Russian pavilion calls Edmonton Heritage Festival exclusion a human rights violation

The Russian Heritage Cultural Development Association says being excluded from this year's heritage festival is a human rights violation.

"Banning individuals from participating in a cultural event based on their ancestry or place of origin should be considered a violation of human rights," the Russian Heritage Cultural Development Association (RHCDA) wrote in a letter to the Alberta Human Rights Commission, which it shared with CTV News Edmonton on Friday.

"This decision of EHFA board is deeply disturbing - by excluding individuals based on their ancestry or place of origin, the event organizers are perpetuating stereotypes, reinforcing divisions, and limiting the free expression of cultural identity."

The Edmonton Heritage Festival Association (EHFA) announced two weeks ago that the Russia pavilion would not participate in the August event.

The board said consultations and meetings revealed "it was not possible" for the Russian and Ukraine pavilions to "come up with a solution together."

It also said the decision to ban the Russian booth was made for safety reasons, noting "several threats demanding that the EHFA not allow the Russian pavilion to participate." Police told the festival board it would need extra security if it allowed RHCDA to participate.

The organizers of the Russian pavilion claim both their group and Edmonton's Russian community have been subject to defamation, bullying and threats over the last two months.

"These group(s) actively pursued our expulsion from the Edmonton Heritage Festival and directly associated the Russian culture with war, describing Russian culture as 'chauvinistic,' militaristic' and 'repressive,' and finally sending direct threats to our community with statements that we will 'remember this festival forever' if we persist in our desire to be part of the Heritage Festival," the RHCDA wrote in the letter.

The group also sent the human rights commission copies of requests from the Ukrainian pavilion organizers for the festival board to exclude the Russian pavilion.

"It kind of makes me angry," Yaroslav Broda, the president of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress in Edmonton, said in response to the RHCDA letter.

"Where the letter irks me a little, it's a continuation of their silence, the deafening silence from the Russian community."

Broda pointed to support received from the Belarusian-Canadian and Iranian-Canadian groups, and added the Russian community does not acknowledge the war in Ukraine in its letter.

"They paint themselves as the victims," Broda said.

"It's easy to say human rights violation and cc the human rights commision and that kind of stuff, but there's been no statement regarding the human rights violations, the crimes against humanity, the genocide that's been happening in Ukraine the last year and a half."

Recently, the UCC-APC demanded the RHCDA to make its stance on the war "clear" and to support Ukraine, either withdraw from the festival or post signs and participate in a fundraiser for Ukraine.

In a statement to CTV News Edmonton, EHFA said, in part:

"At this time, the EHFA is refraining from providing detailed comments on the contents of the statement. However, we want to assure our community and stakeholders that the matter is being taken seriously. The statement was promptly shared with the EHFA's board of directors and partners to ensure a comprehensive and thoughtful review, at which point the EHFA may provide a further statement.

"The Edmonton Heritage Festival Association has always been committed to promoting cultural diversity and community engagement. We deeply value the contributions and perspectives of all groups represented in the festival, including the Russian heritage community."

The RHCDA asked the human rights commission for advice on what to do next.