Hope is thin as LGBT+ activists join Belarus protests for change
NATALIE VIKHROV LGBT+ activists in Belarus hope mass protests for democratic rule in Belarus will also help deliver long-awaited gay rights and rid the former Soviet state of homophobia. But they concede such hopes might be far off in their deeply conservative country, with no anti-discrimination laws to protect LGBT+ people. Even some of their fellow protesters are homophobic, they say, expecting a long fight before glimpsing equality. President Alexander Lukashenko was sworn in for a sixth term at a secret ceremony on Wednesday, sparking new demonstrations by a restive population protesting his claim on power. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko…