Pride

Moscow Gay Pride march success

First full march, police outwitted, no arrests

Thirty Russian lesbian, gay and bisexual activists foiled the police and FSB security services by holding a 10 minute flashmob Gay Pride march on one of Moscow’s major thoroughfares, Leningradsky Street, this afternoon, Saturday 29 May.

Carrying a 20 metre long rainbow flag and placards in Russian and English calling for “Rights for gays”, the protesters chanted “No homophobia” and “Russia without homophobes.”

Photos, videos and a message from the Moscow Gay Pride organizer,
Nikolai Alekseev, here:
http://www.gayrussia.ru/en/news/detail.php?ID=15821

“The guerrilla-style hit-and-run Moscow Gay Pride march was over before the police arrived. When they turned up, officers scurried around aimlessly, searching for protesters to arrest. All escaped the police dragnet,” said British gay human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, who joined today’s parade to support the Russian gay campaigners.

“All morning the Gay Pride organisers fed the police a steady stream of false information, via blogs and websites, concerning the location of the parade. They suggested that it would take place outside the EU Commission’s offices. As a result, the police put the whole area in total lockdown, closing nearby  streets and metro stations, in bid to prevent protesters assembling there.

“This was the fifth Moscow Gay Pride and the first one with no arrests and bashings. It was also the first time activists succeeded in staging an uninterrupted parade.

“The Russian gay activists have won a big political and morale victory. They staged their Gay Pride march, despite it being banned by the Mayor and the judges, and despite the draconian efforts by the police and FSB security services to prevent it from taking place. I pay tribute to the courage and ingenuity of the Russian gay and lesbian activists. They outwitted the Mayor and his police henchmen.

“Today’s events felt like steeping back into the Soviet era, when protests were routinely banned and suppressed. It is madness that Russian gay rights campaigners are being treated as criminals, just like dissidents in the period of communist dictatorship.

“The real criminals are not the peaceful Gay Pride protesters but the Moscow Mayor and judges who banned this protest. They are the law breakers. They should be put on trial for violating the Russian constitution.

“The EU, US and UK governments have shamefully failed to condemn the banning of Moscow Gay Pride. They support Gay Pride events in Poland and Latvia, but not in Moscow. Why the double standards?”

“Western ambassadors to Russia offered no support to the Moscow Gay Pride organizers. They ignored suggestions that they host Gay Pride events in their embassy grounds and that they fly the gay rainbow flag on Moscow Pride day, 29 May.

Commenting on Friday’s court decision to uphold the Mayor’s ban on Moscow Gay Pride, Mr Tatchell added:

“In a shameless display of feeble deference to the Mayor of Moscow, a court in the Russian capital upheld Mayor Luzhkov¬¬’s ban of the fifth attempted Moscow Gay Pride parade. The judge acted in defiance of the Russian constitution, which guarantees freedom of expression and the right to protest.

“This is a sad day for Russian democracy. It is the latest of many suppressions of civil liberties that happen in supposedly democratic Russia. Many other protests are also denied and repressed, not just gay ones. Autocracy rules under President Medvedev and Prime Minister Putin.

“This is much bigger than a gay rights issue. We are defending the right to protest of all Russians – gay and straight.

“The courage and resolve of the Russian LGBT activists is inspiring. They were ready to take  whatever brutality the police threw at them,” said Mr Tatchell.

Moscow court upholds Gay Pride ban

EU, UK and US fail to condemn ban

Russian gays will defy courts and mayor

Activists gather in secret Moscow location

“In a shameless display of feeble deference to the Mayor of Moscow, a court in the Russian capital today upheld Mayor Luzhkov’s ban of the fifth attempted Moscow Gay Pride parade. The judge acted in defiance of the Russian constitution, which guarantees freedom of expression and the right to protest.

“This is a sad day for Russian democracy. It is the latest of many suppressions of civil liberties that happen in supposedly democratic Russia. Many other protests are also denied and repressed, not just gay ones. Autocracy rules under President Medvedev,” said human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, who is in Moscow for the fourth time to support Russian gay rights activists.

