CoE Ministers: Vilnius cannot ban rallies by sexual minorities (10)

A European ministers' forum has said public rallies by Lithuanian sexual minorities groups cannot be quashed simply because some people are prejudiced against their choice of lifestyle, the Lietuvos Rytas daily reported Thursday.

The Strasbourg-based Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe made the statement after hearing a complaint against Vilnius mayor Juozas Imbrasas by a lawmaker from Luxembourg, according to the newspaper.

Jean Huss, a member of the CoE's Parliamentary Assembly, accused Imbrasas of stifling the freedom of expression of sexual minorities groups in Lithuania.

According to the newspaper, Huss pointed to three instance of discrimination by Imbrasas: his support for bus drivers who chose to walk off the job rather than drive trolley buses decked out in ads encouraging acceptance of sexual minorities; his cancelling of the stopover in Vilnius of a touring EU-sponsored sexual minority rights information campaign; and his ban on the flying of a rainbow flag in a public square in Vilnius.

Imbrasas has also suggested that gay rights demonstrations be held as private indoor gatherings.

Referring to homosexuals, Imbrasas has said he is not "ready to accept such relationships," which earned him the "statement of the year" prize at Lithuania's Golden Onion awards held on April 1, an annual televised ceremony where public figures are lambasted for their gaffes.

Lietuvos Rytas reported that strongly worded messages have been sent by Strasbourg to Lithuania's foreign ministry, which has handed them on to Imbrasas.

"Changing something is not within our grasp. I don't know how to influence them (the mayor's office)," the daily quoted a foreign ministry official as having said.

Imbrasas, who has been the mayor of Vilnius since April, 2007, is a member of the Order and Justice Party which most Lithuanian media describe as "populist".

The Committee of Ministers comprises 47 permanent representatives who stand in for the foreign ministers of the CoE's member states.

The Committee, according to its web page, "is both a governmental body, where national approaches to problems facing European society can be discussed on an equal footing, and a collective forum, where Europe-wide responses to such challenges are formulated."