Oscar Wilde's grandson's letter to Putin

[Uncle Zoloft]

Merlin Holland

Dear President Putin,

I write to you as the grandson of a famous English writer, Oscar Wilde, and someone who will be taking part in the First IDAHO (International Day Against Homophobia) Conference this May in Moscow.

I was frankly shocked to hear from friends in Russia that TVC television channel has put out a news item on its ’Postscriptum’ programme about the first proposed Gay Pride march which is due to take place in Moscow in May at the same time as the IDAHO Conference. This was first transmitted in the evening of Saturday 4 Feb and repeated on Monday 6 February. It was apparently of an overtly homophobic nature and quite clearly intended to convince the Russian public that homosexuality is the affliction of a depraved and decadent minority in Western Europe, a minority whose aim is to cause trouble in Eastern Europe by marching for its human rights.

It is sad to think that the public media in Russia should take this blinkered attitude. Your country in the past has produced great works of art and literature and music, some of it indeed by those whose nature, like Tchaikowsky, was homosexual. It is nothing of which to be ashamed; it is not decadent and depraved; it is a part of human nature and has been since the dawn of civilization. It concerns me, too, that last July the mayor of Moscow, Yuri Luzhkov, publicly declared that he would ban peaceful demonstrations by sexual minorities, an act which would contravene both the Russian Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights.

Now that Russia is entering a new period in its history, a period which I believe most intelligent and clear-thinking Russians hope will be marked by tolerance and democratic values, it is surely counter-productive to single out a minority group for condemnation for its sexual polarity. Homosexuals are not terrorists; they are not murderers; they are not fanatics who take hostages to achieve their goals. They are simply human beings who are asking that their rights to normal lives be recognised.

I am not homosexual myself, but I am happy to add my voice to those raised in protest against homophobia; my grandfather was imprisoned in 1895 simply for being a homosexual and our family was almost destroyed as a result. That is why I am coming to Moscow in May to attend the IDAHO Conference, when I hope there will be a balanced media coverage of that event and the Gay Pride march, instead of the sensationalist and biased reporting recently put out by TVC. With the world’s spotlight on Russia hosting the G8 summit in summer it will be an important time for your media to show that they can behave in an internationally responsible fashion.

[xchrom]

1. very cool!