Gay Forum: Government’s program is friendly to LGBT

Svjatoslav Sheremet has hope that change will come also for LGBT-people in Ukraine.

Kiev, 7th of March 2014 – According to the activity program of the new government of Ukraine, presented on 27th of February, they have determined the realization of all needed conditions for the early achievement of a visa-free regime with the European Union countries for Ukrainian citizens as new priority.

Gay Forum of Ukraine explains: “Under all needed conditions” one should understand the acceptance of amendments to the national anti-discriminative legislation, which would ban unfair human rights’ discrimination on the ground of sexual orientation. This measure is necessary as one of the last steps to “conclude” the first stage of the visa regime liberalization process which Ukraine could not have passed under previous authority, though tried hard.

The previous government, headed by Mykola Azarov, tried to solve this issue when introducing the Parliament the bill 2342, implied prohibition of discrimination on the ground of sexual orientation in labor relations. However, this bill was not introduced in the sessional hall because of the great disagreement between Deputy Corpus and active protest of Churches. Later Mykola Azarov by himself declared from the Anti-Maidan stage without discrimination that Europe demands from Ukraine legalization of same-sex marriages to explain the inability of the Government to move visa regime liberalization from the dead point.

Gay Forum Ukraine is one of the seven big LGBT-organisations existing in Kyiv.

It is symptomatically that as one of the tasks of Arsenii Yatseniuk‘s government defined to be also “formation and realization of deliberate and consequent state humanitarian policy, which will be based on the taking into consideration […] diversity of Ukrainian community.”

“Real consideration of the public diversity – is a stumbling-stone by which faltered almost all previous governments”, Svyatoslav Sheremet, the leader of the Ukrainian LGBT-association Gay Forum of Ukraine comments the program of Cabinet of Ministers. “It is impossible to respect diversity and at the same time to infringe any social group. If Yatseniuk realized it now, at the very beginning of ‘kamikaze government’ so it, in our opinion, can become more viable than it expects because the more support from the bottom, the longer they could exist. And LGBT – is powerful and motivated electorate, by the way.”

In the final part of the governmental program of Yatseniuk it is noted that its fulfillment will provide “cardinal extension of informative, […] cultural space, opportunities for self-realization and circle of human contacts for Ukrainian citizens.”

Arseni Jazeniuk leads the transitional government pledging for diversity in society.

Due to the government’s program presentation the leader of the Gay Forum of Ukraine, Svyatoslav Sheremet, notices: “We are overwhelmed: It is like we are standing on the edge of the abyss, and can see the sun rising at the same time. On the one hand, social and economic reality is almost catastrophic. On the other hand, during the overall inspiration, the government and the parliament together will be able to push forward the humanitarian agenda practically to European level. It gives us hope.

“The social and humanitarian reforms are next in line. In relation to this, we can support the government, as we have about 40 suggestions for the reforms, starting with the main law and ending with innovations of narrow sections in the interests of humans’ and citizens’ rights and freedoms in separate departments. LGBT-community has long suggested modernization matrix to Ukrainian society. Not just homosexually oriented people, but Ukrainians in general will win fulfilling it. No ghetto to individual social groups! We are a part of the bigger society.”

[Press Service All-Ukrainian LGBT-association Gay Forum of Ukraine]