Gay Ukraine News & Reports

1 Ukrainian Gay Group Seeks Funding 1/01

2 Ukrainian Gays Gather 10/00

3 From Under a Couch, an Effort to Stop Corruption in Ukraine 2/01

4 Travel Story about Kiev, Ukraine 10/04

5 Ukrainian politics and society excludes minority groups, especially gay people 2/05

6 Kiev, Ukraine (Gay Travel Story)

7 Two International Conferences in Ukraine in September/October 2005

8 Statement from the int’l conference ‘Our World: extending the Borders’ 10/05

9 Another Christian Perspective on Homosexuality 1/06

10 Jewish community leader in Ukraine resigns over issue of same-sex unions 10/06

11 Ukranian gays face fight with parliament 2/07

12 Christians Organize March Against Homosexuality 9/07

13 Ukrainian MPs attack "popularisation" of homosexuality 3/08

14 Ukrainian gay paper faces criminal charges 3/08

15 Christian groups halt gay rights event in Ukraine 5/08

16 Ukrainian gay groups form union 6/08

17 Stars back gay-bashing campaign for "traditional love" in Ukraine 11/08

18 LGBT groups say police are harassing gays in Ukraine 4/09

19 Gays and lesbians hold congress near Kiev 6/09

20 Online Campaigns To Combat Spread Of HIV/AIDS 8/09

21 Ukraine minister says Elton John is too old to adopt 9/09

22 “Love Against Homosexuality”: R. Kukharchuk on sex and politics 9/09

January 2001

1
Ukrainian Gay Group Seeks Funding

Ukraine’s Our World Gay and Lesbian Center in Lugansk says it has exhausted domestic sources of funding and is seeking foreign donations to continue its work.

In a 28-page magazine sent to foreign journalists, the organization said $10 will fund 50 copies of their Informational Bulletin which is mailed to politicians, reporters and public figures; $20 will pay two days’ wages for the group’s three employees; $50 will pay two weeks’ rent on their office; and $100 "will give life to the new projects we plan, like developing legislative proposals and answers for younger homosexuals adapting personally and socially."

The average salary in Ukraine is less than $50 a month, the activists said. The magazine sent to reporters, entitled "Ukrainian Gay Men and Lesbians at the Threshold of the Millennium," provides a comprehensive look at the situation of Ukrainian gays and the work of the Our World Center.

It can be viewed online at http://www.gay.org.ua/publish.htm.

October 2000

2
Ukrainian Gays Gather

Amnesty International chapters from around Ukraine made a strong showing at the First Ukraine International Lesbian & Gay Conference Oct. 19-21 in Kiev. Representatives of gay organizations attended from Belarus, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Russia and Sweden. "The main importance of the conference [was the] conversations of the participants between themselves, establishing direct relations between different organizations and activists," organizers said in a press release.

"For the first time a large number of lesbigay groups from Eastern Europe could directly get to know about the problems and achievements of each other, about work experiences and plans for the future. Ukrainian human rights organizations had an opportunity to get to know and establish contacts with groups engaging in human rights protection toward lesbians and gay men."

Documents from the conference are available at http://www.gay.org.ua/.

February 26, 2001 – New York Times

3
From Under a Couch, an Effort to Stop Corruption in Ukraine

by Patrick E. Tyler
Moscow – The security officer who released secret recordings made under the couch of the president of Ukraine (which now receives more American aid than any post-Communist nation) says he is on a one-man quest "to stop all the corruption and all the nastiness" that have followed the Soviet collapse.

In his first meeting with a journalist since he went into hiding three months ago, Mikola Melnichenko, whose revelations have shaken the government of President Leonid D. Kuchma, said that when he finished transcribing hundreds of hours of tapes spirited out of Ukraine last fall, he will be able to trace virtually all high-level corruption, repression and some acts of violence to Mr. Kuchma. If so, Mr. Melnichenko might become something of a hero across the ruins of the Soviet empire. Millions of impoverished people are embittered that instead of experiencing the promised market economy and democracy, their newly independent states fell under the sway of men (many, like Mr. Kuchma, former Communist bosses) who have attained enormous power and wealth at the expense of national prosperity.

"My goal is to totally expose the level of corruption in Ukraine as an independent Don Quixote and ensure that thieves will never come to power again in Ukraine," Mr. Melnichenko said. On Saturday, the 34-year-old Ukrainian arrived at a clandestine rendezvous in a Central European country wearing a pageboy wig and a heavy coat to disguise his identity. Six hours later, he left the same way, asking his guests to wait five minutes before leaving the inn 250 miles outside the capital of the country, which he asked not to be identified.

He charged in a long interview that Mr. Kuchma had pocketed at least $1 billion for personal or political use, and that the full transcript of recordings made since at least 1998 in Mr. Kuchma’s office would establish that "there is no greater criminal in Ukraine than Kuchma." Mr. Kuchma at first denied that his voice was heard on Mr. Melnichenko’s tapes, whose contents have caused a political crisis in Ukraine, the recipient of $2 billion of American aid since Mr. Kuchma, a former director of a Soviet-era missile factory, won the presidency in 1994. Ukraine’s prosecutor later acknowledged that the voice heard was that of the president, but said Mr. Melnichenko had tampered with the recordings to distort their content.

Mr. Melnichenko praised the United States for its support of Ukraine and said American intelligence services had helped to support democracy there and to investigate corruption. But he said most of that evidence had simply been presented to Mr. Kuchma, who then took steps to cover up and protect the circle of oligarchs who finance his rule.

"All of these people are working on Kuchma’s orders," he said. "They laundered money on Kuchma’s orders, and they divided it up." He said Mr. Kuchma had established a "krisha," or roof, that protected oligarchs and businessmen who, he said, kicked back millions of dollars in cash to accounts controlled by Mr. Kuchma through his banker and confidant, Oleksandr Volkov, a powerful member of Parliament. "Everyone who works for us should pay money for his krisha," he quoted Mr. Kuchma as saying on the tapes.

Mr. Melnichenko, who said he had attended a military academy in Ukraine and served in the Soviet Army, worked in Mr. Kuchma’s presidential security detail for six years. Before that, as a K.G.B. bodyguard, he spent a year in the Kremlin serving the last Soviet President, Mikhail S. Gorbachev. Today, Mr. Melnichenko describes Mr. Kuchma as a leader so all-powerful that he can call in prosecutors, tax officials and intelligence chiefs and order them to guarantee, for instance, a sizable margin of victory in the last presidential election in 1999, to open criminal investigations of political foes, or to "ruin" businessmen who support his opponents.

"What I find personally disgusting is that businesses that could have been successful and provided the people with jobs, Kuchma closed down for personal political reasons," Mr. Melnichenko said. "One of the greatest evils that Kuchma has done has been to turn the whole country into his private little racket." In one case, he said the recordings showed that Mr. Kuchma was involved in discussions of how to orchestrate a grenade attack by government agents on an opposition candidate and hard-line populist, Natalya Vitrenko. He said he had "before and after" recordings of Mr. Kuchma discussing the attack on Oct. 2, which wounded Ms. Vitrenko and 33 others during a rally in the industrial city of Krivy Rih. Mr. Kuchma hoped to place blame for the attack on Oleksandr Moroz, the Socialist Party leader who was also considered a threat to Mr. Kuchma’s election, Mr. Melnichenko said.

