| Founded | 2009 |
|---|---|
| Location | Belarus |
| Origins | ГейБеларусь - Беларускі праваабарончы праект |
| Key people | Sergey Androsenko (founder) |
| Focus | Visibility and protection of rights of LGBT |
| Website | http://gaybelarus.by/index.html |
Belarusian LGBT Rights project “GayBelarus” is a civic association for gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transsexuals LGBT from all over the country. Head and founder of this organization is Sergey Androsenko (Siarhei Androsenka).
Contents |
The organizational assembly has passed on January 18th, 2009.
The organization is not registered, Sergey Androsenko commented: "In our country, it is impossible to register a gay organization. Actually, it is impossible to register any type of organization. The process has been made especially complex to discourage anyone. And the authorities sometimes take criminal charges against non registered organizations on the basis that it compromises the “happy future of Belarusian people”. So, the majority of activists, whether gay or not, are potential criminals." [2] [3] A statement, sent in March 2008 to the President of Belarus, accused the Initiative of Young Gays of "homosexual propaganda in Belarus, of summons to the unendorsed meetings, of insulting the government and the President of Belarus and of disinformation of the international society about the social and political life in the country." The initiative was free of any crime though the amenability can be possible in the future.[4]
Gaybelarus.by is:
In April 2008, Sergey Androsenko paraded the gay Rainbow flag (LGBT movement) through the streets of Minsk at a march to mark the 22nd anniversary of the nuclear power station accident at Chernobyl in neighbouring Ukraine. The other participants of this march promised Sergej Androsenko to protect him. It was the very first time that the flag had been seen on a political event in Belarus. [10]
In November 2008, gay activists, invited by the Belarusian Helsinki Committee in Belarus came face-to-face with representatives of the extrem-right wing at a seminar in Minsk. After the discussion, Sergej Androsenko said: “We, the representatives of the movement for the rights of sexual minorities, should not be scared to come to the events of our opponents. We must go to them, we must knock on their doors, we must try to tell them about homosexuality what they don't know. Participation in this event persuaded me that phobias of far right radicals are mostly due to the fact that they don’t know anything about homosexuality, they follow well known rooted stereotypes. - I heard absolutely illiterate and ridiculous accusations towards people like me, towards homosexuals.” [11]
On February 14th 2009, activists from LGBT Human Rights Project Gayrussia.ru and project gaybelarus.by organized together with activists from local LGBT group TaPaGeS, a protest in the centre of Strasbourg asking the European Court to speed up the consideration of their complain, the oldest being sent in January 2007. [12] [13]
On September 26, 2009, Gaybelarus hosted together with its partner gayrussia an LGBT human rights conference in the 5 star hotel Crown Plaza in Minsk. Participants have come from 9 different cities in Belarus, also from 10 countries in Europe, representing more than 30 organisations. The Conference was hold under the patronage of International Day Against Homophobia. The delegation of the European Commission to Belarus gave its political support to the event. Mr Jean-Eric Holzapfel, head of the delegation, insisted in his opening speech on the necessity to fight homophobia in Europe and in Belarus in particular. Also, representatives of the Swedish, French and Hungarian Embassies as well as a representative of the NGO “Global Rights Defenders” (ex-Swedish Helsinki Committee) were present as observers. The conference delegates discussed and adopted a joint resolution on the rights of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender persons in Belarus. The text, which will be sent to President Alexander Lukashenko, the government and the parliament, is calling for the ban on discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, the prosecution of hate speech, the recognition of equal rights of same-sex couples, the recognition of May 17th as the Day Against Homophobia. It furthers asks the authorities to provide support in organizing Slavic Pride in Minsk next May.[15]
A Gay Pride in Minsk under the name Slavic Pride was planned for May 15, 2010. An opinion poll ordered by the Russian LGBT Human Rights Project GayRussia.Ru revealed that 42% of people living in Minsk are not opposed to the organization of public actions by representatives of sexual minorities. The survey showed that 57.7% of respondents in Minsk reject the right of sexual minorities to hold any peaceful public event. At the country level, the result goes to 61.9%. The new poll was ordered by Project GayRussia.Ru and conducted by the Novak Institute on a sample of 1’100 individuals aged 18 and older from September 27 to October 12, 2009. [16]
The city authorities have banned the Gay Pride march, citing Article 9 of the Law of Belarus Republic on the staging of public events which says that “public events are not allowed at the distance of less than 200 metres from underground pedestrian crossings and metro stations”.[17] Nevertheless the March has taken place on May 15, 2010. For about 10 minutes, 40 Belarusians and Russians waived a 12 meters long rainbow flag for a short march of approximately 200 meters. A large group of journalists, photographers and TV crew met them. Suddenly, anti-riot officers ran towards the participants. Most of them managed to run away, 12 participants have been detained, most of them until the next Monday.[18] Sergey Yenin, Vice Chairman of the Human Rights LGBT project Gaybelarus has written a commentary about the humiliations and threats during his detention.[19]
LGBT Human Rights Project Gayrussia.ru
Belarusian portal of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transsexuals Gay.by
Belarusian Party "Green"
National youth civil organization «Vstrecha»
Internet-radio “The main Gay-radio of Russia” gay-radio ru
Civil initiative “Project of gender education 'Step towards'"
Initiative group "Labrys" [20]