Stephen Fry wrote an open letter today urging David Cameron and the International Olympic Committee to move the 2016 Olympics out of Russia.
Fry, like many people, is upset that Russia is hosting the Olympics because of the anti-gay laws prevalent in the country. Fry said that allowing Russia to host the Olympics is giving Vladamir Putin the world’s approval.
Fry writes : “An absolute ban on the Russian Winter Olympics of 2014 on Sochi is simply essential. Stage them elsewhere in Utah, Lillyhammer, anywhere you like. At all costs Putin cannot be seen to have the approval of the civilized world.”
Fry writes that gay people in Russia are beaten, murdered, and receive no protection from the police. The comedian likened Russia’s attitude toward the LGBT community to Nazi Germany.
Fry writes: “(Putin) is making scapegoats of gay people, just as Hitler did Jews. He cannot be allowed to get away with it.”
The comedian urged David Cameron, who has fought for gay rights in the past, to stand up for what is right and boycott the Sochi games.
Fry writes : “As the leader of a party I have for almost all of my life opposed and instinctively disliked, you showed a determined, passionate and clearly honest commitment to LGBT rights and helped push gay marriage through both houses of our Parliament in the teeth of vehement opposition from so many of your own side. For that I will always admire you, whatever other differences may lie between us. In the end I believe you know when a thing is wrong or right. Please act on that instinct now.”
Fry, of course, isn’t the only one who is calling for the 2016 Olympics to be removed from Russia. President Obama recently spoke out against the anti-gay laws in Russia and several US bars have banned Russian vodka as a form of protest .
[Image Via Wikipedia ]