He refused to discuss whether other security officers collaborated in the recording, but he described an atmosphere of cynicism and treachery in Mr. Kuchma’s inner circle, where his intelligence chiefs wiretapped one other and provided Mr. Kuchma with evidence that the others were engaged in corruption. In hiding, Mr. Melnichenko says he is transcribing the audio record, but will not release more tapes until the recordings are judged authentic by independent experts. A panel assembled by the International Press Institute in Vienna, and supported by Freedom House in New York, is reviewing hundreds of recorded conversations that Mr. Melnichenko gave them last month.

Since he fled in late November, Mr. Melnichenko has twice been interviewed over the telephone by the American-financed Radio Liberty. He said he had routed his telephone calls through several phones to prevent being traced by Ukrainian security services, which have been trying to locate him and force his return to face criminal charges for illegally bugging Mr. Kuchma’s office.

Mr. Melnichenko said that his legal status in the country where he is hiding expired on Tuesday and that he would like the United States or Britain to help protect his family while he completed his work. Mr. Melnichenko expressed concern for the safety of his wife, Lilia, and their 4-year-old daughter, Lesya, who are with him in hiding. He said he was reluctant to request political asylum in the West for fear of being accused of being a Western agent. When he left Ukraine, he said, he took only about $2,000 in savings, thinking he would be gone only a few weeks. He assumed that his initial disclosures about Mr. Kuchma’s role in ordering the kidnapping of a journalist, Georgy Gongadze, who was later found dead, would have been enough to drive the president from office. Mr. Gongadze disappeared in September. His headless body was found in early November outside Kiev, the Ukrainian capital.

The journalist’s disappearance shocked Mr. Melnichenko into listening to the recordings that he (and perhaps others) had been compiling. He came to the recordings on which Mr. Kuchma, he said, ordered his minister of interior, Yuri Kravchenko, to "get rid" of Mr. Gongadze, by orchestrating a kidnapping that could be attributed to "Chechens," whose republic has been notorious for its kidnapping trade. Mr. Melnichenko said he was going to pass a note about what he knew to the outgoing and incoming American ambassadors to Ukraine, Steven Pifer and Carlos Pascual, when they visited Mr. Kuchma last fall. But there were too many onlookers, he said. (Mr. Pascual has since criticized the slow pace of the investigation into Mr. Gongadze’s death; on Friday, Mr. Kuchma said Ukraine would accept F.B.I. forensic help.)

Foiled, Mr. Melnichenko then passed a cassette to Mr. Moroz, the Socialist leader and former Parliament speaker. For his colleagues, Mr. Melnichenko developed a cover story of resigning for a private security job and going to London for training; he left just before Mr. Moroz on Nov. 28 played in Parliament the first recordings of Mr. Kuchma’s demands to remove Mr. Gongadze. "I really believed that when some of these things were made public, Kuchma would go," Mr. Melnichenko said, "I can’t believe he is still around."

One of the most serious allegations of official corruption arises from a recording on which Mr. Kuchma discusses how to destroy records and cover up multimillion-dollar transactions through which Igor Bakai, the former head of Ukraine’s energy monopoly, reportedly stole $30 million in natural gas revenues.

Mr. Bakai was forced out of his job last April and entered Parliament (which grants immunity from prosecution) but he has not been seen for months. Mr. Melnichenko said the American C.I.A. and F.B.I. had presented evidence to Mr. Kuchma of Mr. Bakai’s diversion of funds to the United States, where Mr. Bakai is said to have amassed millions of dollars in real estate, including a multimillion-dollar compound in Naples, Fla. American officials said Mr. Bakai, like Mr. Volkov, was barred from traveling to the United States because of alleged involvement in money-laundering.

October, 2004 – Passport Magazine

4
Travel Story about Kiev, Ukraine

by Lawrence Ferber
I thought I was just landing in Kiev, but I was landing on a page of history. Capital of the Ukraine, a former republic of the Soviet Union, Kiev is buzzing with activity and tension. In less than a week a Presidential eJection determining the direction for the Country’s next few years will take place. Will there be a move towards Soviet unity through present Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, or a step forward to European Union relationships with opposition leader Viktor Yuschenko? The city is divided, and the colors representing each candidate (Orange for Yuschenko, blue and white for Yanukovych) are visibly displayed throughout the city. The young, progressive, and gay wear orange, as do I.

I had no clue about any of this hubbub before I arrived. The reason for my visit was to attend the country’s major film festival, Molodist (meaning "youth" www.molodist.com). which boasts a fledgling gay section and award, the "Sunny Bunny." Now in its 34th year, yet still something of a secret outside Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, Molodist has helped launch international filmmakers like France’s openly gay Francois Ozon (8 Women, Swimming Poo~ by showcasing their student and short works. Indeed, a bevy of young visiting Ukrainian and Russian filmmakers partook of a "talent campus," while fresh-faced film students made up a sizeable percentage of screening audiences. Being a liberal-minded festival, Molodist adopted orange as its official color for the year.

Although still a far, echoing cry from San Francisco, the Ukraine is considered the most progressive of the former Soviet countries. There are a couple of gay publications, Odin Z Nas ("One of Us" www.gayua.com/on) and Gay.UA
(www.gay.org.ua). as well as a list of gay bars, and one club. September, 2003 saw a first, albeit small, public gay pride demonstration. Gay people, however, are pretty closeted, a by-product of de facto discrimination and cultural homophobia. HIV/AIDS is also a major problem throughout the former Soviet Union, but the Ukraine has the most aggressive HIV prevention programs.

The Ukraine achieved independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 (that same year homosexuality was decriminalized) and since then has grappled with finding its own identity. The national language is Ukrainian, but most everyone in Kiev speaks, and some even prefer, Russian. I noticed when I said "thank you" in Ukrainian (dyakooyoo) I received sneers or went ignored. When I used the Russian term (spaceeba) it was all smiles and nods. Both languages utilize the Cyrillic alphabet, and having a basic understanding or recognition (or at least a Cyrillic map of the city) is pretty imperative for getting around.

As a city, Kiev is both exactly alike and unlike what I had preconceived. Ancient, yes, but with flashes of 21 st Century modernity. Beneath old buildings and streets is an elaborate maze of mall stores and passageways. Cell phones are everywhere (I recommend buying a SIM chip and pay-as-you-go card when traveling anywhere outside the USA these days). The underground Metro system is fast and cheap (20 cents per green plastic token), although intimidating. Doors crash closed without warning or mercy. Be aggressive and fast if you want in or out! Kiev denizens are proudly cosmopolitan, dressing in plenty of black leather and fabrics. Many women don white knee-high boots, super short skirts, and dark eye makeup.

Gay people populate all aspects of Molodist, from the festival staff offices to the theaters and certainly onboard the boat. A German friend generously put me in contact with a group of enormously upbeat, inquisitive, and energetic lesbians. One of these Ukrainian lesbians is Alyona, an Odin Z Nas journalist. She’s happily partnered with a woman named Sasha, yet married to an out gay man-a "beard" situation to appease her parents. This in-and-out dichotomy seems to be the norm.
Alyona and I walk up the steep Andriyivsky Uzviz Street, which is lined with souvenir stalls, funky bars, restaurants, and a theater. We buy cheap CDs and DVDs at the very inexpensive Petrivka Market (located at the Petrivka Metro stop), and visit Shevchenko Park.