“The EU and western embassies are hypocrites. They support Gay Pride events in Poland and Latvia, but not in Russia. The UK and US governments have not protested to the Russian authorities. Their ambassadors to Russia have offered no support to the Moscow Pride organizers. They have ignored suggestions that they host Gay Pride events in their embassy grounds and that they fly the gay rainbow flag on Moscow Pride day, 29 May.

“On the eve of the banned march, activists are arriving in Moscow from all parts of Russia, to join the Saturday parade. We are being billeted in secret locations across the city. To outwit the FSB security services, who have previously tried to locate Gay Pride activists by tracing their mobile phones, we have surrendered our mobiles and been issued with brand new Russian sim cards.

“I am holed up with a group of activists in an apartment in Moscow. We’ve been asked to remove all badges and ribbons that might identify us as gay or as activists. All the beds and sofas, and much of the floor space, is taken up with activists form far and wide. Everyone is messing in to organize food and household chores.

“We are ready and determined to make a stand for gay rights and the right to protests. The courage and resolve of the Russian LGBT activists is really inspiring. We’ll take whatever the authorities, and neoNazis, throw at us. We are hoping for no arrests and no assaults, but we are ready for the worst,” said Mr Tatchell.

Leicester Unity overcomes neonazis

[flickr-gallery mode=”photoset” photoset=”72157624059210426″]

Following threats by Leicester’s small but vocal branch of the National Front and other neonazis (including Clive Potter of the British National Party) of violent disruptions at Leicester’s first Pride March, Leicester City Council posted discrete warnings at the entrance to Abbey Park where the march terminated: though they did not advertise the event (which attracted marchers from Nottingham, London, and elsewhere) in the “Out and About” section of their web site.

Undeterred by the threats of violence and of heavy showers, Leicester’s L/G/B/T community turned out to put on a loud, colourful, proud, defiant, and jubilant display for the local townspeople.

The high-profile march route went along the high street and through the pedestrianised precinct, where Saturday shoppers and shop staff all stopped to watch the procession. Curiously, the entrance to one indoor shopping mall was closed: so that shoppers and police inside had to peer out through the grille.

The march was led by the Unity Against Prejudice banner, which was followed by the Soft Bang Bando samba band: three local groups who had combined for the day, and who stalwartly kept up marchers’ spirits and a stirring rhythm throughout the march.

In contrast to Pride marches in recent years in London, the Leicester march was very much a political event: as was underlined by several skirmishes with neonazi trouble-makers. Police arrested a couple of these before the march reached the town centre: though after a search released them without charge.

The local group Leicester Lesbian & Gay Action handed out leaflets on the subject of Monday’s House of Lords vote against repealing Section 28, including contact details for local MP’s.

Clive Potter, a union official employed at Leicester Royal Infirmary, has been suspended by Unison from his role as shop steward, pending an investigation by the union’s National Executive Committee into his “alleged involvement in far-right politics”. The BNP describe Potter as “an unassuming and caring person”.

London Mardi Gras agrees OutRage! Proposals for Community Control of the March/Parade

London Mardi Gras has agreed that a newly-created forum of community groups will have exclusive decision-making powers concerning future Pride marches/parades, and that it will advise London Mardi Gras on policies regarding the post-march/parade Festival in the park and the Pride Arts Festival.

London Mardi Gras has also agreed to fund the community-run march/parade.

Endorsing a proposal put forward by Peter Tatchell of OutRage!, London Mardi Gras leaders and representatives from 28 community groups backed the new plan at an open meeting held at City University in London on Wednesday, 8th September, 1999.

“This is a major breakthrough in our negotiations over the future of Pride. It ensures that the march will remain a democratic, community-controlled celebration”, said Tatchell.

“Although there is still not full agreement over the post-march Festival in the park, London Mardi Gras says it will remedy many of the criticisms of this year’s Festival. We will use the new community forum to make sure that our concerns are addressed.”

In a separate development, London Mardi Gras has indicated to Peter Tatchell that it will adopt “many” of the key proposals put forward by OutRage! in its five-page proposal on the future of Pride, published on 30th July, 1999.

