Experts call for steps to support the LGBTI+ minority
They call on experts and activists in the field of minority rights, who formulated their demands to the government and parliament in public appeals. The initiator of the document is the Matej Bel Institute. Representatives of national, ethnic, linguistic and religious minorities also condemned the murder for the statement.
According to the authors of the call, the Parliament should withdraw the draft legislation from the non-classified deputies Štefan and Filip Kuffa, “who took the idea from Viktor Orbán to abuse the concept of child protection in an attempt to limit the rights of the LGBTI+ minority”. According to the activists, MPs should fill the position of public defender of rights without further delay, “since he can significantly contribute to better protection against discrimination”.
Both the Slovak government and the parliament should take steps to equalize the rights of minorities in Slovakia with an emphasis on the LGBTI+ community, including the established institute of cohabitation for all persons. At the same time, the document calls on political elites to avoid further polarizing the public through intolerant rhetoric towards minorities.
“Strong statements in the hours after the murder are important, but they are not enough by themselves. Signatories are people who have warned the public until now, which can cause tension between citizens,” Ábel Ravasz, the president of the Mateja Bela Institute, said in a statement.
In addition to the statement from the workshop of the Matej Bel Institute, representatives of minorities are also called to action. “Slovakia must be the homeland of all those who have decided to live in it, they must be a community of equal and equal citizens. Their specific culture, religion, worldview, sexual orientation or the languages they speak, because none of them are excluded from society.” stated the authors of the statement, who also expressed their sincere condolences to the survivors of the victims and the entire LGBTI+ community.
In addition to individuals, the Central Union of Jewish Religious Communities in the Slovak Republic, the Slovak Union of Supplicants, eduRoma and other institutions representing the Roma community, as well as the Thália Színház Theatre, the Jókai Theater in Komárne and the Ifjú Szivek Dance Theater signed the statement.
In the center of Bratislava on Zámocká Street, a shooting occurred on Wednesday (October 12) in front of a business that caters to the LGBTI+ community. Two men died on the spot. One woman was injured. The perpetrator fled the scene. Police found him dead the next morning. The case is being investigated by the National Crime Agency.
Authors:
TASR, shift