All previous attempts to hold a rally for gay rights in Kyiv have suffered violent attacks by right-wing activists, so it is understandable why many see the first uninterrupted pride as a sign of increasing tolerance for LGBT people in Ukraine. But it’s still too early to celebrate victory.
It took 6,000 police officers to maintain order at the rally, dubbed the Equality March, attended by around 1,500 people. The police surrounded the participants in a living cordon and marched with them, completely separating them from the onlooking public.
That is how the gay people in Ukraine have to live now: The world outside a circle of friends poses a physical threat to them.
The slaughter in Orlando showed that even in the much more gay-friendly America LGBT people can be targeted en masse in a hate attack. Ukraine, with its history of violence against gay people, must stay vigilant against signs of intolerance.
While the police succeeded to scare away the right-wing activists who publicly promised to “turn the gay pride in a bloody mess,” they didn’t go after those voicing the threats. They should.
The right-wing groups who were on the frontlines of the fight for Ukraine’s democratic future on EuroMaidan, should finally realize that they were fighting for equal rights for everyone, with no exceptions.
The battle goes on
At almost the same time a gunman was massacring dozens in a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, Kyiv’s LGBT community was rejoicing: They were having a gay pride parade, the first time it went uninterrupted.
