Russia: the Gay Parade as a Natural Disaster. LGBT-news from Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, June 2017 #3
Belarusian tolerance vs. facts. LGBT supporters vs. Ukrainian radicals. Russian president vs. Ukrainian colleague. LGBTQ news, June 2017 #3.
Belarus is one of the most homophobic countries in Europe. According to ILGA, the index of equality of LGBTI people and respect for their rights in Belarus is only 13%, worse only in Armenia (7%), Russia (6%) and Azerbaijan (5%) in the post-Soviet area. In Belarus, most hate crimes are suppressed.
«… If we ignore the motive, we will never understand the nature of the crime. I was violated because my mother loves a woman, and I consider myself to be of a different gender identity than my sex at birth. I want to talk it out,»— says Evgeny, an open transsexual from Minsk.
Kiev hosted a Gay Pride March «Country for all!» Over 2,000 people walked through the center of the city center, flanked by a thick cordon of 5,000 helmeted policemen. Sunday’s march was largely incident-free, although nationalist protesters tried to stop the parade by forming a human barricade around the parade route, then burnt a rainbow flag in protest.
British Ambassador to Ukraine, an open lesbian Judith Gough also joined the gay parade. «Sunny & well organized #KyivPride2017. Another step forward for equality in #Ukraine,» — Judith Gough wrote in a tweet.
— Judith Gough (@JudithGoughFCO) 18 июня 2017 г.
The First Deputy Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Irina Gerashchenko, commenting on this event, said: «Kyiv and Ukraine passed the exam for devotion to fundamental European values — the right to be free, equal, to be yourself.» The politician also thanked the police for security guarantee during the march and early suppression of small conflicts.
One of the conflict was initiated by two Belarusians: gay Michail and nationalist Pavel. The brawl occurred because of the white-red-white flag, carried by Michael. In Pavel’s opinion, his opponent humiliated Belarus, so he tried to grab the flag.
The Russian Foreign Ministry included gay pride parades in the United States in the list of «critical situations» that threaten the lives, health and safety of Russian citizens abroad. The warning was published in the official Twitter.
Thus, the Russian Foreign Ministry put gay marches in the U.S. on a par with forest fires in Portugal, terrorist attacks in England, earthquake in Japan, drought in northern India and a strike in Italy.
Russian President Vladimir Putin voiced concerns for the Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in Europe because of the «blue uniforms» [Term «blue» is used for homosexuals in Russia].
«… There are much more of these blue uniforms where he is going, than here. So he shouldn’t relax and keep eyes open, to be on the safe side» — Putin reacted to the fact that Poroshenko, announcing a visa-free regime with the European Union, has quoted the lines of Russian poet Mikhail Lermontov: «Farewell, unwashed Russia, land of slaves, land of lords, and you, blue uniforms…»
Russia’s «gay’s propaganda» law was found illegal by the European Court of Human Rights. The law is discriminatory and violates the freedom of expression.
The ECHR satisfied a motion of LGBT activists Nikolai Baev, Alexei Kiselyov and Nikolai Alekseev and ordered to pay men a total of 43,000 euros in damages.
New cases of homosexual torture in Chechnya were disclosed. The journalists Reuters agency met two local residents who, on condition of anonymity, told details of the detention and torture. Both men fled the republic because of the prosecution by police and «disgraced» relatives.
In Moscow, a 30-year-old transgender woman was found dead. The witch Ilona Novoselova successfully participated in the popular TV show «Battles of paranormalists». As referred to the investigative committee, there were no visible signs of the criminal nature of the death.