Basic HTML Version
Touchline • Issue 16 • 39
“The athletes are staying out of it. They’ve worked their whole
lives for an Olympic Games and, if things happen outside of
your bubble, you let the right people deal with it and comment
on it.
“You’re focusing on your performance. Highlight the issue in
other ways, through political leaders.”
German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, who is himself
gay, mirrors this notion. “It would be wrong to leave the field
to those who are against tolerance and the protection of
minorities,” he said. His opinion is thought to reflect that
of German Chancellor Angela Merkell.
Within the GLBT community, there is a split concerning
the best way to counter the new laws. Some agree with
Fry and support a boycott, whereas others support a
more vocal reaction. Within this second opinion is the
theory that a boycott would be welcomed by Putin and
his cronies as the boycott would keep homosexuals away
from the Olympics. Attendance would not only highlight
the problem but would put it in the spotlight.
As quoted on CNN, openly gay figure skater Johnny Weir, who
is actually married to a Russian-American, is all for going to
the Olympics. “I’m quite well known in Russia, so my sheer
presence is a big statement against this anti-propaganda law,”
he told CNN.
Actually being present visualizes the problem. Nikolay Alekseev,
prominent GLBT activist and lawyer told one website that “We
think that the best solution for all this is to go and protest
during the Olympic Games, so that all the sportsmen can join
in and wear rainbow pins and talk about the issues during the
press conferences - so that the media reports about what is
going on in Russia.”
So it would seem that a boycott is not in the best interests of
the GLBT community. But there remain a couple of questions. Is
the creeping Russian homophobia a reality, and just how much
personal risk will these athletes be taking by attending the
Games?
Perhaps in an effort to head off the furore, the IOC asked for
assurances that gay and lesbian competitors would not be
discriminated against. The Russian authorities were adamant
that the laws would in no way hurt any international who
attends the games.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Kozak wrote: “The Russian
Federation guarantees the fulfillment of its obligations before
the International Olympic Committee in its entirety.
“In particular, legislation of the Russian Federation does not
stipulate any restrictions or differentiation of the rights and
responsibilities of citizens on the basis of sexual orientation.”
This declaration was seen as sufficient to the IOC, who now
have got no hesitation in allowing the games to go ahead in
Sochi.
Kozak’s comments were not entirely reflective of those spoken
earlier by Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko, who said no
concessions would be made to foreign athletes and visitors to
the Sochi Olympics.
“No one is forbidding
an athlete with non-
traditional sexual
orientation from coming
to Sochi, but if he goes
onto the street and starts
propagandizing it, then
of course he will be held
accountable,” Mutko said.
The vague menace of a
Russian official warning of “being held accountable” should
be enough to worry some athletes who may have been
considering a more vocal response during the games.
According to many reports, Russian homophobia has hardened
over the past few years, as a result of political pressures
making use of deep-seated prejudice. Putin has been accused
of trying to forge a new Russian identity, one that is aligned
with values that contrast with those of the west –read social
freedoms- and an alignment with the Russian Orthodox church.
State Duma MP Mikhail Degtyarev proposed a range of laws
that pertained to homosexuality in August. Among them is a
banning of gays from blood donating programs and a state
funded ‘ex,gay’ therapy program, which would enable GLBTs to,
according to Degtyarev, “return to a normal life and become
heterosexuals, as are 95 to 99 percent of our citizens.”
In August, Putin banned public protest in and around Sochi for
the duration of the games. This is clearly a pre-emptive move,
but is one that could provide some heated scenes. Should
an ’illegal’ protest take place, police will be empowered to
disperse the crowd using extreme measures, perhaps reflecting
the anti-government protests in Turkey in May. Already, there
are reports of Neo-Nazis attacking gay protesters in other
parades, and of police non-intervention, even of collusion. The
result of a Gay Pride protest in Sochi could be explosive.
The situation has created tension in sport, politics and
within the GLBT community. So much for the Olympics being
‘apolitical’.
I’m quite well known
in Russia, so my sheer
presence is a big
statement... ”