Euro Revolution in Ukraine: Role and participation of LGBT
Kyiv, 18th of December 2013Statement of LGBT and LGBT-friendly organizations of Ukraine regarding the socio-political situation caused by the failure of the Ukrainian authorities to sign the Association Agreement between Ukraine and EU in November 2013.
Freedom is worth fighting for!
1. LGBT – lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people – are organic, natural and integral part of the Ukrainian nation.
2. These days many of us stand on EuroMaidans all over the country. But today we are not fighting for special rights for LGBT people. We stand under the colors of our country and European Union as male and female citizens of Ukraine, fighting for better life for themselves and their close ones under high European standards.
3. We consider the right to peaceful assembly, freedom of thought and speech, free expression of our views and beliefs to be fundamental constitutional rights. The authorities by all means must provide full implementation of these rights without undue restrictions.
4. No one can be forced to participate or not to participate in the demonstrations. No one can be subjected to be under pressure or intimidation because of their political believes or civic position. We are for free country of free people.
5. We disapprove violence against peaceful people in any forms – from physical violence to psychological violence, committed by the use of humiliating, insulting, discriminatory language.
6. Any public speeches both from EuroMaidans and demonstrations to support the Party of Regions, should be cleaned up from the impurities of hatred, from rhetoric on how some people are better than the other, from statements bordering on racism or violating human dignity.
7. Today, as it was before, some political forces speculate on LGBT issues to achieve their own goals, going for it to divert public attention from really urgent social problems and covering their incompetence with a primitive rhetoric.
8. Both Hitler and Stalin went for open repressions against homosexuals. Now, in XXI century, forms of harassment of LGBT people became more sophisticated. In particular, as of today, in the midst of emergency socio-political confrontation in Ukraine, efforts continue to oppose same-sex partnership to diclinous partnership as socially unacceptable and to prohibit free circulation of information on homosexuality.
9. We advise all political forces against making attempts to restrict rights and freedoms based on sexual orientation or gender identity, or on any other grounds.
10. Unfortunately, lately the senior officials speak up with the manipulative statements that EU supposedly demands legalization of “gay marriages” from Ukraine. Of course, such statements, along with other attempts to exploit the negative prejudice against LGBT people, are intended to prevent the European integration. We welcome prompt retraction from the EU about the nonsense of “gay marriages” claim and believe that such false declarations out of the mouth of Ukrainian officials should bear political and legal responsibility.
11. Discrimination of people based on their sexual orientation, or gender identity shall be outlawed regardless of the foreign policy vector of our country development.
12. At the same time we would like to remind that prohibition of discrimination based on sexual orientation in particular is one of the fundamental principles of legal order of the modern European society. Striving to become a part of united Europe, Ukrainian society and Ukrainian authorities must realize the actual rules of communal life in the European house.
13. Given the current socio-political crisis we do not give unconditional support for any political force, but we are ready to support any of the steps, which would be aimed at strengthening human rights and freedoms and accelerated European integration.
14. Our organizations have our own vision of the future socio-political development of the country. We always offer our vision to the authorities, reasoning our position out. And now we also have a number of proposals to the life agenda of our Motherland and we are ready to uphold them within a broad public dialogue with institutions, political forces and civil society.
Organizations supporting the Statement include:
1) Public organization “Kharkiv Women Association “SFERA” (Kharkiv)
2) Interregional Center for LGBT Studies “Donbass-SocProjects” (Mariupol)
3) Chernivtsi oblast public organization “Lyudy Bukovyny” (Eng. People of Bukovyna) (Chernivtsi)
4) Interregional East-Ukrainian Association “Equinoxes” (Makeevka)
5) All-Ukrainian Public Organization “Gay Alliance Ukraine” (Kyiv)
6) Public organization of LGBT-Christians “Center of St. Cornelius the Centurion” (Donetsk)
7) All-Ukrainian Public Organization “Gay Forum of Ukraine” (Kyiv)
8) Mykolayiv Association for Gays, Lesbians and Bisexuals “LiGA” (Mykolayiv)
9) Public organization “New wave for a better future”” (Kherson)
10) Charity Fund “Valeandr” (Vinnytsia)
11) All-Ukrainian Charitable Organization “Initiative for Life” (Mykolayiv)
12) Public organization “LGBT Union You Are Not Alone” (Zhytomyr)
13) Public organization “Dopomozhy Zhyttyu” (Eng. Help the life) (Kyiv)
14) Nash Mir (Our World) Gay & Lesbian Center (Kyiv)
15) All-Ukrainian Charitable Organization “FULCRUM” (Kyiv)
16) Public organization “INSIGHT” (Kyiv)
17) Public organization “Association Queer-Credo” (Kyiv)
18) Youth Public Organization “Youth Public Movement “Partner” (Odesa)
19) Charity Fund “TOTAL” (Lviv)
20) Zaporizhzhia oblast charity fund “Gender-Z” (Zaporizhzhia)
21) Puplic Organization “Gay-Alliance Cherkasy” (Cherkasy)
Initiated on December 11, 2013 at the VII National strategic planning for MSM service and the LGBT movement in Ukraine. Agreed on 16-17 December 2013.
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