TIMISOARA, Romania – A gay and lesbian advocacy group Friday called on the Romanian upper house of parliament to decriminalize homosexuality and pass legislation to end discrimination based on sexual orientation.
"We ask the Senate to end sexual discrimination, which is also seen as a human rights violation by the European Union," said Adrian Coman, a spokesman for ACCEPT.Coman said Guenter Verheugen, the EU official in charge of programs for aspiring members, expressed his support for decriminalizing homosexuality during a meeting Friday with representatives of the civic groups in the western city of Timisoara.
In a written statement given to the press, Verheugen said the issue of non-discrimination of sexual minorities was on the agenda of the talks with the Romanian government, and that the commission hoped the government would abolish an article in the criminal code which punishes certain gay sex acts with lengthy prison terms.
"There are political forces which try to stop the measure from being passed by the Senate," said Coman, without being specific.
The Orthodox church and other conservative groups expressed outrage in June, when the Deputies' Chamber, the lower house of parliament, abolished article 200 of the Romanian penal code in June that deems some homosexual activity a crime and discriminates against gay and lesbian citizens. The Senate must do the same for the abolition to become effective.
Three months later, the former reformist government passed an ordinance which imposes fines of up to $800 for discrimination based on sexual orientation, race, gender or ethnicity. The average monthly salary equals about $100
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