Protests against homophobia, state status of Russian language held in Kyiv
KYIV. July 2 (Interfax) - Two protests are now being held in front of the Ukrainian parliament building: a protest against homophobia and a protest against giving the Russian language state language status.
The protest against homophobia has some 20 participants, an Interfax correspondent has reported. They are holding pro-homosexuality and anti-discrimination placards.
The protest in support of the Ukrainian language and against giving Russian the status of a state language has some 150 participants. They are knocking on empty buckets and tooting. The protesters are holding state flags of Ukraine and placards saying "Let's save the language and go home," "Down with Ukraine division," "Stop the language law," and "I have no money for two languages."
There are police officers at both rallies. The two protests are divided with a police cordon.
According to earlier reports, the Ukrainian parliament passed in the first reading on June 5 the bill, "On the Foundations of State Language Policy initiated by the Party of Regions." The bill strengthens the positions of Russian and the languages of other ethnic minorities in regions where 10% of the population speaks the language.