During daylight hours, Kiev State University students hang out here, some with a beer in hand. There isn’t a drinking age or public drinking restriction, so plenty of 13-year-olds gather near city benches with a bottle of booze after school. One can buy any variety of beer and interesting bottled cocktails at makeshift "bars"-an old desk or table on the sidewalk. The dismal Ukrainian economy has spawned all sorts of interesting homegrown businesses. In Independence Square (Maidan Nezalezhnosti) people dress in random character costumes (I spot Alf and a Teletubby) and pass a hat for money, or, as one man did, place a live falcon on your shoulder and charge a dollar per photo. Need to make a phone call? One fellow had five cell phones attached to him by strings.

Then there’s prostitution. Come dusk, married men flock to Shevchenko Park’s public restrooms for quick anonymous sex or to pick up a young hustler. Tragically, the Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, and other ex-Soviet countries are approaching
HIV/AIDS pandemic status, to which clandestine, unsafe gay sex contributes. Rampant drug use and prostitution, spawned by the dismal economy, are main factors. In one Dnepropetrovsk region village, fifty-percent of the population is HIV+. Even backpacking Westerners magically become Rockefellers in the Ukraine.

Eating out is a luxury for most locals, but cafeteria-style restaurants are an affordable favorite. One can select from sprawling dirt-cheap spreads of a la carte dishes like Chicken Kiev, potato or cheese Varenniki dumplings, or cold salads and cakes. Ukrainian food is hearty and delicious, although there’s an endless array of national cuisines, from Japanese to French, available in Kiev these days.

Many restaurants considered expensive/upper-range are themed. One of the most bizarre is Pesch era (aka The Cave, 10a Tarasovskaya, Tel: 044~2443372), where the staff dresses as cavemen and fries up steaks on scalding rocks. Unlike American theme restaurants, the food is quite excellent at these establishments. At Mimino (Spasska 10A, Tel: 044-417-3545), themed after a famous movie about an airline, waitresses dress as stewardesses and the food is amazingly delicious.

" We did it, it was our revolution," she tells me. "After all, now we can say ‘We are Ukranians’ and we are proud to be Ukrainians. If you could see this! Kreshatik and Maidan Nezalezhnosti are full of people and everybody is happy. Yes, it wasn’t easy, but we won at last and Russia is very angry! They took us for a province (like Ukraine is just a district of the Russian empire) but now they see we are really another state, more independent. As for gays, I’m sure, President Yuschenko means good for us. Yuschenko means democracy and tolerance." .

January-February 2005 – Gay and Lesbian Review

International Spectrum – Ukraine

5
Ukrainian politics and society suffers from a majoritarian tone that excludes minority groups, especially gay people

by Tomasz Kitlinski
“ We’re left outside Ukrainian politics,” lesbian activist Natalia Nahorna told me in an interview. “People are not tolerant to minorities here. It will take years to change.” Nahorna has done research on lesbian life in Ukraine and organized the country’s 2003 pride parade. In the same Independence Square where the Orange opposition successfully overturned Ukraine’s fraudulent election in late 2004, counter-demonstrators waved banners a year earlier with such slogans as “Deviants get out of Ukraine” and “Homiki are the reason for AIDS” (homiki, hamsters, is a slur for homosexuals).

The defeat of Viktor Yanukovich, the self-proclaimed winner of Ukraine’s fraud-ridden presidential election in November 2004, is seen as a hopeful sign. Viktor Yushchenko, who won the re-vote on December 26, 2004, is viewed by the West as the “liberal” alternative. Nevertheless, neither Yanukovich nor Yushchenko has expressed any concern about the situation of women and gays in Ukraine. Now the country has become the darling of the European Union, but consider the fact that Poland, which colonized Ukrained for centuries and now belongs to the EU, eagerly supports Yushchenko as a soul-mate.

Rightist, homophobic Polish politicians are leaders in voicing that support. Jaroslaw Kaczynski, who heads the ultra-right Law and Justice Party—which banned a gay parade in Warsaw and calls gays “deviants”—visited Kiev and gave an address in Independence Square. A closeted gay man—outed only by the homophobic Lech Walesa, Poland’s then-president, who publicly referred to Kaczynski and “his husband”—Kaczynski is anti-gay, anti-abortion, anti-secular, pro-capital punishment, and pro-Yushchenko.

Conjured by romantic writers, the Cossacks were rumored to enjoy homosexual sex in their all-male communities. But there’s a dark side to the history of the Cossacks: they were the perpetrators of pogroms. Anti-Semitism has been rekindled time and again in Ukrainian history. The Cossacks of Bohdan Khmelnytsky (Chmielnicki) led pogroms: From 1648 to 1649, between 65,000 and 100,000 Jews were killed. It was in Ukraine that Hassidism emerged. In 1941 some 34,000 Jews of Kiev were massacred by the Nazis on the northern outskirts of Kiev. Anti-Semitism is often mixed with homophobia in today’s Ukraine. According to Natalia Monakhova, the excluded groups in Ukraine are national and sexual minorities, and women.

Together with lesbian activist Natalia Nahorna, Natalia Monakhova presented a paper in which she argued, “Today Ukraine is engaged in a complicated process of active nation-making centered on the 19th-century peasant social values. As a result, a number of social groups and strata are excluded from the general national and social discourses, in particular from the political and decision-making spheres. They have found themselves marginalized within a seemingly new society.”

Ukrainian politics suffers from a majoritarian tone that excludes minority groups, especially gay people. Ukraine is in need of changes in its civil liberties culture and in its attitudes toward minorities. Natalia Nahorna told me that a mix of queer cultural tradition, current research, and emerging activism is creating—all too slowly—a new construction of homosexuality in Ukraine. But change is hard, she added, especially when “politicians fear that touching lesbian and gay rights will not win them popularity.”

I would like to acknowledge and thank Joe Lockard for help, and Zbyszek Sypniewski for assistance in Ukraine.
Tomasz Kitlinski

October 2004 – Passport Magazine

6
Kiev, Ukraine (Gay Travel Story)

by Lawrence Ferber
I thought I was just landing in Kiev, but I was landing on a page of history. Capital of the Ukraine, a former republic of the Soviet Union, Kiev is buzzing with activity and tension. In less than a week a Presidential eJection determining the direction for the Country’s next few years will take place. Will there be a move towards Soviet unity through present Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, or a step forward to European Union relationships with opposition leader Viktor Yuschenko? The city is divided, and the colors representing each candidate (Orange for Yuschenko, blue and white for Yanukovych) are visibly displayed throughout the city. The young, progressive, and gay wear orange, as do I.

Although still a far, echoing cry from San Francisco, the Ukraine is considered the most progressive of the former Soviet countries. There are a couple of gay publications, Odin Z Nas ("One of Us" www.gayua.com/on) and Gay.UA (www.gay.org.ua). as well as a string of gay bars, and one club.

September, 2003 saw a first, albeit small, public gay pride demonstration. Gay people, however, are pretty closeted, a by-product of de facto discrimination and cultural homophobia. HIV/AIDS is also a major problem throughout the former Soviet Union, but the Ukraine has the most aggressive HIV prevention programs.

Alyona and I walk up the steep Andriyivsky Uzviz Street, which is lined with souvenir stalls, funky bars, restaurants, and a theater. We buy cheap CDs and DVDs at the very inexpensive Petrivka Market (located at the Petrivka Metro stop), and visit Shevchenko Park. During daylight hours, Kiev State University students hang out here, some with a beer in hand. There isn’t a drinking age or public drinking restriction, so plenty of 13-year-olds gather near city benches with a bottle of booze after school. One can buy any variety of beer and interesting bottled cocktails at makeshift "bars"-an old desk or table on the sidewalk.

