While we were distressed by draconian laws against homosexuals adopted in Nigeria and Uganda, Ukrainian parliamentarians wasted no time developing no less draconian laws against every and each Ukrainian. Package of repressive laws, which was suddenly adopted today by Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine with the rude procedural violations, shocked the Ukrainian society.
By a so-called law on "additional measures to protect the safety of citizens" Ukrainian Parliament commits an attack on freedom of speech and public assemblies, apparently trying to get a revenge over citizens of Ukraine for EuroMaidan and related recent protest actions. Should Viktor Yanukovych sign it, our country will turn to a police state.
Particularly Verkhovna Rada proposes to return criminalization of libel, to implement a ban on "group violations of public order", on movement in a column of over five vehicles, on establishing tents, stage, or even the sound without the permission by the police, on distribution of "extremist" materials and publishing of a historical nature materials, on collection and dissemination of information about the representatives of law enforcement officials and judicial branch of our government. This document allows to implement a ban on access to the Internet or a total surveillance of anyone, by obliging all customers to conclude official contracts with telecommunication operators. NGOs that receive funds from abroad are announced "foreign agents", as by the Russian example, and they become subjects to income tax. It is not far the complete list of all innovations initiated today by the Verkhovna Rada.
"Such legislation completely destroys the remains of Ukrainian democracy and establishes the hard authoritarian regime in Ukraine. Adoption of a law clearly shows that the authorities plan to conduct hard and brutal elections in 2015 and passes legislation to throttle protests and to preserve their power", – note the experts of Media Law Institute, encouraging citizens and civil society organizations to express their active protest.
Let us mention that the authors of this law package are loyal "friends" of Ukrainian LGBT community Vadym Kolesnichenko, long and passionately concerned about the problem of "propaganda of homosexuality" in the country, and Volodymyr Oliynyk, who until recently was haunted by a possible "cancellation of the Bible".
Автор: Gay Alliance Ukraine