Last week’s open meeting at City University was chaired by Barry Jackson, a director of London Mardi Gras, and was attended by three other LMG directors, Colin Bell, Jean T and Boo Armstrong, plus LMG Festival Director, Jason Pollock.

Tatchell’s six-point proposal, put on behalf of OutRage!, was agreed as follows:

1. The community forum –open to all lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender groups– be empowered to determine all policies regarding the march/parade.
2. All groups be invited to send two representatives to the forum.
3. The forum to meet monthly, with the first meeting being held at the end of September.
4. London Mardi Gras directors and staff be invited to attend the community forum to facilitate liaison and consultation.
5. The execution of the policies agreed at the forum to be delegated to LMG staff and professional contractors.
6. London Mardi Gras to fund the march/parade to ensure a large, high-profile, successful event.

Peter Tatchell is also proposing that the community forum nominate a representative to sit on the board of LMG, although this was not put to last Wednesday’s meeting and has not been agreed. It is a proposal that Tatchell intends to table at the next meeting of the forum, later this month.

FOOTNOTE — MEETING ON FRIDAY, 1st OCTOBER
The “London Mardi Gras Parade Community Forum” is holding its next meeting on Friday, 1st October, from 6 – 8 p.m.  This is open to all L/G/B/T community groups. Any group not having already received an invitation is invited to ring Paul Craig on 020-76.88.01.10 to book places. Disabled access is guaranteed at all meetings.

The Future of Pride / Mardi Gras – OutRage!’s Proposals

FOR DISCUSSION WITHIN THE L/G/B/T COMMUNITY
Presented to Pride (London) Committee and London Mardi Gras on 30 July 1999, and circulated to lesbian and gay community organisations and individuals for consultation and discussion.

MAIN PROPOSALS – A SUMMARY

• reverse the march route to hold a post-march festival in Hyde Park on Saturday, and switch the main festival to Sunday
• make “Partnership Rights” the theme for 2000
• bring both the march and festival under community control
• give GLF veterans pride of place next year (the 30th anniversary of GLF)
• keep the festival free
• ensure a wider diversity of main stage acts to reflect the diversity of our community and its interests

MARDI GRAS – A SUCCESS?

Mardi Gras 1999 was run by a self-appointed gay business consortium. They justified the heavy commercialisation of the event, claiming it was necessary to ensure financial viability and success. But the truth is that Mardi Gras was not as successful as the last community-run Pride march and festival. Despite its faults, Pride ’97 got nearly 100,000 people on the march and 300,000 at Clapham Common. Mardi Gras, in contrast, had only 25,000 marchers and only 65,000 at Finsbury Park. Mainstream media coverage was down too. Moreover, Mardi Gras made a staggering loss of nearly £ 500,000 (compared to cumulative losses, over several years, of £ 160,000 by Pride ’97).

THE KEY MISTAKES

What went wrong? Mardi Gras was over-commercialised, de-gayed, profit-driven and de-politicised. The 78-page official programme contained only three minor references to it being a lesbian and gay event. There was no sign above the stage at Finsbury Park identifying Mardi Gras as a gay festival or supporting our claim for human rights. Naked commercialism was exemplified by:

• the confiscation of food and drink from festival-goers as they entered Finsbury Park;
• the high price of stalls, which excluded most non-profit organisations;
• the lack of community-input into decision-making;
• and the £ 10 entry charge to the festival.

These mean-spirited policies killed off the community spirit and loyalty that inspired Pride for 28 years. Not making the 30th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots a centrepiece of Mardi Gras was a lost opportunity for big-time media coverage.

A NEW DIRECTION FOR 2000 & BEYOND

THE NAME

The rebranding of Pride as Mardi Gras should be scrapped. It was imposed without the agreement of the L/G/B/T community. Why copy Sydney and steal from Manchester? Let’s keep the name Pride and be proud of its history – or come up with an entirely new and original name, something unique to London, perhaps incorporating Pride in the title.