The dismal Ukrainian economy has spawned all sorts of interesting homegrown businesses. In Independence Square (Maidan Nezalezhnosti) people dress in random character costumes (I spot Alf and a Teletubby) and pass a hat for money, or, as one man did, place a live falcon on your shoulder and charge a dollar per photo. Need to make a phone call? One fellow had five cell phones attached to him by strings.

Then there’s prostitution. Come dusk, married men flock to Shevchenko Park’s public restrooms for quick anonymous sex or to pick up a young hustler. Tragically, the Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, and other ex-Soviet countries are approaching HIV/AIDS pandemic status, to which clandestine, unsafe gay sex contributes. Rampant drug use and prostitution, spawned by the dismal economy, are main factors. In one Dnepropetrovsk region village, fifty-percent of the population is HIV+.

On my final evening in the city, I went to a gentle pop concert at a very cool, mixed crowd cafe/bookstore called Cafe Babuin (B. Khmelnytsky S 39).

I departed Kiev the day of the first election, which was ruled corrupt. The drama distracted me from our own troubled election in the U.S., days later. Happily, things turned out positive by December (for the Ukrainians), when after much rallying an impressive shows of democracy in action Yuschenko achieved legitimate victory. Alyona sent me an e-mail, infused with tangible energy and excitement. We could all learn a lesson about determination and achieving progressive goals from these amazing people:

"We did it; it was our revolution," she tells me. "After all, now we can say ‘We ARE UKRAINIANS,’ and we are proud to be Ukrainians. If you could see this! Kreshatik and Maidan Nezalezhnosti are full of people and everybody is happy. Yes, it wasn’t easy, but we won at last and Russia is very angry! They took us for a province (like Ukraine is just a district of the Russian empire) but now they see we are really another state, more independent. As for gays, I’m sure, Presidel Yuschenko means good for us. Yuschenko means democracy and tolerance."

"conference" <conference@gay.org.ua>

7
Two International Conferences in Ukraine, September/October 2005

1 ‘New Homophobic Trends in Eastern Europe’ Round Table Discussion. Kyiv, Ukraine September 30, 2005
2 Our World – Extending the Borders – International Conference in Kyiv, Ukraine – 1-2 Oct. 2005

For the last 15 years every country of Eastern Europe has witnessed the rise of neoconservative right wing trends at the level of ideologies, cultural phenomena, political parties, subcultures, and institutionalized religions which challenge newly born gay movement and forms of self-expression in LGBT community.

Homosexuals, ethnic and religious minorities, financial, political and cultural elites are blamed the only winners of the evolution since 1989 and the downfall of Soviet Union in 1991. Ukrainian gays and lesbians, ethnic minorities and many prominent public figures and institutions have been attacked lately by the so called "neo-conservative" forces. Their activities in Ukraine ironically enough have greatly expanded after the "Orange Revolution" in the atmosphere of growing polarization and tensions in Ukrainian society.

We suggest the round table discussion – New Homophobic Trends in Eastern Europe – to shed more light on these developments in broader East European context. We welcome presentations which would be case-studies, or/and regional overviews. Exchange of opinions on related subjects would follow, as we plan to invite Ukrainian scholars, journalists, political activists, cultural figures and representatives of governmental offices.

Our World – Extending the Borders The International Conference. October 1-2, 2005. Kyiv, Ukraine. The International Conference of lesbian and gay activists from European countries will be held in the capital of Ukraine. The agenda includes issues regarding the setting up and development of the gay community, protection from discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation, self-organization of gay groups, and exchange of experience won by carrying out various projects in this area.

Presentations and discussions will be supplemented with diverse cultural and social events. More than 100 participants are expected. Application form for participants could be downloaded from www.gay.org.ua/conference2005

CONFERENCE VENUE / HOST ORGANISATION Kyiv is one of the most ancient and beautiful cities in the world. Its population is about three million people. Dynamically developing, Kyiv is the very traveler-accessible capital of Ukraine, the largest East European country. Here, golden-domed churches of Orthodox Christianity go well together with modern architecture. The city is very beautiful in September when Indian summer comes.

The events are organized by Nash Mir (Our World) Gay and Lesbian Center, Ukrainian non-governmental organization with an eight-year history. We are working toward achieving comprehensive equality and social comfort for lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people in our country. The conference received financial support from East-East Program of International Renaissance Foundation and Representative of European Commission in Kyiv.

Contact information: E-mail: conference@gay.org.ua Tel./fax: +380 44 573-54-24 Contact person: Andriy Maymulakhin Web-site: www.gay.org.ua

8
Concluding Statement from the international conference ‘Our World: extending the Borders’

We are convinced that in the next few years, with our joint efforts, we will make significant progress in solving the range of problems in the GLBT sphere, which will positively reverberate in the continuing process of democratization and the building of civil society in the countries of this region.
Kyiv, Ukraine

January 1, 2006 – "Fr.Zosima"

9
Another Christian Perspective on Homosexuality:
Reply to the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and Homosexuality Opposing their Homophobic Statement

by Fr. Zosima
“ This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” John 15:12

A hate-filled statement signed by a handful of doctors, candidates and academicians at the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences lashing out against homosexuality showed that they are troubled souls without the love of Christ or the knowledge of scripture.

May Christ grant them freedom from fear, ignorance and their personal vanity to corrupt the Word of God.

The statement offered by this priest is not likely to change the minds of those who signed the December 2005 statement. Only through prayer can they be liberated to walk closer with the Creator.

My purpose is to reach out to gay, lesbian and transgender Ukrainians to assure them of God’s unconditional love. In addition, this statement is meant to inform and educate those open-minded heterosexual Ukrainians with God given logic and commonsense that homosexuality is not something sent by Satan.

Every gay, lesbian and transgender child of God is entitled to spiritual freedom to walk with the Creator while enjoying the full citizenship of Ukrainian democracy. Those feeling attacked, marginalized or vulnerable because of the abuse by Academy members should take comfort in what scripture actually says.

Sodom and Gomorrah, Genesis 18 & 19, is a frequently cited passage to physically and spiritually harm gay, lesbian and transgender men and women. It is always taken out of context by those seeking to hurt those that are different. Two angels are greeted by Lot. As they rest the “townsmen of Sodom, both young and old – all people to the last man – closed in on the house.” The group outside sought to gang rape or sodomize the guests in body and spirit. It is one of the most ugly types of assaults known to humankind. This is obviously not a story about consensual sex. Rape of men by men is an attempt to de-masculinize the victims and impose control over them in the most demeaning manner possible. This tactic has been used throughout human history to marginalize an enemy. The attackers are unlikely to be homosexual.

Sodomy in the ancient world meant something very different than it does today. The Bible is enlightening for not only what it seems to teach, but also for what it doesn’t say. Prior to its annihilation the Lord said that, “the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great, and their sin so grave . . .” The Creator had already determined that the inhabitants of these two communities were a problem. God does not say if homosexuality was the cause. Because God destroyed all of Sodom and Gomorrah the Creator also killed invalids, the sick and children. They were not homosexual.

The story of Sodom and Gomorrah has been misunderstood for centuries. It is a story about violence and the failure to offer, as required in ancient times, proper hospitality to strangers.

