By Thaddeus M. Baklinski
KRAKOW, Poland, October 27, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A gay pride parade scheduled for October 31 in Poland’s ancient capital Krakow has been cancelled because it coincided with Polish President Lech Kaczynski’s visit to attend a celebration of the 90th anniversary of Poland regaining its independence after WWI.
The homosexuals had intended to march to the symbolic grave, in Krakow’s Wawel Cathedral, of King Wladyslaw III, who they claim was a homosexual, on the anniversary of his death.
Wladyslaw reigned from 1434 until his supposed death, at the age of 20, at the hands of the Ottoman Turks in the Battle of Varna in Bulgaria in 1444.
His alleged homosexuality stems from a contemporary chronicler; but Polish historians dismiss this claim, citing evidence that he survived the battle, and after a journey to the Holy Land, settled on lands granted to him by King Afonso V of Portugal on Madeira Island, where he married Senhorinha Anes, who gave him two sons.
City officials, who had originally approved the homosexual event, banned it and all other street events and demonstrations not connected with the independence celebrations.
Homosexual activist Lukasz Palucki told ukgaynews, “The city has sent us official notification that we don’t have permission to march and perform on the streets because of the President’s visit. It is hard to say if President Kaczynski is going to Kraków to as a way of banning our march – or just to be part of Krakow’s event.”
Tadeusz Czarny, administrative director at Krakow city council, denied that the homosexual group had been refused permission to stage its event because it was homosexual, and said permission for other events on that day had also been refused, according to a report by the Gazeta Wyborcza daily on Friday.
He added: “I suppose the president would not have been happy to discover the patriotic event he is due to attend was taking place at the same time as the homosexual event.”
President Kaczynski is considered one of the most pro-life and pro-family heads of state in the European Union. Prior to becoming president he was Mayor of Warsaw, where he banned gay pride marches.
Kaczynski has said that if homosexuality “were to be promoted on a grand scale, the human race would disappear” and that he opposes “propagating gay orientation.”
After banning the planned gay pride parade in Warsaw in June 2005, Kaczynski made clear the distinction between homosexual persons and the political ideology driving the homosexualist lobby.
He said, “I don’t care if someone is a homosexual or not, and even if I found out something like that I wouldn’t judge a person differently than on their actions alone.”
“But if that person tries to infect others with their homosexuality, then the state must intervene in this violation of freedom.”
EU officials suggested at the time that refusal to allow the homosexual parades might result in punitive actions against Poland for its contravention of article 6 of the Treaty of Nice, which states that countries must protect the rights of minorities.
President Kaczynski responded by saying, “Not everything in the EU is good for Poland.”