Pro Human Rights: Munich supports KyivPride for the fourth time!

Pride in Kiew abgesagt – die Polizei begründet das mit dem Krieg im Osten. Klitschko nennt das “undemokratisch” – zeigt aber Verständnis… There is always time for human rights! Despite the war raging in the east of the country, despite the growing homo and trans phobia, despite the economic woes in the country, the KyivPride, or “Christopher street day” organisers will again go to the streets to defend LGBT rights. From 2^nd until 8^th of June the international Forum KyivPride 2015, invites the country’s LGBT community to Kiev for CSD. A week of political, cultural and information exchange events will take place and it will be capped by the official demonstration to be held on Saturday 8^th of June. Again Munich declares itself in solidarity with KyivPride 2015. Councillor Lydia Dietrich (Bundnis 90/ Die Grünen) will be going again to Kiev- and this time as the representative of the mayor of Munich- Dieter Reiter (SPD). This year Dominik Krause, also councillor of the Bundnis 90/ Die Grünen, will be joining the activities in Kiev. “We won’t stop in this struggle for our friends in Kiev. This concerns human rights and we will repeat this event even when people don’t want to let us onto the streets”, says Lydia Dietrich. Lydia Dietrich’s life was threatened in 2012 when she and Sub centre organiser, Sascha Hübner, were both attacked during the first, failed gaypride event in Kiev. Since then KyivPride and a week of pride events has taken place annually, albeit the actual CSD street demo only occurring once in 2013 when Hep Monatzeder, Munich’s deputy mayor, turned up. In the event hundreds of Police were forced to make a corridor to protect the marchers from the violent demonstrators surrounding the event sadly. Since then however  the Police have refused such protection for “security reasons” and the event has been forced to occur as a flashmob. Terry Reintke, from the European parliament, and Beate Walter-Rosenheimer, member of the Bundestag, will both accompany Lydia and Dominik this year. The LGBT section of the European Parliament will also send a letter of support to the event organisers in Kiev. The organisers of KyivPride have arranged a full program of LGBT events and workshops for activists, members and friends of the community from 2^nd to 8^th of June. The events covered will include films, readings, debates, concerts and of course parties to which the delegation from Munich will go. The group from Munich will itself bring two exhibitions, one of which will be the successful documentation of the Lesbian scene that has been on show at the Sub centre in Munich recently by Andrea Sömmers– entitled “RandGRUPPE” (lit. edge-group). A podium discussion will also be held on this theme during the pride week. By the German photographer, Monica Neuser, will be presented her story of the lesbian movement in Munich, thus allowing the partnership between Munich and Kiev to make people more aware of lesbian women. Kerstin Dehne and Werner Gassner, both activists in the Munich Queer scene, will be participating in a debate concerned with the anti-gender movement in Europe, an example of which is the “Concerned parents” group of evangelical persuasion that has turned up in both Germany and the Ukraine recently. Lorenz Kloska and Alexander Vinogradov will be showing their film in Kiev entitled “Raus aus dem Schatten” (lit.: Out of the Shadows) which is a documentary showing the lives of LGBT activists in Ukraine. This film recently had its premiere in Munich and Kiev. Finally the queer pop group Tubbe, will be giving a concert in the Lift Club in Kiev. Besides the meetings between the members of the LGBT groups from Munich and Kiev, there will also be meetings with the GIZ foundation and a reception at the German Embassy. The Ukrainian LGBT community continues in its struggles despite the worsening political and economic situation. KyivPride’s international communications organiser, Stanislav Mishchenko has recently said that “it’s not easy [this year] as many [of us] are frustrated or just burnt out. There is little money and society here has been radicalised by the war. Our politicians talk of nothing but the war in the east when they should really be discussing reforms and human rights”. This year’s pride slogan is thus “Human Rights are always on time” meaning that there is never a moment when one can relax in the battle against racism, homophobia and other forms of human rights abuse. LGBT people from across the country want to show that human rights are an absolute basic right for ALL and a free and egalitarian Ukraine is not possible without them. Prejudices must be destroyed for this to happen. Sadly homo and trans phobia is rife in Ukraine and minority groups are regularly responsible for verbal as well as physical attacks on the community. The Human rights organisation in Ukraine, Nash Mir, has documented over 50 such cases in 2014 alone. Included in these attacks was the setting fire to a cinema showing a gay film in August and the declaration of the Mayor, Vitali Klitchko that in a war there is no time for a gay carnival such as KyivPride. Stanislav Mishchenko regrets that Klitschko “simply doesn’t understand what our slogan stands for and that’s Human Rights are always top of the agenda”. The KyivPride is planned for Saturday 6^th of June and delegations from Germany, Brussels and Munich will be there! Back to overview