Zum dritten Mal in Folge hat der Moskauer Bürgermeister Paraden im Rahmen des Gay Pride verboten:
Moscow mayor outlaws May Day gay events
GayRussia schreibt dazu:
Moscow Mayor Bans Gay Pride Events for Third Year In a Row
Appeals to the European Court likely as Alekseev pledges to fight on for gay rightsGay activists in Moscow could be taking scores of cases to the European Court of Human Rights following yesterday evening’s report by the Interfax news agency and Agence France Press that the Moscow authorities have said that they will not allow the “conduct of the unsanctioned public actions by sexual minorities” during the May holidays.
And Nikolai Alekseev, one of the Moscow Pride organizers, appealed to everyone in Russia and abroad to support third Moscow Pride by conducting solidarity actions.
The impasse started yesterday afternoon when Sergei Tsoi, press secretary to the Mayor of Moscow, told an Interfax reporter: “In the name of the Mayor and Moscow government I am saying that the city government will act decisively and in uncompromising manner, as in previous years, to stop attempts of conducting [Gay Pride] events because the absolute majority of the society does not accept such things, gays’ way of life and their philosophy”.
He added that he thought it “amusing and outrageous that gays are going to conduct unsanctioned actions in various parts of Moscow” during the holiday of Peace and Labour.
And he accused gays of wanting to “bring dissonance intentionally to disrupt historic holiday”.
“They are trying to pressure their rules and visions on the society,” he insisted.
According to Mr. Tsoi, by banning public actions of sexual minorities, the authorities are protecting them.
He stressed that “there are statements of the religious and other organizations that in case gays are going to their parade they will be physically attacked. There can be blood and this is not needed by anyone”.
Mr. Tsoi said that Moscow government is doing everything in order that Muscovites of different religions, way of life, political views live in the city freely and comfortably.
He underlined that the interests of everyone should be respected so that “Moscow lives in peace and public order. In case we need to use our power for that it will be used”.
Mr. Tsoi told Interfax that, for the sake of peaceful and comfortable living of people in the capital, any unsanctioned events will be terminated.
Mr. Alekseev, who was physically attacked by Mr. Tsoi at a London press conference of European Mayors in 2007, said that yesterday’s statement of Moscow Mayor press secretary had resulted in the “strategy and tactics of Moscow Pride Organisational Committee has seriously changed”.
May 1 will be the start of “Moscow Gay Pride month”, he said.
“On April 18 we notified Moscow Mayor about the plans for public events on 1 and 2,” he said.
“Then, on Tuesday this week we sent 15 more applications for the events on May 3, 4 and 5.
“In the coming days we are going to notify Moscow authorities about the conduct of five gay marches per day each day until the end of May”.
Mr. Alekseev pointed out that “the right to conduct public events is the constitutional right of everyone and Moscow authorities have no right, according to the law, to ban peaceful public events.
“This May we are going to realise our constitutional right to publicly march, despite the bans, which Mr. Tsoi announced.
“The dates, time and place where we go on the streets of Moscow will be chosen spontaneously,” he added.
The Moscow Pride organiser stressed that “five notifications which we send to Moscow government for every day in May concern marches on different streets in the central parts of the city and at different times”.
Mr. Alekseev said that actions of Moscow Pride organisers will not be limited to public events.
“We are going to continue our legal fight against the lawlessness of city officials. All bans, and there can be 155 of them by the end of May, will be appealed in Russian courts and then to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
“We are going to demonstrate to the European Court justices that Moscow’s homosexual people are denied to publicly express themselves any day, in any form, on any street and at any time. At the same time other political, public and human rights organisations are allowed to realise their constitutional rights”.
He promised that “with new tactics we will definitely conduct our march this year, irrespective of the position of Moscow authorities which contradicts Russian Constitution, federal law on the conduct of public events and European Convention on human rights”.
Mr. Alekseev said that “bans of Moscow Pride public events in May 2006 and May 2007 are now in the European Court in Strasbourg but no decision has yet been taken on them”.
Then, Nikolai Alekseev revealed that in the past few days he had seriously been considering giving up his gay human rights campaigning.
“After the latest insults from Mr. Tsoi and unconstitutional decisions of Moscow authorities, I decided to continue the flight with even more strength.
“I can not leave those who were hoping for us and those who together with us tried to achieve respect for LGBT rights in Russia,” he concluded.
