Western Romania: Oradea Pride March to take place despite City Hall opposition, organizers say

The Oradea Pride March will take place, even though Oradea City Hall has "banned" the event, according to the organizers, the ARK Oradea Association.

Oradea City Hall denied ARK’s request to hold the march, citing public works and other public gatherings on each of the 11 proposed routes. No alternative routes were proposed, but the ARK Association notified the local authorities of the alternative route on which the march will take place.

Ark Oradea states that through the refusal to allow the event, for the third consecutive year, “the local administration flagrantly violates fundamental rights protected by the Constitution, such as freedom of expression and freedom of assembly in public space.” As a result, ARK will sue the institution.

“City Hall's response represents an act of defiance of the law and marks a dangerous precedent at the national level. Despite the fact that the organizers complied with all legal provisions and submitted all the necessary documents, the local administration rejected the request, invoking, as in previous years, either the existence of ‘previously approved events’ or rehabilitation works carried out in the city,” the organizers stated.

Even under these conditions, the organizers announce that the Oradea Pride March will take place on July 26, starting at 15:30, in the form of a peaceful protest. Participants will gather in front of the headquarters of the Bihor County Council and go on to the Oradea City Hall.

“The right to free expression and to free assembly are fundamental for all Romanian citizens, including those from the LGBTI community, and how the local administration acted represents a direct violation of the Constitution of Romania, the main guarantor of these rights. Fundamental rights cannot be annulled through administrative decisions, and local authorities have a positive obligation to facilitate their exercise, not to systematically sabotage them,” states the ARK Oradea press release.

According to Iulian Dițiu, president of ARK Oradea, the systematic refusal to hold the march “is a model of exclusion of a part of the local community and a deliberate strategy to obstruct the visibility of LGBTI people in public space.”

“What we are seeing today in Oradea is worryingly reminiscent of what is happening in Hungary, where the Orbán government has turned the LGBTI community into a scapegoat and has severely restricted civil liberties,” he added, cited by local news outlet eBihoreanul.ro.