Does Wroclaw mayor allow crosses in office after previously rejecting LGBT+ flags?
Pride Month is quickly approaching. Some Polish cities will be adorned with rainbow decorations to celebrate. However, the mayor of Wrocław has prohibited the display of the LGBT+ flag at the office and has also announced that he will not participate in the Equality March.
Pride Month, celebrated annually in June, commemorates the queer rights movements. It is a time for the LGBT+ community and its allies to celebrate diversity, acceptance, and equality while also drawing attention to the ongoing issues faced by non-heteronormative individuals worldwide.
Mayor of Wroclaw’s stance on rainbow flags
Jakub Janas is the youngest councillor in Wrocław and the only openly gay person in the local city hall. Recently, he requested permission from Mayor Jacek Sutryk to fly rainbow flags in front of the Wrocław magistrate's office and the city hall in honour of Pride Month.
However, the city authorities denied the request. Instead, Mikołaj Czerwiński from the magistrate's press office mentioned other ways the city is supporting the LGBT+ community, such as displaying rainbow flags on Świdnicka Street and hosting an open-air exhibition called 'Wrocław City of Equality' on the Market Square.
According to Czerwiński, in previous years, rainbow flags were also placed in front of the Barbara Institute of Culture on Świdnicka Street, and an exhibition titled '15 Years of Equality Marches' was presented on Oławska Street.
Jacek Sutryk won't turn up for the Equality March?
Since 2019, the Wroclaw authorities have officially supported the Equality March. Unfortunately, the city's mayor has never personally participated in the initiative. At the parade, however, you could encounter Bartłomiej Ciążyński, the mayor's former social advisor for tolerance and counteracting xenophobia, and former Wrocław mayor Rafał Dutkiewicz.
Ciążyński explains: "The president himself will not join the march to avoid escalating conflicts, but he sends his representatives. Every counter-manifestation is monitored by a city delegate. If there is a breach, they will respond."
What is puzzling, however, is that religious symbols such as crosses can still be seen in the city hall. Civic Coalition councillor Robert Suligowski is outraged by the mayor's behaviour:
"This demonstrates not only indifference to the principle expressed in Article 25(2) of the Polish Constitution, which states that public authorities in the Republic of Poland shall maintain impartiality in matters of religious, philosophical, and worldview beliefs. It implies a clear preference by the Mayor of Wrocław, who accepts ubiquitous religious symbolism in the magistrate's buildings while denying the same to those excluded. As a declared atheist and an ally of LGBT+ people, I deeply regret this."
Source: Gazeta Wyborcza
