Thursday, November 21, 2013

Voice of Russia Lies About SF Gay Protests That Never Happened

(Russian gay youths after being bashed by police in riot gear as the activist attempted to assemble for a Pride event, June 30, 2013. Credit: Dmitry Lovetsky/AP)

Why let a little thing called the truth get in the way of spreading propaganda, when it comes to a conservative Russia media outlet chattering about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people? With President Vladimir Putin's government funding the Voice of Russia, don't expect actual facts to get in the way of pumping out the Kremlin line.

A radio interview and this teaser created by reporter Ric Young were posted November 20 to the Voice of Russia's site, with the headline "American gay rights protesters don’t understand the Russian law" from their Washington bureau:

Gay rights protesters demonstrate against Russian events in the US, but they don't really understand the Russian law that protects minors from homosexual propaganda. That's what VOR commentator and correspondent Dmitry Babich tells Host Ric Young. 

Babich also said that recent protests against Russian ships in San Francisco harbor celebrating Russia’s support for the American North during the civil war and against the famous Mariinsky opera and ballet from St. Petersburg were two examples of how the American Gay movement is misreading the Russian law and hurting US and Russia joint ventures.

There have been no demonstrations in San Francisco regarding the 150th anniversary of Russia's czar sending armaments to the Union side in our Civil War. As reported in October by RAI Novosti's Washington-based correspondent Maria Young with verifiable facts, Mayor Ed Lee and his staff used the potential of a protest by members of Gays Without Borders, something we were not privy to nor endorsed, to cancelled a planned commemoration.

Oh, and I'm not overlooking the Kremlin's outlet contention that American gays haven't a clue about the anti-gay propaganda law in Russia. We do know what we're talking about and Russian LGBT people are quite aware of the many devious and bloody ways the law is harming them.

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