June 2nd, 2008
Organizers of yesterday’s Moscow Pride events consider yesterday’s actions a tremendous success. Throughout the day, they were able to stage two highly visible demonstrations garnering local and international media attention while eluding police. Police had tried to preemptively detain Moscow Pride organizer Nickolai Alekseev earlier that morning, but he was able to get away.
No one was hurt during the events, but five activists were ultimately detained. One was briefly held but let go, while the four who unfurled the banner from an apartment across from Moscow City Hall were released by the court the following Monday morning.
With the release of those four activists, Alekseev declared the event over and hailed the event a success:
“Our people showed that we are not only a force for gays but a political force and won’t compromise on our rights,” he told AFP.
Alekseev elaborated further in an email:
“No human rights group or opposition [has] ever humiliated the Moscow authorities so much.
We wanted to defy the Mayor in front of his office. Not only [has the] homophobia of Mayor Luzhkov been advertised today, but also the full collapse of his administration to prevent gays and lesbians [from] realiz[ing] their constitutional rights to march.
Today, we showed that our group is powerful not only in gay and lesbian aspects, but in general. Our fight is only at its beginning.”
[Hat tip: Bob Schwartz, Gay Liberation Network]
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queerunity
June 2nd, 2008
i have so much respect for nikolai
Bill Ware
June 2nd, 2008
“There is nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come.”
Hugo
Duncan
June 2nd, 2008
I’m not sure if “humiliating” the government is the right approach.
werdna
June 3rd, 2008
Humiliating small-minded officials (like the Mayor of Moscow) who defy the law to deny gays and lesbians their constitutional rights seems okay to me. Even with the siege and arrests, this year’s events were certainly preferable to the violent confrontations of the past couple of years.
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