COMMUNITY CONTROL

The Mardi Gras organisers assume that a private business consortium should run the event. But many of us believe Pride is a L/G/B/T community celebration and should be controlled by the community for everyone’s benefit, not private profit. OutRage! wants the march and festival run by a representative, democratic committee of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community groups, working in partnership with gay businesses and individual lesbians and gays. This community coalition should take the key policy decisions, and appoint professional experts to administer the event.

The Mardi Gras organisation has provided no mechanism for community groups to influence, let alone determine, the content and structure of the festival. In contrast, the Pride (London) March Committee did, at least, hold outreach meetings, which were an attempt at consultation. But they failed, largely because there was a widespread perception that these meetings were, first and foremost, PR exercises, with pre-determined decisions being presented as a fait accompli. Whatever the intention of Pride (London), most people who attended the outreach meetings felt that they were not able to impact on its policies in a meaningful way. Despite this criticism, the potential of Pride (London) is basically sound. Unlike the Mardi Gras organisation, which is a private business venture, the Pride (London) March Committee is a membership organisation that individuals and groups can join, and thereby elect committee members and make policy. At the Pride (London) Open Meeting on 24 July, OutRage! proposed the calling of an Extraordinary General Meeting to elect a new, expanded 12-member March Committee, representing a broad cross-section of the L/G/B/T community. This was agreed by the existing committee, and the EGM is now scheduled for 16 October, with all interested L/G/B/T community groups and individuals being invited to attend. It is our hope that this new March Committee will reflect the diversity of the L/G/B/T community, and command the democratic authority and accountability required to organise a successful, large, high-profile march next year.

OutRage! is also proposing that this reconstituted Pride (London) Committee should seek consultative status with the Mardi Gras organisation, and secure Mardi Gras’s agreement on the holding of monthly consultation meetings to discuss key policy decisions regarding the planning of the festival. This grassroots input is a vital precondition for Mardi Gras to win community confidence and support.

HUMAN RIGHTS AGENDA

The last thing OutRage! seeks is a dull, dour Pride/Mardi Gras. Why can’t we have a combination of fun and politics? Keep the carnival atmosphere, but give our campaign against discrimination a higher profile. Pride/Mardi Gras ought to have a specific human rights theme. This should feature in all advertising and press handouts, on the lead banner on the march, and as a giant slogan above the main stage at the festival. Vague themes such as “Equality Through Diversity”, although well intended, do not work. They are too ill-defined, and offer no news angle for journalists. No wonder media reporting is so poor! Having a very clear, concrete human rights theme would give the event a stronger focus and improve the likelihood of news coverage.

HUMAN RIGHTS THEME FOR 2000

OutRage! suggests that the human rights theme for Pride/Mardi Gras 2000 should be partnership rights. This is an issue with broad appeal within the L/G/B/T community, and it is also one that many heterosexuals can understand and empathise with. Most importantly, it is a fairly new issue. There has been relatively little campaigning around partnership rights in Britain, and Pride/Mardi Gras could be a way of putting it on the public agenda. Because partnership rights would be a fresh campaign, the media are more likely to cover it. And since it is a specific demand, it gives marchers plenty of scope for partnership-related costumes and floats.

FLOATS ON THE MARCH

The police are refusing to allow motorised floats on the march. This ban has to be fought and overturned, as both the Notting Hill Carnival and the Lord Mayor’s Parade have police-sanctioned floats. In the meantime, we can still have hand-pulled floats. We urge the organisers of Pride/Mardi Gras to fund a float workshop to design and build simple, light-weight mobile platforms that can be decorated and hand-pulled on the march by 4 – 6 people. These platforms should be made available free of charge (or for a nominal £ 50) to community groups.

FESTIVAL LOCATION

Ideally, the march should go to the festival, so that the two events are fully integrated, with the festival not starting until the march has finished. This reintegration of the march and festival is a difficult objective to achieve, given the limited options for festival sites.

The ultimate festival site is Hyde Park, with the current march route being reversed: starting at Embankment and going to Hyde Park. Under current regulations, the use of Hyde Park would probably preclude the sale of alcohol and many other items normally sold at the festival. Dance tents and fun-fairs would, mostly definitely, be refused. Only the sale of food, soft drinks and some official merchandising would be acceptable to the Hyde Park authorities. This may, of course, change in the future. In recent years, officials at Hyde Park have become a little more flexible about the selling of goods and (very occassionally) alcohol. Using Hyde Park under existing regulations would, therefore, involve a major rethink about the nature of the festival.

