■ The "M4" Mayors (left to right) in London yesterday:  Bertrand Delanoë (Paris), Yuri Luzhkov (Moscow), Ken Livingston (London) and Klaus Wowereit (Berlin). photo courtesy GayRussia.ru

LONDON, March 1, 2007  –  Homosexuality is not a disease you catch, the mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoë, himself openly gay, told a press conference in London yesterday.

He was speaking at the end of the annual M4 “summit” of the mayors of Berlin, London, Moscow and Paris, who were joined this year at City Hall by the mayor of Beijing.  Equal rights and discrimination were part of the talks.

Mayor Delanoë was responding to remarks made by the Mayor of Moscow, Yuri Luzhkov, who was asked by Maria Tabak of the Russian RIA Novosti news agency if the mayors had raised the “controversial issues of gay parades in Moscow”.

Mayor Luzhkov made some short remark in Russian which was not translated by the official interpreter.

“How could we have avoided this subject,” replied Ms. Tabak.  “And why are you interested in this subject, Mayor? There was a lot discussed in the media.  First of all what you said about gay parades and also about what Mr. Livingstone said on the same issue.”

“We have a different position as far as gay parades,” Mayor Luzhkov said.  “We have different concerns – different opinions.  It’s enough, in terms of our understanding – we understand what is proposed by other mayors.

“I don’t know what the position is of the Mayor of Beijing.  My position is different from the three [other European mayors].

“We were talking about sexual minorities and when we discuss it, the states have different attitudes to this issue,” he continued.

“Specifically, in Russia, in 1993 – 14 years ago – the law was changed so sexual minorities were not prosecuted.

“We have a lot of gay clubs – we don’t know many citizens, for example, have this unusual sexual orientation.

“But the gay clubs are free to carry out their sexual activity.  What we say is that we are against propagating – we are against promoting.

“Like any other society, we want to protect ourselves from the promotion of alcohol and tobacco.  When we promote smoking, it’s bad – it’s wrong.

“But through the gay parade you promote some uncertainty, of course.  It becomes an invitation to acquire this quality of the sexual minorities. This is OK.  That is normal.

“Our view is that it is wrong and unusual.  Let the gay people do what they do.  But they should not involve the citizens of our country,” he concluded.

The Mayor of Paris said that the five mayors discussed municipal policies to combat discrimination.

“We had a debate on this is a very relaxed way.  Our differences in the way we see the situation were made with great respect for each other’s views – and in a peaceful and calm way.

“In terms of discrimination in general, we have to look at equality of rights.  That leaves us to combat every form of discrimination.

“You do not become homosexual – there is no risk of propaganda.  This is not a disease you catch at some point.

“It is somehow part of our identity.  Some of us have brown skin, some of us have fair skin, some of us have brown eyes, some of us have blue eyes.

“We are born heterosexual or homosexual.  And that is it.

A German correspondent, Jochen Hick, asked Mayor Luzhkov if the other mayors announced that they would be going to [Moscow Pride] in May would he allow the parade.

“I am not going to allow the gay parade,” Mayor Luzhkov replied.  “The final decision is taken by the court.  If the court makes the decision to allow the gay parade, then the participants are free to parade.  Last year, the court supported my decision and the gay parade didn’t take place.  If the gay parade is not allowed [by the court], that is according to the law.”

SEE ALSO

Gay Pride Parade Wars: Livingstone Attacks Tatchell and Alexeyev Attacks Livingstone.  London Mayor Ken Livingstone was yesterday accused of being “hypocritical” by gay Russian journalist Nikolai Alexeyev, one of the organisers of Moscow Pride, who is in London and attended the post-M4 Summit press conference.  (UK Gay News, March 1, 2007)