President Obama to Meet with LGBT Russians During G20 Summit

By Melanie Nathan, September 02, 2013.

Pic by: Bill Wilson
Pic by Bill Wilson

Buzzfeed is reporting that President Obama will be meeting with Russian LGBT activists while in Russia. The President had cancelled a bilateral summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin while there for the G20 summit. I agree with Buzfeed that Obama may anger the Kremlin further by meeting with Russian activists — including from LGBT groups. It is my hope that the President, however sticks to his plans:

Buzzfeed notes:

Following his cancellation of a bilateral meeting with President Vladimir Putin, U.S. President Barack Obama may infuriate the Kremlin further by meeting Russian human rights activists, including LGBT rights groups, during his upcoming trip to St Petersburg for the G20 summit.

Four Russian non-governmental organizations told BuzzFeed Monday they had been invited to the meeting, scheduled for this Thursday at St. Petersburg’s Crowne Plaza Hotel. The groups include veteran human rights activists Lev Ponomarev and Lyudmila Alexeyeva, legal aid NGO director Pavel Chikov, and Coming Out, a St. Petersburg-based LGBT organization. Another local LGBT group, the LGBT Network, is believed to be attending, though director Igor Kochetkov declined to comment to BuzzFeed, saying that he had been “asked not to say anything.”……..

Obama’s trip to Russia for a summit of the Group of 20 industrialized nations comes amid a deep rift between the US and Russia, not least over the countries’ competing stances on Syria. Obama was due to hold a one-on-one meeting with Putin in Moscow before heading to the summit, but abruptly called that off last month in the wake of deteriorating relations and Russia’s sheltering of NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden. Putin has repeatedly accused members of Russia’s civil society as being in the pay of the U.S. State Department.

Thursday’s meeting is not unique or unprecedented. Obama met with civil society and opposition activists during his last visit to Russia in 2009. George W. Bush met with NGOs during the G8 summit in 2006.

It is believed to be the first time Obama has met with members of the Russian LGBT community. Asked about Russia’s anti-LGBT law in August, Obama told Jay Leno that he had “no patience for countries that try to treat gays or lesbians or transgender persons in ways that intimidate them or are harmful to them.”

According to U.S. Embassy representative did not return several requests for comment.

Another source confirmed to OBLOGDEE that indeed the President will be meeting with the LGBT activists. This is at a time when the majority of Russians are supporting the Anti-Propaganda law, legislation signed by Putin into law this past June.  It is widely believed that the signing of the law has caused heightened anti-gay sentiment in Russia, providing further license to vigilante groups to continue to kidnap, assault, torture and out Russian gay teens on Russian social media.

There have been numerous suicides as a result of the trauma of these outings and over a two year period the number is estimated to exceed 400.

The new anti-propaganda law caused the recent detention of Dutch tourists as well as the arrest of a Russian who has been charged under the law.

International activists are staging actions to coincide with the G20 Summit. A large protest is being planned in the United Kingdom. To the best of my knowledge nothing has yet be planned by U.S. Advocacy groups for actions in the U.S.A.  to coincide with the G20 summit. There is nothing on HRC’s BLOG or website about the President’s visit or any actions planned to support LGBT Russians to coincide with the G20 Summit. Most of the U.S.A. protests have ben organized by small grassroots groups who do not have any funding. These protests have occurred outside Russian Consuls, San Francisco City Hall, and have called for boycotts of Russian vodka, removal of the Winter Olympics from Sochi Russia and also a controversial action calling for dialogue between San Francisco activists in the Castro and the Russian Orthodox Church, St. Nicholas, which is housed in the Castro .

Contact Melanie Nathan
[email protected]

@melanienathan1

https://oblogdeeoblogda.me/2013/08/27/putins-anti-gay-law-causes-shocking-beware-of-homosexuals-notice/

https://oblogdeeoblogda.me/2013/08/26/the-russian-orhtodox-church-provides-an-official-and-shameful-response-to-castro-lgbt-protests/

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2 thoughts on “President Obama to Meet with LGBT Russians During G20 Summit

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