On Monday there were calls for
UNAR, an Italian government office tasked with fighting racism
and discrimination, to be closed after a television report that
seemed to show it gave funding to a gay association running a
sex club.
The report by Mediaset show Le Iene screened footage that
suggested the association offered members a 'dark room' for sex.
It also showed clips of masseurs offering to perform sexual
acts for money.
The report said the association got around 50,000 euros in
funding from UNAR.
It also said it had documents suggesting that UNAR Director
Francesco Spano had been a member of the association, although
Spano denied this.
"It is necessary to have clarification from the government on
the public money allocated by UNAR," the anti-establishment
5-Star Movement (M5S) said in a statement, adding that one of
its lawmakers would present a parliamentary question on the
case.
"What emerges is a disturbing scenario".
Giorgia Meloni, the head of the small right-wing Brothers of
Italy (FdI) party, called on Spano to quit and said UNAR should
be closed "today".
Members of the right-wing Northern League and of Silvio
Berlusconi's centre-right Forza Italia (FI) also called for the
office to be shut down.
UNAR Communications Chief Fernando Fracassi, meanwhile, said
Monday that he and his family had been inundated with threats
via Facebook and telephone after the Iene report.
"I'd just like to say to those people who are filling my page
with gratuitous insults and making anonymous phone calls to
attack me in a violent way just because I work for UNAR that,
unfortunately, you do not know how much dedication we perform
our work with, from the director right down to the person who
answers the Freefone," Fracassi said.
"You don't know the office and you are basing your judgements
exclusively on a report that distorts reality...
"We do not finance associations, but only projects that have
an exclusively social value and can contribute to fighting
discrimination".
Photo: UNAR Director Francesco Spano meets Lower House Speaker
Laura Boldrini.
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