|
News
|
 |
|
14 June 2022, 10:00LGBT pride parade won't be allowed in Chisinau - city mayor
Chisinau, June 14, Interfax - Mayor of the Moldovan capital Chisinau Ion Ceban has said that he does not intend to permit an LGBT pride parade in the city.
"I am opposed to holding the LGBT community's pride parade in the capital and do not plan to backtrack on this position. This is my position, which coincides with the position of the absolute majority of Chisinau residents," Ceban said at a City Hall meeting.
The mayor said that, in his opinion, discrimination is "when a person's rights to employment and education are restricted."
"We, for our part, do not violate the rights either to employment or to education. Why should there be divisions within this society? Let's concentrate on other things. What we had at such parades in previous years, mayhem on the streets around these parades, children should not see it," he said.
An application for permission to hold an LGBT pride parade in Chisinau was registered by the city authorities on May 16. This march is on the events list published on the city authorities' website.
Vasile Pascar, the Chisinau administration's official in charge of large-scale events in the city, told reporters that, indeed, the mayor has not signed a directive permitting this march, which, according to Pascar, could take place even without permission.
"Yes, they have submitted a notification about the event, and it has been registered. The City Hall may cancel this event or change its route under the law, but only through court. [...] If the directive is not signed, the event may take place on the basis of this notification alone," he said.
A traditional LGBT festival, Moldova Pride, is planned for June 13-19. A festival announcement was published by the event's organizer, GenderDoc-M LGBT community rights advocacy. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, foreign guests, including the ambassadors of a number of countries accredited in Moldova, participated in the parade. In recent years, the police tightly cordoned off the site of the event and closed nearly streets, while Orthodox groups tried to disrupt the march. |
