Rex Wockner
International News
Moscow –
Organizers of Moscow's third gay pride events, scheduled for May 30-31, have urged the mayors of Berlin, Paris and London to attend the events.
The city's first two pride parades were banned by Mayor Yuri Luzhkov, who called them "satanic," and people who attended the public events that replaced the parades were violently attacked by anti-gay demonstrators.
Writing to openly gay Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit, openly gay Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe and gay-friendly London Mayor Ken Livingstone, Moscow Pride organizers Nikolai Baev and Nikolai Alekseev said: "Please take part in our conference and rally. This could principally change the situation in Moscow. This would give us a real chance that our civil rights will be respected by Moscow administration and that violence will be avoided."
