City officials have petitioned local courts to ban all rallies on May 25 that aren’t related to celebrating the capital’s annual name day, including one that calls for equal treatment of sexual minorities and social groups that was planned 10 months in advance.
According to the Department of
Public Utilities, the decision to litigate was made because numerous civil
society organizations and individuals announced that they would hold counter-protests
aimed at preventing the so-called Kyiv Pride 2013 parade. In particular, the
Kyiv City Administration said it received 10 such notices that would involve
39,000 protesters against the anti-discrimination march.
In addition, the Kyiv City Administration
stated that it had received 500 appeals from individuals and non-profit
organizations signed by more than 10,000 people to ban any public events in May
and June associated with gender and sexual minorities.
Meanwhile, the capital’s
administration announced that 200 citywide and cultural activities associated
with the celebration of Capital Day and the Day of Kyiv were planned for May 25.
City officials
have repeatedly asked
Kyiv Pride 2013 organizers to re-schedule their planned march, but the organizers
refused to change the date.
Stanislav Mishchenko, one of Kyiv Pride’s
chief organizers, said the city’s legal measures were “an attack on the constitutional
right to rally. The event has been planned for 10 months, so many partners from
European countries have planned to participate in the March of Equality. Volunteers
came from all over Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova. We see the transfer of the
date as inappropriate, as the application was submitted well in advance.”
Mishchenko added that Kyiv city
officials could’ve suggested a different date much earlier if it knew of the Day
of Kyiv celebrations well in advance.
“If the court allows the claim of
the (Kyiv City) Administration we will appeal against such decision. We are
going to express our protest on violating the human rights in Ukraine by other
methods,” he said.
Kyiv Post intern Taras Ivanyshyn can
be reached at [email protected].