A TWO-DAY MARCH & FESTIVAL

One idea is to split the festival into two separate elements on two separate days – the march followed by a new-style, post-march festival in Hyde Park on Saturday, and a more traditional-style, all-day Pride/Mardi Gras festival somewhere like Clapham Common on Sunday. The Saturday events would be run wholly by Pride (London) as a non-profit community celebration, and the Sunday event would be staged by London Mardi Gras in consultation with Pride (London).

SATURDAY MARCH & CONCERT IN HYDE PARK

With a reintegrated march and festival, ending in Hyde Park, the march would start at Embankment and proceed to Hyde Park via Parliament Square, Whitehall, Trafalgar Square, and Piccadilly, culminating with “FREEDOM IN THE PARK” – a four-hour concert for L/G/B/T human rights in Hyde Park, from 4 to 8 p.m..

To get the necessary permissions, this festival would have to be non-commercial, community-oriented and branded under a human rights theme. Its success would depend on securing at least one big-name, broad-appeal entertainer, such as Diana Ross, Elton John, Lesley Garrett or George Michael. As well as musical performers, the concert would include human rights speeches from leading celebrities, politicians and community representatives. If this event is organised around a human rights theme, with a wide appeal, it may be possible to avoid commercial charges by Hyde Park officials. However, if they insist on charging for use of the park, the post-march festival may have to be a paid-for event. In this eventuality, to maintain accessibility, ticket prices should be kept to around £ 5, (with corporate sponsorship, advertising, and food, drink and merchandising concessions being used to pay for any shortfall).

To avoid clashing with the annual Prince’s Trust event in Hyde Park, the date of the Saturday march and festival may have to be moved either forward or backward a week.

SUNDAY FESTIVAL

The following day, Sunday, the more traditional-style Pride/Mardi Gras festival would take place, and be a full day event with a full range of activities, including fun-fairs, dance tents, stalls and so on. It could be held at Clapham Common, Finsbury Park or elsewhere, starting at 12 noon and continuing through until 10 p.m.. By making Pride/Mardi Gras into a two-day event, it would encourage people to come to London from all over the country and all over the world.

MAIN STAGE AT THE MARDI GRAS FESTIVAL

With regard to the line-up on the main stage at the Mardi Gras festival: the main stage has been mostly a one-dimensional, mono-culture of dance music. This excludes and alienates the many lesbians and gay men who don’t identify with that style of entertainment. To be fully inclusive and cater for the diversity of our communities, performances from the main stage need to be more various and wide-ranging. One solution is to bracket the performances into one-hour segments: comedy, pop and classical, each with a different appeal. The main stage staple of disco divas and boy bands is fine, but it could be augmented with opera singers, comedians, pianists, choirs, dancers and chamber orchestras. Those who don’t like whatever is on the main stage at a particular moment can slope off to the fun-fair or to the cabaret, dance or classical tents.

In order to maintain a strong community, non-commercial feel to the festival, it is very important that every hour or so there are brief speeches from celebrities and relevant community representatives on the human rights theme of the year. All stage performers should be asked to say a few words, during song-breaks, in support of the event’s human rights theme.

GLF VETERANS

2000 is the 30th anniversary of the beginning of the lesbian and gay liberation movement in Britain. This was a watershed moment in queer history and consciousness. Veterans from the Gay Liberation Front should lead next year’s Pride March, and speak from the main stage at the Festival.

FOOD & DRINK PRICING

As well as allowing festival-goers to bring their own food and drink, the festival organisers should insist on price limits for drinks, in order to stop unreasonable rip-off charges. This could be achieved by inserting price caps into the contractual agreements with people who take out drink concession licences.

STALLS

The festival is an important opportunity for L/G/B/T community groups to advertise their activities and fund-raise. For non-profit community groups, stalls should be either free or be available for a nominal price of £ 30.

