Kaunas LGBT march organizers: If the municipality complains about the decision to allow the event, it will be regrettable

It was recognized that the actions of the municipality restrict freedom of assembly

Representatives of sexual minorities have the right to march in Laisvės Alley, which has become a traditional venue for various events and marches, and the Kaunas Municipality’s refusal to allow it should be seen as a violation of the citizens’ constitutional right to gatherings. peaceful. . This is the essence of the decision of the Kaunas Chamber of the Regional Regional Administrative Court announced on July 30, which partially satisfied the complaint of the organizers of the Kaunas Pride march.

This decision voids the letter of the Kaunas municipality and is obliged to coordinate the route of the first Kaunas Pride march in the history of the city in Laisvės Alley, which will take place in St. Achangel Mykolas Crew Church (Soboru), the column will march up to the intersection with E. Ožeškienės street, turn around and return to Independence Square near the M. Žilinskas Art Gallery and Soboru.

In the opinion of the three-judge panel, the Kaunas Municipality did not provide substantiated evidence that the march of sexual minorities in Laisvės Alley would violate public order or public interests, and the restriction imposed by the Kaunas authorities to refuse to coordinate the The route was disproportionate and in violation of the right to peaceful assembly.

The decision is not final, it can be appealed

Municipality representatives who do not want a sexual minority parade in Laisvės Alley can appeal the decision of the Kaunas Chamber of the Regional Administrative Court to the Supreme Administrative Court within 30 days. Aivaras Žilvinskas, a deputy attorney representing the May 1 union organizing Kaunas Pride, has no doubt that this right will be exercised.

The Kaunas Municipality may file a complaint on the last day, August 30, when the event itself is scheduled for September 4. Therefore, the final decision should be made by the Supreme Administrative Court in a very short time.

According to the lawyer, after evaluating the resources of the Kaunas municipality, one week would be enough to prepare a complaint, so it would be strange to wait a month and file it on the last day.

On the other hand, even if that happened, the Supreme Administrative Court could still process the appeal urgently and reach a final decision before September 4. According to A. Žilvinskas, the procedure for the division of cases stipulates which cases must be examined urgently, and in cases related to elections there have been cases in which they are examined and a decision is made within one day.

The LGBT march could also become a protest against the municipality

Viktorija Kolbešnikova, one of the organizers of the Pride of Kaunas, says that such a scenario of events would only show the moral face of the municipality and trigger a confrontation, which is actually unwanted.

“The court recognized that the municipality had violated the Constitution by refusing to allow us to march on Laisvės alley. Such an action by the municipality is unconstitutional, I don’t know what to call it.

I can assure you that the date (September 4 – ed.) Will not change. I cannot guarantee the form, as this is not a final decision, an appeal can be made. Although the jurisprudence is already based on the Vilnius example (there were disputes in court about the Baltic Pride march route – ed.), I think it would be a waste of time in court. Although everything can be, I promise that the event will take place on September 4, “Delfi V. Kolbešnikova, one of the organizers of Kaunas Pride, told the portal.

When asked what the solution would be if the dispute in the courts dragged on too long, or if the Kaunas municipality simply ignored the court’s verdict and did not coordinate the route of the first sexual minority marches in the city’s history, V Kolbešnikova said that it would be better to change the form of this action than to take unauthorized actions.

He said he did not want the protest by the LGBTQ + community, which highlighted the problems of sexual minorities, to become a protest against the municipality.

“If an open war breaks out, it will become a protest against the municipality and we will not be given the right to say what we really want.” I would not like this option very much, I would like both parties to enjoy the rest of the summer without tension and meet on September 4.

The LGBTQ + festival will take place in Kaunas, and the march is one of its parts

V. Kolbešnikova mentioned that the planned “Kaunas Pride” march is just one of the LGBTQ + community events that will take place in September. Even trying to prevent minority representatives from marching in the center of Kaunas, Laisvės Alley, in any case other events will take place.

“The events will start on September 2. The” Curves “festival will take place in Kaunas, thematic films will be screened, artistic performances and debates will take place in parallel at the” Emma “social center. If we can reconcile, we will have a place, after the march there will be a community stay, a party, so the march is just one of the events, that is why I say that on September 4 only something will happen, not only on this day, but both before and after.

I think Kaunas Pride is already taking place in public space, so September 4 is just a symbolic date, ”said V. Kolbešnikova, one of the organizers of the march.

He clarified that the purpose of the march was not a celebration of the LGBTQ + community, but rather a protest. On the Facebook account of the social network, the organizers of Kaunas Pride indicate the following essential requirements: respect for privacy, science-based sex education, free medical care for trans people and exchange of documents without court decision, psychological assistance competent, correction of the law for the protection of minors from negative information, elimination of homosexuality as harmful information, right to marriage and adoption.

V. Matijošaitis is waiting for the march, but will not send a personal invitation.

It seems that the attitude of the municipality against the LGBTQ + aspiration to hold marches in Laisvės Alley, and not in the remote Kleboniškis Park, as the organizers suggested, may be related to the personal position of Mayor Visvaldas Matijošaitis towards minority representatives.

When “Delfi” asked V. Matijošaitis how he himself evaluates the representatives of sexual minorities and their rights, the mayor of Kaunas said that the city is multifaceted, there are different people, everyone has to find a place to live and be citizens.

When the mayor reminded him that the Kaunas Pride organizers had invited him to participate in the march by attaching a rainbow badge to his card, V. Matijošaitis replied that he was invited to many places, but that he should not participate everywhere.

When asked by the mayor of Kaunas if he would go to the Kaunas Pride march, if the event was allowed to take place, V. Matijošaitis said that he prefers to look at women rather than men. The Kaunas chief mentioned that all the inhabitants of the city are equal to him, but someone definitely wants to stand out.

In his interview, the mayor admitted that several people live in Kaunas. If you want to support its inhabitants, we will be happy to wait for you, but we will definitely no longer invite you in private. It seems to me that I could come in solidarity with the townspeople, that would be the most beautiful thing, ”said V. Kolbešnikova.

The organizers of the march hope that the incidents will be avoided

In preparation for the first planned march in the history of the LGBTQ + community in Kaunas, there were indications that the parade of sexual minorities may face opposition from opponents.

Many passions were awakened by the message of the Kaunas football club “Inkaras” distributed on the social network Facebook, in which it proposed to organize marches in the Vilijampolė district, which has been famous for a long time.

“FC INKARAS offers the mayor of Kaunas permission to organize LGBT marches 09.04 in Vilijampolė, Raudondvaris highway. The road is wide, capable of accommodating many of the people on this march. We believe that this could be the first and last march in Kaunas ”, announced the representatives of the Inkaras club, illustrating this message with a homophobic photomontage that demonstrates the supposed opposition between Kaunas and Vilnius.

The former deputy mayor of Kaunas, Stanislovas Buškevičius, also informed the Delfi portal about the “anti-imitation”. He mentioned that he had offered the students a campaign with the main motto: “Give back the stolen rainbow from the children” and received a lot of support. According to Kaunas politicians, children are already ashamed of the rainbow and draw genitalia instead.

It appears that the court’s decision to compel the Kaunas municipality to allow representatives of sexual minorities to march in Laisvės Alley and claim their rights will not leave the participants of the “Family March” or Kaunas residents who sympathize with them.

V. Kolbešnikova, one of the Kaunas Pride organizers, admitted that she may have to face protesters against the LGBTQ + marches.

“Everyone has the right to express their opinion, this is normal. We hope everything goes well, we will be able to avoid incidents. On the other hand, big changes don’t happen without resistance. That must also be taken into account, ”said the LGBT activist.