MOSCOW, January 30 (RIA Novosti) – The United Kingdom is to ramp up funding to groups campaigning for gay rights in Russia ahead of the Winter Olympics in Sochi, according to a BBC report Thursday.
UK Culture Secretary Maria Miller said in an interview with the broadcaster that the decision was linked to an anti-gay law passed by Russia last year that has drawn widespread international criticism ahead of the landmark sporting event.
“It's very important indeed we use the opportunity of the Winter Games to underline the importance of treating people fairly… as a result of the changes in the laws in Russia, there are considerable strains on gay rights,” Miller said, the BBC reported.
Miller, who shepherded recent same-sex marriage laws through the UK parliament, will be one of the most senior British government figures to go to Sochi. Prime Minister David Cameron’s spokesperson said Wednesday that Cameron would not be attending because of a busy timetable.
The funding announcement is likely to further aggravate diplomatic ties between the UK and Russia, which have been frosty since the 2006 poisoning of the former security service officer Alexander Litvinenko in London.
Russia has recently cracked down on sources of funding provided to non-governmental organizations. President Vladimir Putin signed a controversial law in November 2012 that obliges all Russian NGOs to identify themselves as “foreign agents” if they are engaged in loosely defined political activity and receive money from abroad.
Miller said that the new money to be released by the UK would be channeled to groups such as UK-based gay advocacy group Stonewall and that it was “the right thing to do.”
Gay rights in Russia have become a controversial issue ahead of the Sochi Olympics, which open on February 7. Russia passed a law last year that forbids the promotion of non-traditional sexual relationships to minors.
Activists say that anti-gay sentiment, including attacks and even killings, has risen in Russia since the law was passed. Russian officials maintain that the law does not impact on the sexual choices made by consenting adults.
Putin said last week that gay people would be welcome in Sochi, although he warned them to “leave children alone.”
The UK is not the only country highlighting gay rights in the run up to the Olympics. US President Barack Obama, who will not be attending the Games, nominated two gay former athletes to his country’s delegation in a move that has been widely interpreted as a comment on the Russian law.
