by Rex Wockner
Three pro-gay protesters were arrested June 27 outside the European Commission office in Moscow during a picket by 25 people urging the European Union to revoke Mayor Yuri Luzhkov's right to travel in the 25-country bloc.
The protesters said Luzhkov doesn't deserve to visit the EU because he has twice banned Moscow's gay pride parade, calling it "satanic."
Police halted the protest and arrested its apparent leaders even though the activists had a permit for the event. They were charged with "breach of a street demonstration order."
"The formal reason [for the police action] was the construction which had suddenly appeared in front of European Commission office just a day ago," said gay activist Nikolai Baev. "The police argued it could not protect demonstrators in this situation. … There was no construction technique, just two holes digged on a huge and enclosed area. Perhaps this 'construction' will disappear in few days as suddenly as it appeared."
The picket had received approval from city officials on June 25. The individuals who requested the permission were not known to the city as gay activists. But the media then reported that the picket was related to Luzhkov's anti-gay actions. On June 26, the organizers received phone calls from officials saying the picket could not be held due to street construction. On June 27, the authorities announced they could not guarantee the safety of the protesters. On June 28, at the picket itself, police then produced a document banning the event.
"Activists applied [for] this picket as a demonstration which formally was not related to the Moscow gay community," said Baev. "Among picket organizers was no one who was known by the homophobic authorities as gay or lesbian activist. Therefore the picket was originally approved in such an easy way. But as soon as mass media announced the picket as a demonstration of LGBT people, the Moscow authorities decided to cancel the rally. … This is a very clear example of homophobic discrimination which is practiced by the Luzhkov administration."
The picketers did manage to deliver a letter to the European Commission office demanding that Luzhkov's EU visa be revoked. Addressed to EC President Jose Manuel Barroso, the letter detailed Luzhkov's "homophobic … violations of freedom of assembly."
For the past two years, attempts to stage banned pride events in Moscow have ended in violence and bloodshed. Full stories on the melees are at tinyurl.com/2nkl7p and.
