19/06/2012 | Writer: Heber Tito Galvez
Hundreds of Jews and LGBT activists protest against Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s attendance to the UN summit on sustainable development to be held in Rio de Janeiro this week.
Hundreds of Jews and LGBT activists protest against Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s attendance to the UN summit on sustainable development to be held in Rio de Janeiro this week.
On Sunday June 17th, hundreds of LGBT activists and Jews joined the march organized by the Brazilian commission against religious intolerance to protest against President Ahmadinejad’s visit to the Rio+20 Earth summit to be held in Rio the Janeiro this week. The protesters marched along the famed Ipanema Beach, gathering crowds from all faiths and human rights groups.
"We want the world to know that religious hatred harms the environment and Ahmadinejad represents hatred. Sustainable development encompasses human rights," said Ivanir dos Santos, a member of the organizing committee.
The protesters carried banners with slogans such as “Rio does not welcome Mahmoud Ahmadinejad” and “Iranians we love you”.
“The Iranian president’s visit is an opportunity to criticize his hateful speech denying the Holocaust as well as the persecution of LGBT’s and Bahais”, said Michel Gherman, head of the Hillel human rights movement.
Also present were Claudio Nascimento and Joao Silva, the first gay couple recognized by Rio authorities, who said that they had to show up “because today in Iran, queer people and still jailed and sentenced to death”.
World leaders are to debate prospects for a greener world committed to poverty eradication and environmental protection at the UN Rio+20 summit, which runs from Wednesday to Friday.
Tags: life
