Russia: Crimea tensions force American anti-gay group to cancel Moscow conference [View all]

[ProSense]

Russia: Crimea tensions force American anti-gay group to cancel Moscow conference

An American anti-gay group has been forced to suspend its plans to hold a conference in Russia this summer, due to tensions over Crimea.

The World Congress of Families, based in Illionois, was initially due to hold its next conference in Moscow in September.

The group, which has loudly supported the introduction of anti-gay laws in Russia and Uganda, claims to have enjoyed close ties with the Kremlin since 1995.

In a press release, the group said: “The situation in the Ukraine and Crimea (and the resulting U.S. and European sanctions) has raised questions about the travel, logistics, and other matters necessary to plan WCF.

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http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2014/03/25/russia-crimea-tensions-force-american-anti-gay-group-cancel-moscow-conference/

World Congress of Families Suspends Kremlin Summit, Still Supports Russia's Anti-Gay Crackdown
https://www.freespeech.org/text/world-congress-families-suspends-kremlin-summit-still-supports-russias-anti-gay-crackdown

Miranda Blue
People for the American Way

Two Russian Officials On Sanctions List Closely Involved In Upcoming World Congress Of Families Summit

Two Russian officials whose places in President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle have made them subject to US economic sanctions are also intimately involved in the upcoming World Congress of Families summit at the Kremlin, organized by the Illinois-based World Congress of Families and supported by a number of prominent US Religious Right groups.

It’s hardly a coincidence that two major backers of the summit would end up on the sanctions list. As we have reported, Putin and his allies have leaned on social conservative causes, especially opposition to gay rights, to solidify support at home and provoke anti-EU hostility in Ukraine. It’s not surprising that the World Congress of Families summit, which brings together anti-gay and anti-choice groups from around the world, has proved a popular cause among some of the Russian president’s greatest allies.

Yelena Mizulina, a member of parliament who was the force behind Russia’s infamous “gay propaganda” ban, was among the seven Russian officials on whom the White House imposed economic sanctions last Monday. Mizulina has worked closely with the organizers of the upcoming World Congress of Families summit: She joined an organizing meeting for the event in October and is scheduled to lead a panel discussion on “pro-family legislation” at the conference.

Mizulina has made no secret of the fact that her focus on opposing gay rights is closely intertwined with her interest in distancing Russia from the United States and the European Union. At an event in Moscow in June, which was also attended by the National Organization for Marriage’s Brian Brown, Mizulina framed Russia’s crackdown on gay rights as a battle between Russia’s protection of “traditional family identity” and a decadent Europe that has embraced “sexual minorities”:

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https://www.freespeech.org/text/two-russian-officials-sanctions-list-closely-involved-upcoming-world-congress-families-summit

How Obama Crippled a Russian Bank with a Stroke of a Pen
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024708736