Ukraine: First-ever Kyiv pride cancelled in face of ultra-right threat Headline Title: Ukraine: First-ever Kyiv pride cancelled in face of ultra-right threat 20 May 2012 The Ukrainian authorities should take action to protect the rights of LGBT people and ensure they are able to exercise their human rights without fear of attacks, Amnesty International said today after the first-ever pride parade had to be cancelled on Sunday.
Police advised pride organizers to abandon the march just 30 minutes before it was due to start. They claimed 500 ultra-right football hooligans were en route to the rally point with the intention of preventing the march from going ahead.
Two activists were beaten up and tear gassed by a dozen youths in central Kyiv after those already gathered for the march were evacuated with police escort.
“It has been clear from the start that the Kyiv police department did not want this march to go ahead. Their reluctance to commit to the event and to put adequate security measures in place to protect demonstrators left organizers fearing for their safety,” said Max Tucker, Ukraine campaigner at Amnesty International.
A senior Kyiv police official had previously told pride organizers that he was not prepared to put his officers in harm’s way for the Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community.
“The Kyiv authorities and police must work harder to ensure next year pride participants can feel confident they will be protected,” said Tucker.
Amnesty International also expressed its deep concern about support expressed on Wednesday by a parliamentary committee for a bill restricting the distribution of and access to information “promoting homosexuality”.
The bill would amend several laws including the law on protection of public morals, the law on print media, the law on television and radio broadcasting, the law on publishing and the Criminal Code.
The provisions, if adopted by the Ukrainian Parliament, would directly discriminate against Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual individuals in the exercise of their right to freedom of expression.
“Passing this bill would fly in the face of Ukraine’s international obligations to protect the right to freedom of expression and prohibit discrimination,” added Tucker.
Amnesty International calls on the Ukrainian Parliament to reject the bill and to ensure that Ukraine protects, respects and fulfills the rights of Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual individuals without any discrimination.
Police in Kyiv failed to stop ultra-right hooligans from putting LGBT activists at risk and marring the city's first-ever Pride parade. Media Node: Story Location: Ukraine50° 27' 21.348" N, 30° 30' 44.8776" E “It has been clear from the start that the Kyiv police department did not want this march to go ahead. Their reluctance to commit to the event and to put adequate security measures in place to protect demonstrators left organizers fearing for their safety.” Source: Max Tucker, Ukraine campaigner at Amnesty International Date: Sun, 20/05/2012 URL: ‘Virulent’ homophobic attacks put South Caucasus activists at risk Description: News story, 18 May 2012 URL: Ukraine: Authorities must start to implement police criminality law ahead of Euro 2012 Description: News story, 14 May 2012 URL: Ukraine: Euro 2012 Jeopardised by Criminal Police Force Description: Media briefing, 30 April 2012
Ukraine: First-ever Kyiv pride cancelled in face of ultra-right threat Headline Title: Ukraine: First-ever Kyiv pride cancelled in face of ultra-right threat 20 May 2012 The Ukrainian authorities should take action to protect the rights of LGBT people and ensure they are able to exercise their human rights without fear of attacks, Amnesty International said today after the first-ever pride parade had to be cancelled on Sunday.
Police advised pride organizers to abandon the march just 30 minutes before it was due to start. They claimed 500 ultra-right football hooligans were en route to the rally point with the intention of preventing the march from going ahead.
Two activists were beaten up and tear gassed by a dozen youths in central Kyiv after those already gathered for the march were evacuated with police escort.
“It has been clear from the start that the Kyiv police department did not want this march to go ahead. Their reluctance to commit to the event and to put adequate security measures in place to protect demonstrators left organizers fearing for their safety,” said Max Tucker, Ukraine campaigner at Amnesty International.
A senior Kyiv police official had previously told pride organizers that he was not prepared to put his officers in harm’s way for the Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community.
“The Kyiv authorities and police must work harder to ensure next year pride participants can feel confident they will be protected,” said Tucker.
Amnesty International also expressed its deep concern about support expressed on Wednesday by a parliamentary committee for a bill restricting the distribution of and access to information “promoting homosexuality”.
The bill would amend several laws including the law on protection of public morals, the law on print media, the law on television and radio broadcasting, the law on publishing and the Criminal Code.
The provisions, if adopted by the Ukrainian Parliament, would directly discriminate against Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual individuals in the exercise of their right to freedom of expression.
“Passing this bill would fly in the face of Ukraine’s international obligations to protect the right to freedom of expression and prohibit discrimination,” added Tucker.
Amnesty International calls on the Ukrainian Parliament to reject the bill and to ensure that Ukraine protects, respects and fulfills the rights of Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual individuals without any discrimination.
