UK And US Ambassadors Stand With Polish LGBTIQ Community For IDAHOBIT
The UK and US ambassadors to Poland have used the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Intersexism and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT) to show their support for the country’s LGBTIQ community.
In recent months, Poland has become increasingly anti-LGBTIQ declaring one third of the country “LGBT free zones” among other policies.
The ruling Law And Justice party (PiS) have dubbed the LGBTIQ community as a threat to the country’s traditional values.
The British ambassador and staff who work at the embassy wear rainbow facemasks in a show of solidarity for the Polish LGBTIQ community.
In a statement, Jonathan Knott the British ambassador said, “We must not forget to continue protecting the values in which we believe.”
“While right now we all need to focus on fighting COVID-19, we must not forget to continue protecting the values in which we believe,” Knott said.
Knott went on to reaffirm the UK’s support for the Polish LGBTIQ community.
“On International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia, we reaffirm our support for efforts to raise public awareness of issues affecting the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) community, and pay tribute to the hard work of LGBTI people in Poland, the UK and around the world to ensure human rights and dignity for all,” Knott said.
“We continue to be committed to protecting all people from violence and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, and ensuring that every individual enjoys equal opportunities,” Knott said.
The US ambassador to Poland, Georgette Mosbacher, participated in a short video declaring support for the LGBTIQ community.
Joining Australia, Canada and New Zealand, Mosbacher held up a rainbow “equality for all” sign.
Mosbacher had the US embassy in Warsaw tweeted out the video, and then twice retweeted the clip from her own account. It should be noted that she later tweeted out praise for anti-gay former Pope John Paul II.
Poland, a largely Catholic nation, does not offer marriage equality and its politicians often use LGBTIQ people as election pawns.
Of even more concern, dozens of Polish municipalities passed resolutions condemning LGBTIQ “ideology,” with about one-third of the nation operating these so-called “LGBT-free zones.”
