Rome Pride said Tuesday it was not
going to apologise to Lazio Governor Francesco Rocca for
allegedly twisting the agenda for Saturday's event to lobby in
favour of surrogacy, which is a crime in Italy, after Rocca said
an apology would bring the reinstatement of the region's
sponsorship.
Roma Pride's spokesman told ANSA its platform had been known for
years including its favourable stance on surrogacy, which is
used by many Italian same-sex couples outside Italy but which
Italy's rightwing Brothers of Italy (FdI) party, of which Rocca
is a member, wants to make a 'universal crime', meaning Italians
resorting to it abroad will be prosecuted in Italy.
Rocca had earlier accused organisers of "instrumentalising" the
popular event to promote surrogacy, which the right calls "wombs
for rent", but said an apology for this stance would help the
event regain Lazio's sponsorship.
"Clearly there will be no apology for Rocca's claims by Roma
Pride. No one manipulated anyone," Mario Colamarino, president
of the Mario Mieli gay association and spokesperson for Roma
Pride, told ANSA.
"We only made a formal request to the Lazio region and they
responded by granting free patronage. There were no prior talks.
Perhaps they should have understood and known what our requests
were - which have been the same for years - before granting the
patronage".
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