ATHENS – Repeating an oft-stated call that hasn't worked yet, Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou said the government must do more to help the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community while saying there has been “remarkable progress” in doing so.

She said that it is “the Greek state’s turn” to step up in the battle against any discrimination that “undermines the principle of equality or restricts the rights of citizens due to their gender identity, gender characteristics or sexual orientation,” reported Kathimerini.

In a meeting with representatives of the LGBTQ community at her office in Athens, Sakellaropoulou said special attention must be paid to safeguard children of those orientations and their families from being beset upon.

President of the Hellenic Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou meets with the president of the Committee on a National Strategy for LGBTQI+ Equality Linos Alexandros Sisilianos and committee members Prof. Katerina Fountedaki and Stella Belia. (Photo by Eurokinissi)

She met Linos-Alexandre Sicilianos, a professor at Athens Law School, former President at the European Court of Human Rights and President of the National Strategy Committee for LGBTQ Equality.

Also attending were committee members Katerina Fountedaki, who teaches civil law at Thessaloniki’s Aristotle University, and Stella Belia, who is also the President of Rainbow Families Greece, a non-governmental organization which supports LGBTQ families and their parents.

The occasion on May 17 was International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia which Sakellaropoulou said was a chance “to reaffirm our commitment that protecting and respecting human dignity and diversity is the moral imperative of any democratic state.”