in:
Marcus Urban
Germany's first openly gay professional footballer has called on Chancellor Angela Merkel to denounce Anti-Gay Laws in Ukraine during the Euro 2012 football championships.
Marcus Urban, a former East German footballer who played for second division team Rot-Weiß Erfurt in the 1990s, came out as a gay man at a time when being a gay footballer was almost unheard of. He is urging Angela Merkel to use the Euro 2012 championships to denounce human rights violations and the anti-gay crackdowns happening now in Ukraine.
Olena Shevchenko, chair of the Ukranian LGBT orgnisations 'Insight' said:
"We just learned that the anti-gay law is now scheduled for vote in two weeks."
The new law will make it illegal for anyone in Ukraine to say the word 'gay' in public. This anti-gay law - Law 8711 - is presently advancing through the Ukrainian Parliament, with no public opposition from the highest level of the Ukrainian authorities.
The letter from Marcus Urban and signed by almost 20,000 members of the campaigning website 'All Out' reads:
"Chancellor Merkel, as Ukraine's key trade partner, you should give Yanukovych a 'red card' by refusing to attend this month's Euro Cup and strongly urge him to denounce the laws in his Parliament that want to make saying 'gay' illegal."
To view the signatures and comments from signers view:
Andre Banks co-founder of AllOut.org, said:
"Germany is a key partner for the Ukraine within the European Union and has a huge influence on the country".
"If Chancellor Angela Merkel follows the lead of French officials and also boycotts Euro 2012, it will make headlines everywhere and pressure Yanukovych to finally denounce the laws in his Parliament that want to make saying 'gay' illegal."
72,000 people have joined All Out in urging the President of Ukraine to denounce these laws in a full advert page published in the Kiyv Post last Friday.
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