Jaroslaw Walesa: photo - jaroslawwalesa pl
“I just do not agree with his comments, which are fundamentally wrong and harmful,” Jaroslaw Walesa, who is a member of the European Parliament for the centre-right Civic Platform, said at the weekend.
Lech Walesa, a former president of Poland and Nobel Peace Prize winner, told the TVN 24 news station on Friday that gay politicians should “sit at the back of parliament”, or even “behind a wall”, should not have important posts within parliament and gay pride marches should take place on the outskirts of cities and not in the city centre.
“They know they are a minority,” said Walesa, a devout Roman Catholic, and should be given rights in accordance with their numbers in society, he claimed.
His son, Jaroslaw, said that the views of his father “are typical of his generation” and “their mentality has not kept pace with developments in our society and that is scary."
“I am convinced that he will withdraw those statements, or at least re-reconsider the matter,” Jaroslaw Walesa is quoted on the gaezeta.pl web site as saying.
Lech Walesa was unrepentant on Monday morning, however, reports the PAP news agency, saying that “I will not apologise to anyone”.
“All I said was that minorities […] should not flaunt themselves at the majority and impose their views”.
Poland has one openly gay MP, Robert Biedron, and Europe's only transsexual politician, Anna Grodzka.
Janusz Palikot, leader of the liberal Palikot Movement which both politicians are members of, says that during the first sitting of parliament on Monday he “will call on Biedron and Grodzka to sit on the front bench”. (pg)
Source: IAR
This article was updated at 10.42 cet Monday morning after statement by Lech Walesa.