On Sunday, February 27 – Holocaust Memorial Day, hundreds of people from Londonās LGBT+ communities and their allies will protest outside the Russian Embassy in London against the new wave of brutal attacks against LGBT+ people thatĀ are taking place in Chechnya, Russia.
THEIR message will beĀ āNEVER AGAIN EVER!ā
This Holocaust Memorial Day ā 80 years since the start of World War II ā the protest remembers the thousands of LGBT+ who perished during the Nazi Holocaust and the millions of Queers across the world who have been killed or brutalised since. The protests immediate focus is to act for those who have been killed, detained and tortured in a new crackdown on LGBT+ people in Chechnya.
Kristine Garina, President, EuroPride, says: “Fifty years ago this June the LGBT+ movement was born. This human rights crisis demands that we all become activists like those brave people half a century ago. We cannot stand back whilst our LGBT+ siblings are being detained, tortured and killed.”
The reports earlier this month echo those that started in 2017 and havenāt stopped since. Hundreds of people were rounded up because of their sexuality or perceived sexuality by authorities in Chechnya and subjected to beatings and electric shocks in secret prisons, provoking international condemnation and sanctions. Worryingly, verified reports from the Russian LGBT Network suggest three people have been killed in recent weeks.
Peter Tatchell, Director of the Peter Tatchell Foundation, says: āThe heart-breaking reports of renewed state torture and murder of LGBT+ people are a damning indictment of the tyrannical Chechen regime and of the Russian President Vladimir Putin. He has refused to use his powers to stop the homophobic terror campaign and to bring perpetrators to justice. We deplore all human rights abuses in Chechnya ā including detention without trial, torture and arbitrary killings. At this protest, we stand in solidarity with Chechen LGBTs and all persecuted Chechen people.ā
The protest will call for:
- Theresa May to publicly condemn these atrocities
- All Governments to give shelter to those fleeing from Chechnya
- For a United Nations Independent Investigation on Russia with a specific mandate on the human rights violations in the Chechen Republic
- The Russian authorities to bring those responsible for these atrocities to justice and, failing that, for the international community to intervene and arraign the perpetrators before the ICJ
āWe are truly grateful to everyone who supports us! Moreover, we believe that it was an international pressure that stopped the first wave of persecution, so yes, it will be very useful!ā saysĀ Russian LGBT Network.
“The news of a new wave of anti-gay persecution in Chechnya is deeply disturbing. Silence is complicity. All world leaders, including the UK Prime minister, must condemn these atrocities and ask Russian authorities to bring those responsible to justice,”Ā addedĀ Matt Beard, Executive Director, All Out.
Organiser ask that you take as many pairs of shoes as possible to the protest to make a sculpture ofĀ shoes just like those piled up outside of Auschwitz.
Dan Glass from Queer Tours of London ā A Mince Through Time,Ā said: “All four of my grandparents were Nazi Holocaust survivors. The influence their stories had on me was one of my main reasons I co-founded āQueer Tours of London ā A Mince Through Timeā. I know all too well how the LGBT+ communities have suffered but also resisted fascism throughout history. Wild horses wouldnāt stop me from getting involved in this Sundayās protest to make sure homophobic genocidal maniacs get their comeuppance! Iām so looking forward to be with our glorious LGBT+ communities in London, send love and solidarity to our Chechen queer family and in my own way ā get justice for others that my grandparents never had. Never Again Ever!ā”
To sign the ‘All-Out’ petition, click here:
Event: Queer Power Protest againstĀ Chechnyan murders this Holocaust Memorial Day
Where:Ā Russian consulate, Corner of Bayswater Road and Ossington Street, London W2 4LW ā nearest tube āNotting Hill Gateā:Ā Map:Ā https://bit.ly/2RC4rop
When: Sunday, January 27, 2019
Time: 1pm – 2pm
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