St George – Middle East Rebel and Human Rights Defender

 

London – 23 April 2007

“St George’s Day should be a national holiday in England. We should celebrate St George as a symbol of English freedom, dissent and multiculturalism,” says human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell .

“It is time we ditched the myths surrounding St George and celebrated the truth about his courageous life.

“He doesn’t belong to the far right. He represents rebellion against tyranny.

“St George wasn’t English. He was a rebel from the Middle East. His father was born in Turkey and his mother was Palestinian. He rebelled against the Roman Emperor Diocletian and was executed for opposing the persecution of Christians by the Romans.

“St George wasn’t English. He was a rebel from the Middle East. His father was from what is now Turkey and his mother was from Palestine. He rebelled against the Roman Emperor Diocletian; opposing the persecution of Christians. He was executed for refusing to renounce his Christian faith.

“He is a symbol of protest and the right to freedom of belief – which are core values of English liberalism and dissent,” said Mr Tatchell.