Wednesday, 22 May 2013

Klaus receives calendar with messages on sexual minorities

ČTK |
4 October 2012

Prague, Oct 3 (CTK) - Czech President Vaclav Klaus Wednesday received a calender, counting his remaining days in office, with photographs of people who disagree with his negative stance on sexual minorities.

His second and last five-year term in office expires on March 7, 2013.

The calender was passed on to the Presidential Office by Ales Rumpel, director of the Mezipatra festival of queer films, and other organisers.

In reaction to the appeal "Tell It to Klaus," which the Mezipatra festival released on Facebook, about 100 people sent their photographs with messages for the president.

The calendar includes, for instance, the following messages: "Mr President, I am a woman and my baby will have two mothers." "I am a lesbian. So what?" and "Homosexuality does not cause global warming."

"The president and his aides often talk about us. They are sending messages to our families, for example, that we are deviants. So we, too, have decided to send a message to the president to show what we think as individuals about whom he often speaks and who do not have such space in the media as he," the projects'author Jiri Markvart said.

Last year, Klaus criticised the fact that the Prague Pride festival of sexual minorities was held under the aegis of the Prague City Hall.

In connection with the event, he used the word "homosexualism" that must be struggled against.

Klaus also opposed the legalisation of registered partnership of same sex couples. He vetoed the respective bill, but the lower house outvoted his veto by the narrowest possible majority. The law came into force in July 2006.

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