The Bulgarian president signs the law that prohibits the "promotion" of the LGBT community in schools

2024-08-15 21:05:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

The Bulgarian president signs the law that prohibits the "promotion"

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev has turned into law the recently approved amendment banning LGBT "promotion" in schools, despite calls from Bulgarian intellectuals to veto it. Human rights groups, meanwhile, warned of a protest against the measure on August 15.

The law, which prohibits "propaganda, promotion or incitement" in the educational system of "ideas and attitudes related to non-traditional sexual orientation or gender identity other than biological", will be published on August 16 in the Official Gazette of Bulgaria.

Hundreds of Bulgarian academics, through an open letter, asked President Radev to veto this amendment.

The changes are intended to address "a problem that does not exist" in Bulgaria's education system, the letter said, and will instead "normalize political attacks" on the LGBT community.

The Commissioner for Human Rights in the Council of Europe, Michael O'Flaherty, had also called on Radev not to sign the law, stressing that he was "very concerned" with the ban.

Radevi has not responded to these calls, but his media office said that he "expressed his position on these changes" by turning them into law.

On August 7 and 8, there were protests in the Bulgarian capital, Sofia, after lawmakers approved the amendment to the Law on Preschool and School Education on August 7.

The amendment was proposed by the far-right pro-Russian party Rilindja and passed with 159 votes in favor, 20 against and ten abstentions.

Lawmakers also voted another amendment to this law, which defines "non-traditional sexual orientation" as "different from the generally accepted notion... of attraction between persons of different sexes."

This amendment also passed with almost the same majority.

Supporters of the amendments said they reflect the spirit of Bulgaria's Constitution, which states that marriage is only between a man and a woman and is based on Orthodox Christian values.

The amendments have also been welcomed by the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.

But many human rights groups have criticized this decision, saying that these amendments "attack" children's rights.

Local and international LGBT rights groups have said that the wording in these legal changes is similar to "propaganda" laws in Russia and Hungary, as far as this community is concerned. These laws have been criticized by human rights groups who have said they violate freedom of expression and promote discrimination and violations against members of the LGBT community.

Researchers and human rights organizations consistently place Bulgaria on the list of countries in Europe with the worst situation regarding the rights of the LGBT community./ REL