Police in Kyiv failed to stop ultra-right hooligans from putting LGBT activists at risk and marring the city's first-ever Pride parade. Media Node: Story Location: Ukraine50° 27' 21.348" N, 30° 30' 44.8776" E “It has been clear from the start that the Kyiv police department did not want this march to go ahead. Their reluctance to commit to the event and to put adequate security measures in place to protect demonstrators left organizers fearing for their safety.” Source: Max Tucker, Ukraine campaigner at Amnesty International Date: Sun, 20/05/2012 URL: ‘Virulent’ homophobic attacks put South Caucasus activists at risk Description: News story, 18 May 2012 URL: Ukraine: Authorities must start to implement police criminality law ahead of Euro 2012 Description: News story, 14 May 2012 URL: Ukraine: Euro 2012 Jeopardised by Criminal Police Force Description: Media briefing, 30 April 2012
‘Virulent’ homophobic attacks put South Caucasus activists at risk Headline Title: ‘Virulent’ homophobic attacks put South Caucasus activists at risk 18 May 2012 Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan must do more to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people, Amnesty International said after a spate of attacks on activists.
Instead of condemning a firebomb attack on a gay-friendly bar in downtown Yerevan, Armenia’s capital, last week, some public officials went on the record making homophobic remarks and condoning violence against LGBTI people.
Meanwhile, on Thursday in neighbouring Georgia, police in the capital Tbilisi did little to prevent an Orthodox Christian group from obstructing a peaceful march by an LGBTI organization to mark the International Day against Homophobia.
“The virulent nature of these recent attacks shows the need for a public dialogue to tackle homophobia throughout the South Caucasus to protect LGBTI people from discrimination,” said John Dalhuisen, Europe and Central Asia Programme Director at Amnesty International.
Yerevan firebomb
On 8 May, self-described “fascists” were caught on tape by a security camera as they threw Molotov cocktails through the windows of a gay-friendly bar in downtown Yerevan.
Police reportedly arrived at the scene 12 hours later to investigate the arson attack.
Two young men were arrested as part of the investigation, but were bailed shortly afterwards by two opposition parliamentarians from the nationalist Armenian Revolutionary Federation - Dashnaktsutyun party (ARF), who condoned the attack, saying it was in line with "the context of societal and national ideology”.
ARF leaders have distanced themselves from the bailout, saying that the parliamentarians acted in their personal capacity, but they have fallen short of publicly calling on their colleagues to apologize for supporting the alleged hate crime.
Eduard Sharmazanov, spokesperson for Armenia’s ruling Republican Party and Parliament Vice Speaker told Hayots Ashkharh newspaper Thursday that, “As an Armenian citizen and member of [the ruling] national-conservative party, I find the rebellion of the two young Armenian people against the homosexuals … completely right and justified…Those human rights defenders, who are trying to earn cheap dividends from this incident, I urge them first and foremost to protect the national and universal values.”
Amnesty International believes this type of official discourse is dangerous, fuels discrimination and undermines the role of human rights defenders.
“The official response to the firebombing in Yerevan is utterly shocking – protecting the human rights of LGBTI people is not a concession, but an obligation under international law that Armenia is a party to,” said Dalhuisen.
Homophobia and Transphobia in Tbilisi
On Thursday, a peaceful march in central Tbilisi marking the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia came under attack when a group of Orthodox Christians and members of the “Orthodox Parents’ Union” began insulting and threatening protesters from IDENTOBA, a Georgian LGBTI rights organization.
Orthodox priests were among the counter-demonstrators, who prevented the marchers from continuing to the Georgian Parliament, shouting abuse and throwing punches at the peaceful protesters. Fighting reportedly broke out as the counter-demonstrators attacked marchers, tearing up placards.
A video of the incident shows police intervening once a scuffle broke out between the two groups. Five people were detained – including three of the IDENTOBA protesters – and were released shortly afterwards.
“A hallmark of a tolerant society is allowing peaceful protests to proceed and stopping discrimination in its tracks,” said Dalhuisen.
Public authorities must respect the freedom of expression of all groups without discrimination. This extends to protecting peaceful demonstrators from violent attacks.
“Police in Tbilisi failed to prevent homophobic and transphobic violence from marring the International Day against Homophobia march – they must now investigate what went wrong and implement measures to improve their policing of peaceful demonstrations in future,” Dalhuisen added.
Concerns in Baku ahead of Eurovision
LGBTI groups in the neighbouring South Caucasus country of Azerbaijan have also raised concerns about the safety of LGBTI participants in the upcoming Eurovision song contest, which will take place in the capital Baku from 22-26 May.
Azerbaijan decriminalized same-sex relations in 2001, but has so far failed to enact laws that specifically ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity and provide effective protection to LGBTI people. Homophobia and transphobia remain rife and little progress has been made to change public attitudes and the discriminatory practices against LGBTI people.
A spate of attacks on LGBTI activists points to endemic discrimination that needs to be dealt with in South Caucasus countries. Media Node: Twitter Tag: LGBTI Story Location: Armenia40° 10' 45.6744" N, 44° 30' 54.8208" E “The virulent nature of these recent attacks shows the need for a public dialogue to tackle homophobia throughout the South Caucasus to protect LGBTI people from discrimination. ” Source: John Dalhuisen, Europe and Central Asia Programme Director at Amnesty International Date: Fri, 18/05/2012 URL: Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Description: Thematic page