This interpretation is not a reflection of modernism compromising holy text. It’s a mature spiritual understanding where faith and God-given intelligence are guided by Christ’s love. If hearts and minds are open to this journey then humanity is better able to embrace the mystical Creation of each sister and brother whether gay or straight.

In addition, it should be underscored that Jesus doesn’t discuss homosexuality. Nor is it condemned in the Ten Commandments. Although homosexual relationships existed in the ancient world, Christ makes no mention of them. The Bible is a complicated book that does not always offer black and white answers. It is not the literal word of God. It is, however, divinely inspired. I have yet to meet anyone who said scripture was the literal word of God and acted in such a manner. The Old Testament, for example, condoned violence toward enemies.

Could Stalin’s artificial famine be therefore justified because Ukrainian nationalism threatened the Soviet empire? Because slavery is not criticized in the Old or New Testaments would it be a justification for President Putin of Orthodox Russia to invade Ukraine and introduce serfdom as Empress Catherine did in 1776?

Ukraine has a dark heritage regarding the persecution of minorities. Taken to an extreme it leads to pogroms or Nazi collaboration. Homophobic Ukrainians would do well to remember that Hitler not only had a final solution for our Jewish brothers and sisters, but also for Christian Slavs . . . as well as homosexuals. Imagine if Hitler completed his mission: homosexual Slavs and Christian Slavs would be gassed naked side by side then burned in ovens. Their ashes would be mixed together and dumped without the benefit of a blessing in some manure heap.

Demonizing brothers and sisters who are different has evil consequences. Life is cold, harsh and complicated. We must understand that every soul is God’s child. The Creator loves of us as we are no matter the education, skin color, hair shade, or sexual orientation.

The focus of this commentary has been love.
It should be noted that the statement issued by the Academy of Sciences focused on a prurient interest – homosexual sex. Why? The emphasis is bizarre. Psychologically what does it say about those signing the letter? Do they visualize this type of sex? Do they think about it in graphic detail? Independent of the psychological issues it raises about the signers; why are they incapable of understanding an emotional relationship between two people who happen to be of the same gender?

Focusing on the physical act fails to understand that a same gender relationship does have an intense, powerful, unbreakable bond of love that transcends anything physical. A healthy heterosexual union is not based on a physical relationship no more than a homosexual relationship. Love, friendship, commitment, and communication are the ingredients of every solid, stable relationship, heterosexual or homosexual.

Finally, the Academy members call homosexuality a “sexual perversion” and associate it with pedophilia. Respected psychiatric and psychological associations throughout the world have held that homosexuality is not deviant behavior. In addition, pedophilia and homosexuality are unrelated. Crime statistics show that a large majority of men victimize girls, not boys.

The scandal in the United States involving priests reflects that those with the pedophilia disease had far easier access to boys than girls. It wasn’t about preference, but access. It should also be noted, though it is not often given proper attention, that there is a large percentage of women who are pedophiles that victimize boys. Yet they are not considered lesbian because they are pedophiles.

Rather than making gay, lesbian and transgender Ukrainians scapegoats, members of the Academy signing the statement would do well to address issues like alcoholism, domestic violence and pervasive corruption in government.

There are likely hundreds of thousands of gay, lesbian and transgender Ukrainians in a nation of 48 million and in the worldwide Diaspora, estranged from the Christian faith, reading this commentary. They must remember that they have done nothing wrong in their need to be held, nurtured, find emotional love and to create a family. They should not allow the negative opinions of others to become their reality. Jesus is reality. His reality is love. No soul need ask permission from those with hate in their hearts and ignorance in their minds to be accepted by God.

God blesses and accepts everyone as they are. Let us all love and be loved as Jesus taught.

Fr. Zosima is an ordained, seminary trained priest. He can be reached at Fr.Zosima@Yahoo

October 3, 2006 – JTA News

10
Jewish community leader in Ukraine resigns over issue of same-sex unions

by Vladimir Matveyev, Kerch, Ukraine
The resignation of a longtime leader of one of the largest Reform congregations in Ukraine has thrown the spotlight on a bitter controversy over homosexuality within the post-Soviet Reform movement.
Boris Kapustin, 70, founder and chairman of the Reform congregation in the Crimean town of Kerch, quit his post in September.
While Ukrainian Reform leaders cite Kapustin’s age and health concerns as reasons for his resignation, Kapustin told JTA his resignation stemmed from his opposition to the movement’s acceptance of same-sex commitment ceremonies. “ I don’t want to participate in a movement that has organized a chupah," he said.

13 February 2007 – PinkNews

11
Ukranian gays face fight with parliament

by Tony Grew
The leader of Committee on Human Rights of the Ukrainian Parliament has called homosexual people "perverts" and said that a fight against them is needed. Mr. Leonid Grach, a Communist, said last week that the state must protect society from evils, and then listed homosexuality and lesbianism. Ukraine is seeking membership of the EU.

"Me and my colleagues in the Parliament have to defend society from infringements upon morality," Mr Grach said. "[we should] not admit into the consciousness and souls of people of any age the thought that the state is on the side of the people who are sowing debauchery, propagandising for dissoluteness, for sexual permissiveness, and for bringing the abomination of seduction into society."

After similar comments last year, gay rights organisations wrote to the MP and asked him to show respect for the human rights of LGBT people. However, it seems the old-school Communist is not interested. 58-year-old Grach worked in the fish-processing industry for over 20 years. In 1991, he was elected the first secretary of the Crimea’s Communist Party Committee.

Peter Polyantsev, a sexual health campaigner in Ukraine, told PinkNews.co.uk: "We consider that such public statements by a high ranking politician, whose duty it is to protect human rights, are simply inadmissible in civilised democratic society." Mr Polyantsev asked that EU citizens contact their governments to highlight the situation. "Demand from Ukrainian authorities that they observe and respect the rights of homosexual people equally with other members of broad society," he said.

Since 1991 Ukraine, formerly part of the Soviet Union, has had an equal age of consent and homosexuality was decriminalised at that time. However, there are no specific protections for LGBT minorities, and the country is generally dominated by the Orthodox church and is deeply socially conservative. Only 15% of the population are supportive of the existence of gay couples. However, like most countries, people who live in big cities such as Kiev tend to be more liberal.

President Viktor Yushchenko supportive of gay rights, but they are not a priority for the government. Mr Grach’s statement that: "homosexuality is an anomaly, which is caused by the amorality and the depravity of man," echoes the sentiments of a Russian MP who is trying to change the law. Maverick independent Deputy Nikolay Kuryanovich brought forward legislation yesterday that would reinstate communist-era laws banning homosexuality entirely.

His controversial measure is viewed as a publicity stunt and has virtually no chance of becoming law. It takes place against the backdrop of the controversy surrounding last year’s Pride march in Moscow. As reported on PinkNews.co.uk, in May 2006 the city’s mayor, Yuri Luzhkov, refused to issue a permit for the Pride march. Gay activists pressed on with Moscow Pride on 27th May, despite the ban, police arrests, and violence from neo-fascists, right-wing nationalists and Orthodox Christian fundamentalists.

Last month, Pride organisers lost their appeal at Moscow City Court against the ruling of a lower court that upheld the city’s ban on the event. "An application to the European Court of Human Rights is now ready and is currently being assessed by legal experts," said Nikolay Alekseyev, one of the Pride organisers. The Russian Federation reiterated yesterday that peaceful demonstrations in support of gay rights must be allowed to take place and can only be stopped when there is a danger of disorder which cannot be prevented by reasonable force.

