On May 16th in Nikolaev about 40 representatives of "Zaporozhie Kazachestvo" (the Cossacks of Zaporozhie), "Molodaya Gvardiya" (the Youth Guard) and "Dialog" (Dialogue) local organisations and members of local religious groups have disrupted the opening and holding of a poetry salon readings of Martha Koghan, a poetess from Kyiv, scheduled to be held at the House of artists at 6 pm local time. The action was taped by members of "LiGa" LGBT organisation of Nikolaev city.

The crowd aggressively set against participants of this poetry evening, led by people in civvies, blocked the entrance to one of the exhibition halls of the local House of artists and tried to provoke members of "LiGa" organisation and guests of the event on some brawl, producing deliberate offences to human dignity of its guests and participants. The leaders of "LiGa" association had to call the police to restore public order. Thanks to due professional qualities of high ranking police officials clash was prevented. The anti-gay crowd forced the administration of the "LiGa" association to remove the two banners of the pride festival - "Rainbow Spring" and "LGBT view on the world" and dissolved only after this.

Then, after the passage to the entrance was cleared and unblocked by the militia and security, "LiGa" members found out that three masterpieces of photo artists from Kyiv and Odessa had disappeared. The photo exhibition was untimely closed, the poetry evening and stand-up meal were cancelled.

On Monday, May 18th, "LiGa" association plans to file a suit to the local law enforcement agencies on the theft of photo masterpieces and a suit on deliberate disruption of holding of the planned gay event and impeding its official activities. Moreover, the Nikolaev local court has recently banned the "Rainbow Spring" gay festival, organised by "LiGa" LGBT organisation.

To read more on the issue, visit the Ukrainian gay web site UGay.Ru

Translated byYerdna Bananes