The Finnish embassy has refuted claims by the UPND government that it has engaged the embassy concerning the flying of a rainbow flag on its premises on 17 May 2022 as a symbol of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) movement.
Earlier this week, Minister of Media and Information and Chief Government Spokesperson Chushi Kasanda said government had officially written to the Finnish and Swedish embassies demanding for an explanation for their actions as Zambia being a Christian nation does not support LGBT rights.
However, Finnish Ambassador Pirjo-Suo Mela Chowdhury said it is well known that the LGBT issue is a very important human rights issue to Finnish and once a year the LGBT flag is hoisted to stress the importance of human rights in the regard of LGBT.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times-ZBT, Chowdhury said the raising of the flag in support of LGBT rights is not new, as it has been done in previous years by many embassies in Zambia as well as in different parts of the world.
Chowdhury said it is surprising that the hoisting of the flag has been given so much attention this year when it is not something new and has been done over the years.
“It is a human rights priority for us, it is for us to express our views in good spirt in different parts of the world not only in Zambia and it is something that many countries do. It is not directed at anyone but it is something important to us and we feel it is important to stress the importance of the matter”, Chowdhury said.
She mentioned that the channel of communication between Finland and the Zambian government is open and the two are in good spirit constantly at different levels.