Maxim Anmeghichean, of gay rights group ILGA Europe, stressed the need to follow up Russia’s rhetoric with action. "What really matters is whether they take concrete actions, ensuring freedom of assembly, responding to acts of violence, and promoting awareness of the rights of the LGBT community," he said.

05 September 2007 – From: NASH MIR (Our World) Ukraine Gay and Lesbian Center Kiev, Ukraine

12
Christians Organize March Against Homosexuality

Kyiv – The Ukrainian Interchurch Council (UIC) has come out in favor of supporting an initiative to lead a march on 15 September 2007 in Kyiv on Khreshchatyk under the banner “Love is Against Homosexuality.” On the eve of the march, 14 September, the UIC is calling for a day of prayer and fasting for the “destruction of the evil purpose of strengthening homosexuality in Ukraine.” RISU’s Ukrainian-language webpage covered the story on 5 September 2007.

As RISU was informed by the UIC Coordinator, Bishop Volodymyr Harbar, “the goal of the march is to call attention to the Biblical view on the problem of homosexuality and lesbianism, to uphold government authorities in defense of traditional family values, and to support criminal penalties for homosexual propaganda and popularization.”

6th March 2008 – PinkNews

13
Ukrainian MPs attack "popularisation" of homosexuality

by PinkNews.co.uk staff writer
A parliamentary committee in the Ukraine has recommended that the state take steps to repress "homosexualism, lesbianism, other sexual perversions, which do not correspond to moral principles of the society." The Committee on the Issues of Freedom of Speech and Information’s stance follows letters from MPs claiming that gay and lesbian people threaten national security and contradict the national interest. A leading LGBT rights group in the Ukraine has appealed to the international community to support their efforts in asking for equal rights.

"We all must not allow any revenge of dark forces in Ukrainian society," Nash Mir said in a statement. The group’s co-ordinator Andriy Maymulakhin said he was extremely alarmed by the situation. "Authorities readily follow odious pro-church organisations," he said. "In their opinion, freedom of speech and human rights belong only to the heterosexual majority of the population. But gays and lesbians do not have any rights to speak about themselves and be visible. Such bigoted ideas are a direct attempt to introduce discriminatory policy and return to Soviet times with criminalisation of homosexual people."

While the Ukraine continues to stress its European credentials and seek EU membership, there are questions over its commitment to human rights. MPs from the governing party have spoken out about "propaganda and expansion of homosexuality in the country form a threat to national security, contradict national interests and undermine the authority of rights and freedoms of human being and family."

The Ukranian parliament’s Committee on the Issues of Freedom of Speech has attacked the "increasing propaganda" about gay and lesbian issues. "Such a situation obliges organs of state power to adopt determined and urgent steps for stopping popularisation of homosexualism, lesbianism, other sexual perversions, which do not correspond to moral principles of the society," the committee reported.

Since 1991 Ukraine, formerly part of the Soviet Union, has had an equal age of consent and homosexuality was decriminalised at that time. However, there are no specific protections for LGBT minorities, and the country is generally dominated by the Orthodox church and is deeply socially conservative. Only 15% of the population are supportive of the existence of gay couples.

31st March 2008 – PinkNews

14
Ukrainian gay paper faces criminal charges

by PinkNews.co.uk staff writer
Kiev’s public prosecutor is targeting a well-regarded gay newspaper under laws banning the distribution of pornography, while newspaper kiosks across the city openly sell explicit erotic heterosexual magazines. Since 2003 Nash Mir, the oldest Ukrainian LGBT human rights organisation, has published Gay.Ua newspaper. "The newspaper is registered as an "information, for leisure, and erotic" edition,"" Nash Mir said in a statement. "Gay.Ua publishes articles about the life of homosexuals, provides legal and psychological counselling, places personals from gays and lesbians, and also has erotic pictures and articles. This newspaper is the only one for sexual minorities in Ukraine, and has been well-received and praised by its readers. The newspaper is distributed mainly to readers within gay-community. Gay.Ua is not accessible by nor intended for wider readership."

In December 2007 the National Expert Commission of Ukraine on the Issues of Public Morality (operating in accordance with Law of Ukraine "protection of public morality"), made a ruling that Gay.Ua is a pornographic product. According to the commission, a picture of a man with an erect penis and a story on a sexual subject are pornography. Nash Mir has appealed to gay rights groups in the West to help them.

Paula Ettelbrick, executive director of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission and Patricia Prendiville, executive director of the Europe branch of the International Lesbian and Gay Association, have written to the President of Ukraine and others complaining about a "violation of freedom of expression and discrimination."

"The criminal action initiated against the staff of the Nash Mir Centre is discriminatory because it targets only the publisher of LGBT news and information, selectively employing the notion of public morality," they wrote. "The criminal action stands in contrast to the human rights commitments of Ukraine and to the country’s opening towards the principles upheld in the rest of Europe, where governments increasingly take action to protect the LGBT community from discrimination."

IGLHRC and ILGA-Europe said that Ukraine is in breach of the European Convention for Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, to which the Eastern European nation is a signatory.

Ukraine is not a member of the EU.
"In its decision in Scherer vs. Switzerland in January 1993, the Court stated: "it is of particular relevance whether or not the obscene material at issue was displayed to the general public,"" said Ms Prendiville and Ms Ettelbrick. "The newspaper of Nash Mir is not meant for general distribution, and is only posted in sealed envelopes to a closed list of subscribers. In the Court’s opinion, the cases of distribution of ‘obscene’ or ‘explicit’ materials does not concern the protection of morals of adult persons in a society in general, as long as "no adult was confronted unintentionally or against his will with the film. Where this is so, there must be particularly compelling reasons justifying the interference at issue. In the case of Muller vs. Switzerland (25 May 1988) the Court has clearly stated that article 10 of the European Convention "is applicable not only to ‘information’ or ‘ideas’ that are favourably received or regarded as inoffensive or as a matter of indifference, but also to those that offend, shock or disturb the State or any section of the population. We call upon the government of Ukraine to drop the criminal actions initiated against the Nash Mir Centre and to respect and protect the human rights of all citizens, regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity."

Nash Mir said they had tried to contest the ruling of the National Expert Commission in a judicial order. During 2007 they submitted eight lawsuits and complaints. "Not one court accepted a consideration of our lawsuit’s basis: referring to various and contradictory norms of legislation," the group said in a statement. Nor have instances of our appeals at the supreme juridical levels, including Constitutional Court and Supreme Court of Ukraine, brought any results. At the same time, at newspaper kiosks a person can readily buy print media materials – for heterosexual men – containing various erotic information, including explicit female photos and sexual articles. These outlets have an "OK" from National Expert Commission. Is it possible that this type of material when published through heterosexual outlets is erotica, but when published in Gay.Ua newspaper for gays – is misjudged as pornography?"

On February 22, 2008 Kyiv Office of Public Prosecutor instigated a criminal case "on the fact of distribution of pornography" against the staff of Nash Mir Centre. If found guilty they could face between three and seven years in jail. While the Ukraine continues to stress its European credentials and seek EU membership, there are questions over its commitment to human rights. MPs from the governing party last year spoke out about "propaganda and expansion of homosexuality in the country form a threat to national security, contradict national interests and undermine the authority of rights and freedoms of human being and family."

