LONDON, August 10 (Itar-Tass) - British Prime Minister David Cameron rejected the idea of boycotting the Winter Olympic Games in the Russian Black Sea resort city of Sochi in 2014.
His office confirmed to ITAR-TASS on Saturday, August 10, that the prime minister was against boycotting the Sochi Olympics and had clearly stated his position on this issue.
In a letter to Cameron and members of the International Olympic Committee this past Wednesday, August 7, actor Stephen Fry said that being gay himself he condemned the latest Russian laws that restrict homosexual propaganda and called for moving the Olympic Games from Sochi to a place outside of Russia.
Cameron replied on Twitter that he shared Fry’s “deep concern about the abuse of gay people in Russia” but said that in his opinion “we can better challenge prejudice as we attend, rather than boycotting the Winter Olympics.”
There will be no infringements upon the rights of sexual minorities before, during or after the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak said on the same day Fry posted his letter.
“There will be no infringements based on sexual orientation during the Olympic Games, before or after them. They are not allowed by law,” he said.
Kozak also believes that the calls to boycott the Olympics following the adoption of the Russian law that bans propaganda of homosexual relations among minors were “merely private opinions.”
He has received “official clarifications from law enforcement agencies and the Justice Ministry today regarding the application of this law.”
“No one should have any concerns, people can live their own private lives and disseminate their advantages and attractiveness among adults. The main point is to stay away from children,” Kozak said.
He noted that if such propaganda targets children, then “this is an administrative offence” that is penalised by a fine of about 4,000 roubles.
Speaking of the calls for boycott, Kozak expressed hope that “this will never occur in the history of Olympic Games again.”
“Each adult should make up his mind about his sexual orientation. Our draft law, which has been supported by all parliamentary parties, is not directed against non-traditional sexual relations as a phenomenon but aims to protect children and teenagers from the promotion of such relations,” Deputy Speaker Sergei Zheleznyak said earlier.
“We are trying to protect children who cannot objectively assess information being imposed because of their early age but such information can damage their minds and impart a distorted concept of relations between people,” he said.
The law submitted by Novosibirsk Region’s Legislative Assembly imposes fines of 4,000-5,000 roubles for individuals, 40,000-50,000 for officials, and 400,000-500,000 roubles for legal entities.
At the same time, the accompanying note says that administrative penalties will be charged not for the homosexual orientation of a person but for advertising homosexuality among children.