist eastern Europe -- was one of the most defiant.
Hungary's Secretary of State for Human Resources risked hostility because he
wanted to highlight persistent intolerance, not just of gay people, but also of
other minorities, in eastern Europe.
After decades under communist rule when homosexuality was banned or simply out
of sight, most east Europeans still find it hard to accept. The lack of
tolerance has been coupled with a surge in nationalism in some parts of the
region.
"I think my coming out took so long partly because I was 22 in 1990," Szetey
told Reuters. He blamed the communist regime -- which collapsed in 1989 in
Hungary -- for the fact many still keep their homosexuality secret.
"Until I turned 22, I thought I was an alien."
Only the Czech Republic and Slovenia have legalized registered same-sex
partnerships, none of the former communist states allow same-sex marriages, and
some have no laws protecting sexual minorities from discrimination.
"This is a very serious issue for this region," said Szetey, who lived in New
York and Buenos Aires before coming home and taking the government post last
year. "Dealing with all minorities, be it ethnic minorities ... or the
whole Jewish issue, or the gay issue."
Two days after his speech, participants of the annual Budapest Gay Pride parade
were pelted with eggs and only a heavy police presence prevented violence as
about 200 mostly far-right demonstrators protested against it.
"I was not afraid because the police were there, lots of police, but when they
disappeared and three steps from me these people shouted 'dirty faggot', well
that was scary," said Andras Varkonyi, 28, a psychology graduate.
SIN
"There is still quite a serious lack of understanding not only in the political
elite but also in general society," said Juris Lavrikovs, communications officer
of the European section of the International Lesbian and Gay Association.
Although homosexuality is now legal in neighboring Romania, which joined the EU
this year, many people accept the powerful Orthodox church's view of
homosexuality as a sin and a disease.
Thousands were jailed in Romania during the rule of communist dictator Nicolae
Ceausescu after a 1968 ban.
In June police detained dozens of protesters as hundreds tried to break up a gay
rights march in Bucharest.
In strongly Roman Catholic Croatia, only few homosexuals have come out and most
still lead a double life.
Poland has come under fire from EU lawmakers, who singled it out in a resolution
condemning homophobia in the 27-nation bloc.
The nationalist League of Polish Families party, a junior coalition partner in
the cabinet, has proposed a law to sack teachers who promote a "homosexual
lifestyle" and wants a law banning "homosexual propaganda" in schools.
When asked how he would react if someone in the government came out as gay Roman
Giertych, Poland's deputy prime minister, leader of the party and minister of
education told Reuters:
"I would react with joy, on the condition that the person was not in my party."
LONG WAY TO GO
Hungary still has far to go in giving gay relationships equal rights: a
Eurobarometer survey showed last year that while 52 percent of Czechs agreed
that same-sex marriages should be allowed in Europe, in Hungary this number was
only 18 percent.
In a further protest at discrimination, two Hungarian lesbian women on July 14
held an unofficial marriage ceremony by the Danube river in Budapest.
The junior Hungarian coalition party, the liberal Free Democrats, has proposed a
bill to allow same-sex marriages which may lead to a compromise by allowing
registered same-sex partnerships, as in the Czech Republic.
"I really opened up in New York where Gay Pride meant that several hundreds of
thousands of people marched: it was a carnival, a huge party where
families joined with their kids to have fun and educate their kids about
tolerance," Szetey said.
"I will be the happiest if I don't have to speak about this issue any more.
If I have to, I will."
(Additional reporting by Agnieszka Flak in Warsaw, Radu
Marinas in Bucharest and Igor Ilic in Zagreb)
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