The Ukranian parliament’s Committee on the Issues of Freedom of Speech has attacked the "increasing propaganda" about gay and lesbian issues. "Such a situation obliges organs of state power to adopt determined and urgent steps for stopping popularisation of homosexualism, lesbianism, other sexual perversions, which do not correspond to moral principles of the society," the committee reported. Since 1991 Ukraine, formerly part of the Soviet Union, has had an equal age of consent and homosexuality was decriminalised at that time. However, there are no specific protections for LGBT minorities, and the country is generally dominated by the Orthodox church and is deeply socially conservative. Only 15% of the population are supportive of the existence of gay couples.

May 22, 2008 – PinkNews

15
Christian groups halt gay rights event in Ukraine

by Adam Lake
LGBT groups in the Ukraine were prevented from marking the International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO) last week after a last minute intervention by local religious groups. The Nikolaev Association for Gays, Lesbians and Bisexuals "LiGA," had planned a programme of peaceful events in the major city to raise awareness of LGBT rights. The programme, which legally required no formal notification, was scheduled for 16th May. However, on the morning of the 16th organisers where handed a letter by local authorities.

The letter cited opposition from a number of local religious groups, stating: "The Roman Catholics, Christianity of Evangelist belief, The Seventh Day Adventists, Eparchy of Christianity and Baptist and the Union of Independent Orthodox churches have asked local authorities to forbid any action by representatives of sexual minorities." The authorities told organisers that due to the likelihood of friction the programme of events would have to be cancelled.

The organisers and participants chose to obey the request but have informed the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, COC Netherlands, OSCE, UN Human Rights Committee, ILGA-Europe, International HIV/AIDS Alliance in order to highlight what happened. Gay rights groups have claimed that the move was unlawful and have promised that legal action will be pursued. Earlier this year a parliamentary committee in the Ukraine recommended that the state took steps to repress "homosexualism, lesbianism, other sexual perversions, which do not correspond to moral principles of the society." The Committee’s stance followed letters from MPs claiming that gay and lesbian people threaten national security and contradict the national interest.

Since 1991 Ukraine, formerly part of the Soviet Union, has had an equal age of consent and homosexuality was decriminalised at that time. However, there are no specific protections for LGBT minorities, and the country is generally dominated by the Orthodox church and is deeply socially conservative.

June 20, 2008 – PinkNews

16
Ukrainian gay groups form union

by Tony Grew
Three leading gay and lesbian organisations in the Ukraine have formed the Union of Gay Organisations of Ukraine (UGOU). The groups hope to unite activists in three main areas: advocating rights and freedoms of gay people, mobilising the gay community and improving the effectiveness of HIV-infection prevention among homosexuals. The Gay Alliance, Gay Alliance Cerkasy, and Nash Mir Gay & Lesbian Centre will now provide an even wider range of information, advocacy, social, and health protection services. The Union also plans to support to young gay organisations and educate gay activists. UGOU is not a new legal entity but is founded on the basis of mutual agreement to cooperate. This will focus funds on programme activities and minimise administrative expenses. The Union will be open to other officially registered LGBT organisations.

While the Ukraine continues to stress its European credentials and seek EU membership, there are questions over its commitment to human rights. MPs from the governing party have spoken out about "propaganda and expansion of homosexuality in the country form a threat to national security, contradict national interests and undermine the authority of rights and freedoms of human being and family." The Ukranian parliament’s Committee on the Issues of Freedom of Speech has attacked the "increasing propaganda" about gay and lesbian issues. "Such a situation obliges organs of state power to adopt determined and urgent steps for stopping popularisation of homosexualism, lesbianism, other sexual perversions, which do not correspond to moral principles of the society," the committee reported.

Since 1991 Ukraine, formerly part of the Soviet Union, has had an equal age of consent and homosexuality was decriminalised at that time. However, there are no specific protections for LGBT minorities, and the country is generally dominated by the Orthodox church and is deeply socially conservative. Only 15% of the population are supportive of the existence of gay couples.

November 18, 2008 – PinkNews

17
Stars back gay-bashing campaign for "traditional love" in Ukraine

by Staff Writer, PinkNews.co.uk
Pop stars and footballers are among the celebrities in Ukraine backing a new campaign that promotes "traditional love." "The number of anti-gay public movements, similar to the one headed by Ruslan Kukharchuk, Love Against Homosexuality, is growing in Ukraine," according to the Ukrainian Gay Forum. Hundreds of people have already signed up to the online Love Against Homosexuality campaign and gay rights advocates are concerned at some of those who have spoken out.

Local pop star Oksamita has voiced her support. "My husband Andrey and I are happy parents of our daughter Melaniya-Mirrha," she said. "With her every smile, every single day I become more and more convinced of the fact that the family is a miracle, gift, happiness and great value. When someone is trying to encroach on this happiness I can’t be silent. I think that homosexuality is a threat to modern society, infringement on the wellness and happiness of my country. It is hard to watch with indifference on somebody’s attempts to demolish the family – a basis of a healthy and blooming state. And the patriots of Ukraine, those people who love my country won’t respect such a threat."

Dmitry Gordienko, a football player for Lviv FC, said: "I condemn ideas of gay Prides because I am a Christian. "The Holy Bible several times says that homosexuality is a sin and perversion. I would like to stress that many sportsmen are extremely against the homosexuality. I have never met anyone among my colleagues who would have said something for the approval of such lifestyle. I do not want my children to live in a country where homosexualism would be a common thing. We, as a citizens, do not have a right to let it go! So I declare about my solidarity with the movement Love against Homosexuality."

In May LGBT groups in the Ukraine were prevented from marking the International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO) after a last minute intervention by local religious groups. The Nikolaev Association for Gays, Lesbians and Bisexuals "LiGA," had planned a programme of peaceful events in the major city to raise awareness of LGBT rights. The programme, which legally required no formal notification, was scheduled for 16th May. However, on the morning of the 16th organisers where handed a letter by local authorities.

The letter cited opposition from a number of local religious groups, stating: "The Roman Catholics, Christianity of Evangelist belief, The Seventh Day Adventists, Eparchy of Christianity and Baptist and the Union of Independent Orthodox churches have asked local authorities to forbid any action by representatives of sexual minorities."

The authorities told organisers that due to the likelihood of friction the programme of events would have to be cancelled. Gay rights groups claimed that the move was unlawful and have promised that legal action will be pursued. While the Ukraine continues to stress its European credentials and seek EU membership, there are questions over its commitment to human rights.

MPs from the governing party have spoken out about "propaganda and expansion of homosexuality in the country form a threat to national security, contradict national interests and undermine the authority of rights and freedoms of human being and family." The Ukranian parliament’s Committee on the Issues of Freedom of Speech has attacked the "increasing propaganda" about gay and lesbian issues.

"Such a situation obliges organs of state power to adopt determined and urgent steps for stopping popularisation of homosexualism, lesbianism, other sexual perversions, which do not correspond to moral principles of the society," the committee reported. The Committee’s stance followed letters from MPs claiming that gay and lesbian people threaten national security and contradict the national interest. Since 1991 Ukraine, formerly part of the Soviet Union, has had an equal age of consent and homosexuality was decriminalised at that time.

However, there are no specific protections for LGBT minorities, and the country is generally dominated by the Orthodox church and is deeply socially conservative. Only 15% of the population are supportive of the existence of gay couples.

