Kharkiv’s First Pride Parade Provokes Violent Response
Kharkiv’s first pride parade took place September 16. (NBC News)
Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, hosted around 2,000 marchers in its Freedom Square on September 16 in a historic demonstration of support for Ukraine’s LGBT community. Although 17 people were detained, three were arrested, and two needed treatment after exposure to tear gas, the LGBT community is hailing Kharkiv’s first-ever pride march as a success.
The runup to the event was fraught with tension as conservative groups threatened violence. Kharkiv’s mayor, Gennadiy Kernes, attempted to prevent the march from happening. He announced in a Facebook post that he planned to petition to ban the march, referring to past LGBT+events in Kharkiv that have resulted in violence. The petition, which gained more than 5,000 signatures, never reached the courts. Kernes eventually conceded that the government “cannot restrict or ban [the event]."
More than 2,500 law enforcement officers guarded the marchers for the duration of the event. Despite this heavy security, opponents disrupted the march by throwing eggs at participants and lying in front of the parade’s path. The March for Traditional Values, a nearby protest, drew about 500 participants. Protesters were expected, according to Andriy Maymulakhin, a coordinator for the LGBT advocacy organization Nash Mir.
“In Kharkiv, ultranationalists are especially active and aggressive. They try to disrupt every LGBT event in the city,” Maymulakhin explained.
Disorder broke out after the event’s conclusion, as protesters harassed marchers and law enforcement officers. A video with almost 100,000 views on Twitter shows members of Freikorps, a right-wing ultranationalist group, chasing and beating a Pride participant as he left the march. Another group attacked police officers with tear gas. Two officers required treatment for exposure, and 17 of the attackers landed in detention.
Ukrainians and the international community have taken to Twitter to express outrage over the footage. “This is not Europe. These creatures who beat a teenager should be put in a cage, isolated from the norms of society,” one Ukrainian commented.
In response to the violence, the U.S. Embassy in Kiev tweeted its solidarity with the marchers. “We were saddened by the violence that occurred during the event and appreciate the efforts of Ukrainian law enforcement to protect the fundamental freedoms of Pride participants,” the Embassy tweeted.
The UN Human Rights Office of Ukraine has called on law enforcement to investigate the attacks using video footage and photographs showing attackers’ faces.
In Ukraine, the government does not recognize same-sex marriages. Many members of the LGBT community have reported instances of harassment, violence, and discrimination. Nash Mir reports that “the situation regarding the investigation of hate crimes based on homo- or transphobia remains extremely unsatisfactory.”
Organizers of the march hoped that the event would highlight the solidarity and determination of Ukraine’s LGBT community. Advocates are pleased despite the unrest surrounding the event.
“It’s a big success without any doubt. We can’t control the far-right nationalists, but this enthusiasm, the big level of participation, and the support from civil society are very positive factors for the Ukrainian LGBT community,” Maymulakhin concluded.