Tomorrow, July 30, in Kiev, Ukrainian LGBTQ + activists will gather in front of the office of President Volodymyr Zelensky, where a rave will be held amid the protests. ” The newly formed UkrainePride will hold its Rave Pride in front of the Presidential Administration building, ” the Kyiv Post reported. The event will be organized by electronic music artists.
While fighters for equality rights were happy to see Zelensky win the 2019 election, he came under fire for failing to articulate his position on LGBTQ + rights. He also refused to condemn the LGBTQ + legislation developed by his party, which responds to the anti-gay “propaganda” law in neighboring Russia.
This is not the first time that LGBTQ + activists have protested in a similar way – moving from dance floor to the residence or workplace of political leaders. In January 2017, activists raved near the home of former Vice President Mike Pence, who signed the anti-LGBTQ + “Religious Freedom” bill as governor of Indiana.
Organizers are also calling for an investigation into hate crimes on the LGBTQ + community, including a 2019 raid on a gay nightclub by police in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro, where authorities reportedly forced club owners to lie on the frozen floor for hours amid homophobic shouts.
“Ukraine’s LGBTQ + community is still being attacked by far-right radicals, their attacks are going unpunished, making the country dangerous for its own citizens and less attractive to foreign visitors,” UkrainePride said in a statement posted on Instagram. “Government inaction unites us to use the only effective tool of democracy left for us – protest.”
Photo: Barcroft Media / Getty Images