April 23, 2009 – PinkNews

18
LGBT groups say police are harassing gays in Ukraine

by Staff Writer, PinkNews.co.uk
More than 80 people who were arrested at a gay club in Kiev earlier this month by police had their human rights violated, it has been claimed. The Council of LGBT Organisations of Ukraine said that the arrests were supposedly part of an investigation into the murder of a gay man, Dmitriy Kandyba.

"During the night of 10/11 April 2009 officers of the police special department "Berkut" held an operation in the popular city gay club Androgin," the council said in a statement. "Club visitors (over 80 persons) were detained and taken to Golosievo rayon police station. Some detainees reported rude and offensive treatment by the police officers and also claim that the officers used force against them.

"At the police station, the officers illegally (without following the respective procedures) took fingerprints and photos of the detained. After this the detainees were forced to sign a letter stating that they did not have any complaints against the police. It is particularly surprising that this raid was held two weeks after the murder. In addition, the police possessed a photo of the suspected criminal. Thus, in the opinion of the Ukrainian LGBT organisations, the goal of the operation in Androgin club was not to identify the personality of the murderer but to threaten the LGBT community and collect personal data on visitors to the gay club."

The council said that similar incidents of police harassment of the gay community have been recorded. In May 2008 LGBT groups in the Ukraine were prevented from marking the International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO) after a last minute intervention by local religious leaders. The authorities told organisers that due to the likelihood of friction the programme of events would have to be cancelled. While the Ukraine continues to stress its European credentials and seek EU membership, there are questions over its commitment to human rights.

MPs from the governing party have spoken out about "propaganda and expansion of homosexuality in the country form a threat to national security, contradict national interests and undermine the authority of rights and freedoms of human being and family." The Ukranian parliament’s Committee on the Issues of Freedom of Speech has attacked the "increasing propaganda" about gay and lesbian issues. Since 1991 Ukraine, formerly part of the Soviet Union, has had an equal age of consent and homosexuality was decriminalised at that time.

However, there are no specific protections for LGBT minorities, and the country is generally dominated by the Orthodox church and is deeply socially conservative.

01 June 2009 – Interfax

19
Gays and lesbians hold congress near Kiev

Kiev – A three-day congress of Ukrainian gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgenders is over at a hotel in the Kiev vicinity. Sixty-six gays and lesbians represented 18 Ukrainian regions, 25 cities, 27 organizations and ten groups, a source at the Ukrainian Gay Forum press office said on Monday. Seventeen delegates represented partner organizations from Russia and Belarus. The forum was held under the Partnership and Development motto. The media and officials were not invited to attend.

"We did not aim to make any political or public decisions. Our congress had a different goal, i.e. to upgrade professional training of our activists, to integrate the national gay and lesbian movement and to encourage further work," Gay Forum leader Svyatoslav Sheremet said. Reports were made, and seminars, role games and discussions were held. The agenda included sexual health, discrimination of rights, laws, activity of Ukraine’s five gay and lesbian public centers, education, planning, fundamental documents of the gay and lesbian movement and the interaction with opponents.

The budget of social services offered to gays and lesbians is rather substantial in Ukraine, Sheremet said. In his words, such services are given to thousands of gays and lesbians. The Ukrainian gay and lesbian movement is drafting its strategy for the period at least until 2020, he said.

August 31, 2009 – Global Voices

20
Online Campaigns To Combat Spread Of HIV/AIDS in Kenya, Ukraine and Republic of Congo
Topics: Cyber-Activism, Development, Education, Gender, Health, Human Rights, Internet & Telecoms, LGBT, Politics

by Rezwan
All across the world stigma and discrimination against those who carry the HIV virus is rampant. In many countries cultural practices and social norms hinder people from discussing these issues. To combat the spread of AIDS, and to make people aware of the disease and protective measures, many organizations and activists worldwide are engaged with innovative and localized campaigns and initiatives that use internet and citizen media tools to augment their cause.

Ukraine

Ukraine has an estimated 323,000-425,000 injecting drug users and one of the fastest growing HIV epidemics in Europe. Pavel Kutsev of the Ukrainian foundation for drug users and HIV positive people, Drop-in-Center, uses blog posts, photos, podcasts, and online video to share his experiences working at a harm reduction facility based in Kyiv, Ukraine…

Read Entire Article

September 14, 2009 – PinkNews

21
Ukraine minister says Elton John is too old to adopt

by Jessica Geen
A Ukrainian minister said today that gay pop star Elton John will not be allowed to adopt a child from the country because he is not married and is too old. The star visited an orphanage last week and said the experience had changed his mind about adopting. He added that one little boy, whose parents had died of AIDS, had "stolen my heart".

Although Sir Elton and his partner David Furnish are in a civil partnership, Ukraine does not recognise this as marriage. In addition, family, youth and sports minister Yuriy Pavlenko told Associated Press that at 62, the star is too old as there cannot be more than a 45-year age gap between a child and an adoptive parent. Sir Elton and Furnish have already come under fire from various adoption charities.

Save the Children UK said that international adopting can set a dangerous precedent in encouraging poor parents to give up their children in the hope of a better life for them. In July, Ukraine hit the pink press for banning the film Bruno, which features a gay journalist. The country’s culture ministry said that the film included an "artistically unjustified exhibition of sexual organs and sexual relations, homosexual acts in a blatantly graphic form, obscene language, sadism [and] anti-social behaviour which could damage the moral upbringing of our citizens."

September 23, 2009 – Global Comment

22
“Love Against Homosexuality”: Ruslan Kukharchuk on sex and politics

by Natalia Antonova
The face of anti-GLBT activism in Ukraine is not necessarily what you’d expect it to be. In my case, I expected something resembling a bearded preacher with a fiery stare and little gobs of spit forming around the mouth. Yet journalist Ruslan Kukharchuk, the founder of the organization Love Against Homosexuality, is attractive, educated and well-spoken – and quite possibly one of the biggest enemies of gay rights in Eastern Europe. Sitting down with this fierce ideological opponent (I should get this out of the way quickly – I am diametrically opposed to Kukharchuk’s views), I was struck by what an enormous, uphill battle sexual minorities face in Ukraine today.

Natalia: So tell me about your organization – you’re the founder, right?

Ruslan: Yes. It started in 2003. It wasn’t really an organization then. I found out that a lesbian parade was going to be organized in downtown Kiev, and sprung into action. We only had 10 days to act, but we made them count. The local authorities eventually, as they put it, “discouraged” the parade from taking place. On the day of the parade, we passed out anti-gay fliers. I guess the lesbians also had some kind of tent. From then on, it became a tradition for us, protesting homosexual propaganda in the streets of Kyiv. We have what we call “Family Carnivals,” we just had one this past Saturday. In 2006, we gained legal status. In 2009, we nationalized.

Natalia: The word “God” crops up quite a bit in your promotional materials. Are you a religious organization?

Ruslan: We’re a social organization. Of course, all of the world’s religions protest homosexuality, but our arguments go further than that. We want to reach people who are not necessarily religious, and we want to reach them with this message: deviance is bad for national security.

Natalia: National security?

Ruslan: Of course. First of all, the homosexual lifestyle spreads AIDS. Second of all, it contributes to the demographic crisis in Europe. Third of all, it undermines the family, and families, traditional families, form the basis of any nation. Without family, a nation ceases to exist.

Read interview