According to Lb.ua (Left Bank), the deputies of Verkhovna Rada found the so-called National Expert Commission for the protection of public morality, which for many years has been headed by Vasyl Kostytsky, inefficient and redundant.
Rada made a decision to liquidate the Commission: for the corresponding draft law № 1647 voted 245 deputies while the required minimum was 226.
National Commission was created according to the law on Protection of Public Morality dated 20 November 2003 and started to work in the end of 2004. Its main function was to control the work of mass media and organizers of events and shows for the presence of sexual and/or erotic contest, as well as violence and abuse. The Commission was funded from the state budget.
The key tasks of the National Expert Commission were: expert examination of products and entertainment events of a sexual or erotic nature, and products containing elements or propaganda of the cult of violence, cruelty, pornography; analysis of processes and trends in the area of protection of public morality, development of the recommendations for their legal regulations for government agencies and local authorities; control over observance of legislation in the field of protection of public morality; participation in the development of the international agreements with Ukraine on the protection of public morality.
Among the most resonance decisions of the Commission were the prohibition of showing adult animated sitcom "The Simpsons" and TV program Comedy Club, restriction in showing of animated television series "South Park" and recommendation to prohibit computer games Mortal Kombat, God of War III and Manhunt II.
Effect of The Commission's activities also felt our glossy LGBT magazine “One of us” (Odyn z nas), which monthly editions were regularly sent to the expertise by its experts, who were searching for the aforementioned "materials of erotic and sexual nature" in all its publications.
One more sensational act in the field of "compliance with public morality" was the prohibition of the movie "Bruno" with Sacha Baron Cohen in the lead role in Ukrainian film distribution in 2009. Officially, the show of the movie was canceled by the former Ministry of Culture and Tourism, which justified its decision by the fact that some movie scenes, including – fake gay parade and nudity – might offend religious conservatives.
Автор: Sofa Hadashot
