site.btaBulgarian Educators Opposed to Ban on "Propaganda of Non-traditional Sexual Orientation"

More than 90 Bulgarians working in the system of higher education or research establishments in Bulgaria and abroad have spoken out against recently adopted amendments to the Pre-School and School Education Act (PSEA), which ban what the legislators call "propaganda, promotion or incitement in any way, directly or indirectly, of ideas and views related to non-traditional sexual orientation". This is being done through a letter, still open to join online, whose signatures are growing, the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee said on Tuesday.

"As scholars and thinkers engaged in the study of social, political, ethical and other issues in the humanities, social sciences, medical sciences, exact sciences and other fields of human knowledge, we strongly condemn the blatantly discriminatory nature of the amendments to the PSEA. The amendments are socially malignant, they will lead in turn to changes in interpersonal and social relations between all parties: between pupils, pupils and teachers, pupils and parents, parents and teachers, between parents themselves, and to absurd and homophobic conflicts within the professional community itself. These conflicts will certainly have multiplying consequences and will not be limited to so-called non-traditional sexual orientation,” the letter states, in which “non-traditional sexual orientation” is defined as a “pseudo-concept”.

The letter was initiated by philosopher Stanimir Panayotov and sociology PhD student Stoyo Tetevenski.

Meanwhile, a number of protests were announced this week in front of Bulgarian embassies or consulates abroad.