A newspaper in Poland has ignited a debate after announcing a plan to print "LGBT free-zone" stickers with its next issue.
ADVERTISEMENTA newspaper in Poland has ignited a debate after announcing a plan to print "LGBT free-zone" stickers with its next issue.
They will feature a rainbow flag — a common symbol of gay pride — with a black cross superimposed over the top.
Weekly publication Gazeta Polska made the announcement on Twitter and it has sparked controversy in a country where LGBT rights are the forefront of political discourse.
The move was criticised by Georgette Mosbacher, the US ambassador to Poland, who said it promoted "hatred and intolerance". She urged Poles to "stand together on the side of values such as diversity and tolerance".
Tomasz Sakiewicz, editor-in-chief of Gazeta Polska, fired back saying "we only oppose the imposition of [LGBT] views by force".
Grzegorz Wierzcholowski, of Niezalezna, a conservative internet portal, told Euronews' social media newsdesk, The Cube, that it "supports this move as the stickers oppose LGBT movement's leftist ideology and activism, not LGBT people".
However, the website Gazeta Wyborcza posted a statement on Twitter saying that "Poland is for all citizens".
"Nobody has the right to designate zones which exclude anyone for any reason ... defend human and citizens' rights," it said.
This move comes amid political discord on LGBT issues. The ruling party, Law and Justice (PiS), has made LGBT a key political standpoint, claiming that family values need to be preserved in the deeply Catholic country.
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