Hatred Will NOT Stop the Truth

Yesterday, during the partnership event of the PO “ALLIANCE.GLOBAL” with the publishing house “*Vydavnytstvo*” in Lviv – the presentation of Alina Sarnatska’s book “Who combined love and courage” about the experience of LGBTIQ+ people in the war – we faced a frank attempt to disrupt the event.

At 16:00, a group of unknown young people entered the space, whom the police later identified as representatives of the youth right-wing radical public organization “Centuria”. They were not registered for the event, behaved aggressively and openly demonstrated that their goal was to disrupt the educational event for LGBTIQ+ communities for intolerance.

Despite the pressure, the event took place. When the threat became apparent, the team promptly called the police, who arrived in a matter of minutes. Until the end of the event, law enforcement officers ensured the safety of the participants, and the departure was organized through another exit to avoid persecution.

In particular, we would like to thank our regional development coordinator Kateryna and the Lviv regional team, who promptly and timely took control of the situation; the National Police, whose coordinated actions allowed us to avoid dangerous consequences, which promptly responded to the challenge and remained with us until the end of the event. The presence of law enforcement officers became a guarantee of the safety of the participants, and their professional actions allowed to avoid escalation.

PO “ALLIANCE.GLOBAL” emphasizes: law enforcement officers must ensure that the rights of every person are respected – regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. This is an important signal that there is no place for discrimination in Ukraine and that every person deserves respect and protection.

PO “ALLIANCE.GLOBAL” condemns any manifestations of violence and hatred. LGBTIQ+ people defend Ukraine at the front, work in the rear, create culture and civil society. They have the right to visibility, respect and security. Hatred has no space and will not have space in our society.