ACCESS & OPTIONS

The guiding festival principles should be accessibility and inclusivity. It should cater for all sections of our community. This means full disabled access and provision (viewing platform, toilets and so on). It also means tents to cater specifically for women and people of colour, and tents for cabaret and classical music. There should be no “18 and over” age limit on people admitted to the festival (as happened at the Mardi Gras festival this year).

KEEP THE FESTIVAL FREE

If Pride/Mardi Gras is to be a fully accessible community festival, it must be free. People from outside of London spend a fortune on fares. The extra burden of an entry fee is unfair. Charging admission also excludes people on low-incomes. Pride/Mardi Gras should be about community solidarity, not commercialism.

FUNDING THE MARCH & FESTIVAL

Critics of the idea of a free festival are wrong to suggest that it is not financially viable. It could be funded as follows:

• voluntary donations (£ 150,000 was collected at Pride ’97)
• the sale of licences for food, drink, fun-fair, stalls and dance tents (£150,000)
• corporate sponsorship from big-name, gay-friendly companies (£150,000)
• a post-festival all-night dance party at Olympia with 25,000 people paying £20 each (£500,000)
• a similar massive dance party in mid-Winter (£500,000).

Grand total: £1.45 million. With these funds, the festival can be free and Pride/Mardi Gras could even raise money for gay charities.

PRIDE ARTS FESTIVAL

This needs to become a higher profile, more integral part of the Pride/Mardi Gras celebrations. The first priority is to locate all the PAF events in a single big-name, large-capacity venue, such as the South Bank Centre or Bloomsbury Theatre. The second priority is for PAF to act as a showcase for a combination of well known and up-and-coming L/G/B/T performers, with a mix of theatre, song, dance, film, comedy and art.

OutRage! offers these constructive proposals as a contribution to the debate within our community on the future direction of Pride/Mardi Gras. We welcome comments and feedback.

FOOTNOTE – MEETING ON SATURDAY, 16TH OCTOBER

At a public meeting on Saturday, 24th July, the Directors of Pride London agreed to hold a public consultation on the future of the Pride March / Parade.

This will be held in London, on Saturday, 16th October, at a venue to be announced. All L/B/G/T groups and interested individuals are invited to attend. — Membership of Pride costs £ 10, (£ 5 concessions).

FOOTNOTE – MEETING ON FRIDAY, 1st OCTOBER

The “London Mardi Gras Parade Community Forum” is holding its next meeting on Friday, 1st October, from 6 – 8 p.m..

This is open to all L/G/B/T community groups. Any group not having already received an invitation is invited to ring Paul Craig on 020-76.88.01.10 to book places. Disabled access is guaranteed at all meetings.

FOOTNOTE – MANCHESTER MARDI GRAS – A READER’S COMMENT

Now we need to make the same suggestions for Manchester’s event, which was a commercial opportunity, not a real community event. As an ex- Londoner, I found it very disappointing indeed. The parade was entirely composed of motorised floats advertising businesses or groups, but had no section for ordinary individual LGBT people representing themselves in all their personal glory. Thus it is a spectator event, not a participatory one. And since there were no pedestrians with banners, any small group wanting to representing itself had to fork out for a float, and then attempt to be worth looking at, which some just didn’t!

The rest of the weekend was largely directed at young drinkers and clubbers with money – the pledgeband costing £ 8/10. So nowhere did we actually see the whole LGBT community out in all its diversity. And not a shred of political awareness either. It needs to go to a park in the future, so that children can come and run about, and those not interested in drink and dance can picnic instead.

The best part of my weekend was joining in behind an AIDS charity float with a sound system and dancing the last half mile into the Village, followed by an hour or more of drinking Coke (bought at a straight pub not participating in the pledgeband scheme) and people watching in Canal Street. But when I returned for a bit more of this on Monday night, the whole area was screened off and out of bounds to those without Pledgebands. Pledgebands are a good idea, but £ 8 is too expensive. They could cost £ 4/5 if the festival was less ambitious and showy and more a DIY community event.

Catherine, Manchester.