MOLDOVA
Chisinau Authorities OK Gay Pride Parade for First Time
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CHISINAU, May 6, 2008 – Organisers of the Gay Pride in Moldova – “Rainbow over the Dniester” – are hopeful of being able to stage a parade this year in the country’s capital, Chisinau. The Pride is the seventh to be organised, but in previous years the parade has been banned by the authorities. “During three previous consecutive years, public authorities have banned the public manifestations on various pretexts,” said a spokesperson for GenderDoc-M, the Pride organisers. “This year after we applied to the City Hall to inform the authorities about planned public manifestation within the Pride, we got the information, which gave us hope. “The representative of the City Hall informed us that now according to the new law “About public manifestations” we have right to organize public manifestation in the format we indicated and for this we do not need permission of the authorities. “For holding this manifestation this year we only need to have with us the document which says that our application is registered at the City Hall. “A couple of days in advance we have to call City Hall to confirm our event and to check if it does not coincide with any other events.” The event is scheduled to be stage on May 11 in the central square in Chisinau. Under the slogan “All different – all equal”, the parade coincides with the celebration of the 10th anniversary of GenderDoc-M work in Moldova. The parade from 11 am till 12 noon, starting at the National Library and heading to the Central Square of the City. “We do hope that this year LGBT community will be able to benefit from the new law and nobody will ban it as previous years,” the spokesperson said. Other events during this year’s Pride, which gets underway on Thursday, include the laying flower to the monument of the victims of repressions and an cursion to Moldovan historical places. Other important events are official Pride opening ceremony, reception to celebrate 10th anniversary of GenderDoc-M activities, an ernational conference, an international contest Miss Flawless Queen-2008, concerts with participation of Moldovan pop stars, and Pride closing ceremony. In Moldova, prides are cultural festivals of LGBT community. The aim of the events is to inform society about diversity and to increase visibility of LGBT community in our society. Prides get together large number of people not only form the LGBT community but also people who support LGBT movement (parents, friends etc) from Moldova and abroad. This year guests from Sweden, Canada, Russia, Romania, Netherlands, Belgium, Israel, Ukraine, Belorussia, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan will be attending. Supporting Moldova Gay Pride are the Swedish Helsinki Committee, Swedish Agency for International Development (SIDA), Lesbian and Gay Association COC in Netherlands, and ILGA-Europe. SEE ALSO Victory Claimed by Gays in Moldova at Chisinau ‘Pride’. Organisers of the Moldova ‘Gay Pride’ – Rainbow over the Dniester – have claimed a victory over the Chisinau city authorities. (UK Gay News, May 3, 2007) LINK
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