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STOCKHOLM, September 28 –
Concerns are growing over human rights of gays in Belarus, dubbed by
activists as “Europe’s last dictatorship”.
There are reports of armed militia
storming meetings of LGBT groups, threats or arrests of organisers and even
borders being closed to homosexuals.
Last weekend a “solidarity” event
was held in the Swedish capital and next month a similar event is being
mounted in London.
“Our Nordic-supported events in
Minsk have earlier been attacked and harassed by police and threatened by
both the regime and neo Nazis – so a ‘happening in exile’ seemed to be the
only possibility,” said Bill Schiller, secretary general of the ILGCN
(International Lesbian & Gay Cultural Network) Information Secretariat in
Stockholm.
Relatively little has emerged from
the former Soviet republic of Belarus, though the problems in neighbouring
Estonia and Latvia are well known.
While homosexuality between
consenting adults is legal in Belarus, the state refuses to officially
recognise LGBT organisations and there is no provision for combating
discrimination on sexual orientation grounds in law.
“The difficult situation for all
NGO human rights groups in Belarus is getting worse,” Slava Bortnik, the
head of Amnesty International’s Belarus LGBT group, maintains.
Last weekend’s Stockholm event –
‘Moonbow in Exile’ – included discussions and arts events. And this will be
repeated in London on the weekend of October 7-9.
“Hard-pressed lesbians and gay men
in the former Soviet Republic of Belarus have asked us to hold a ‘Cultural
Festival in Exile’ for them,” explained organiser Ian Stewart.
“[They] dream of the day when
they'll be able to hold their own public celebrations of lesbian and gay
culture without armed militia storming their meetings, participants from
abroad being turned back at the border, and death threats to organisers.
The London ‘Moonbow in Exile’
weekend will be held in the Soho Community Safety Office, 24 Peter Street,
London W1 and other venues. Full details of all events and locations can be
found on the ILGCN
website
at
http://www.tupilak.se/ilgcn/text_arkiv/38.html
While the focus of ‘Moonbow in
Exile’ is on Belarus, the problems in Estonia and Latvia are also
considered.
“The Latvian movement is still
plagued by an enormous fear of coming out in a situation where neo Nazis and
other homophobes – especially from the large Russian minority – join forces
against lesbians and gays” says Swedish veteran activist, Kjell Rindar, who
has been teaching at Latvian universities.
In a talk organised by Gay and
Lesbian Humanist Association (GALHA), Bill Schiller, a GALHA member in
Sweden and co-founder of the Scandinavian-based International Lesbian and
Gay Cultural Network, will be talking about homophobia in Eastern Europe
based on his extensive involvement in campaigns for gay rights in the
region.
This will be held at Conway Hall,
25 Red Lion Square, London WC1. (Tube: Holborn) at 7.30pm on Friday (October
7).
LINKS
Belarus Lambda League website (there is one
English language page, with the rest in Russian.
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Recent Articles
September 27:
USA:
Gay
Pioneers to Be Guests of The Falls Church News-Press at HRCs Silver
Anniversary Dinner. Two of the original ‘gay pioneers’ who
kicked off the modern civil rights movement for lesbians and gays with
demonstrations in Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia in the mid-1960s, will
be the special guests of the Falls Church News-Press, a progressive weekly
newspaper in Northern Virginia suburbs of the nation's capital, at the Human
Rights Campaign’s 25th Anniversary National Dinner in Washington, D.C., on
Saturday (October 1).
Nepal:
HIV Victim Beaten As
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HIV, the virus that can lead to AIDS, was savagely beaten by police and detained
in a Kathmandu police station for a day before being released on payment of
what was effectively a bribe.
Jamaica/UK:
Buju Banton In Court
Friday After Gay-Bashing Attack. UK gay human rights group
Outrage! will be paying particular attention to a trail in a Jamaican court
on Friday when Mark Myrie, better known as reggae
singer Buju Banton, answers charges of assault.
September 26:
Moldova:
Moldova: Discrimination
Against Gays, Lesbians Is Inadmissible, Says Council of Europe.
Moldova must guarantee the fundamental rights of gays and lesbians, a report
from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) says.
September 25:
UK:
Time For Tribute
Website for Gay Community To Be Noticed, by Steven Kay. It seems natural for anyone to
place a tribute into the local paper when a loved one dies. But when
Nigel Barnes, the founder of gaytributes.com tried, he was refused at
every stage, all owing to one little word “gay”.
September 24:
Russia:
Cashman Pledges Support for Moscow Gay Pride.
Michael Cashman, the out-gay Member of the European Parliament, has invited
the Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov to Strasbourg for a “summit” on gay pride
events and of LGBT rights to expression, demonstrations and meetings.
September
23:
Iran:
Holding Iran
Accountable for Violating Gay Human Rights, by Paula Ettelbrick.
The president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, joined the largest
gathering ever of world leaders last week at the United Nations without one
question being asked about his country’s continued violations of
international human rights law. Iran has signed both the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the UN Convention on the Rights
of the Child. Both forbid the execution of any person under the age of 18
for any crime. Yet there has been a rash of public executions in Iran that
have involved youth or were related to sexuality and gender identity.
September 22:
USA:
Amnesty Report Reveals Alarming and Widespread Police
Mistreatment of Gays in USA. In the most comprehensive
report of its kind to date, Amnesty International (AI) reveals that police
mistreatment and abuse of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people is widespread throughout the USA and goes largely
unchecked due to underreporting and unclear, under-enforced or non-existent
policies and procedures.
Full statement by Dr.William Schulz,
Executive Director of Amnesty International USA
Russia:
Gay Russian Wins Employment Discrimination
Case in Landmark Ruling - Court Rules Homosexuality Is Not a Mental
Disorder. In what is seen as a “landmark” ruling, a
court in St. Petersburg has backed a gay man whose military record
said he had a mental disorder, solely on the basis that he was gay.
The man, identified only as “Mr. VP”, had applied to the Russian
State Railways for a job as a guard, but was deemed to be unfit for
the job because of his “mental disorder”.
September 21:
Turkey:
Ankara’s Deputy
Governor Threatens to Close Down Gay Organisation. The
Deputy Governor of Ankara, Selahattin Ekremoglu, is calling for an LGBT
group to be closed down, it emerged today. Ekremoglu claimed last week that
the group operated “against the laws and morality rules” and should be
closed down.
Russia:
Poll Shows Majority
Support Gay Rights in Russia. For the first time ever, a
clear majority of Russians say that there should be equal rights for gays in
the country, a new opinion poll has found.
September
20
Iran:
Iranian Gays Live in Fear.
This is the full
text of the press statement from PGLO (Persian Gays &
Lesbians Organisation) received by email received at Outrage! in
London.
Amir, a young Iranian homosexual, recently spoke out
about the torture he has suffered at the hands of the Iranian authorities.
Iran: Gay Amir, Aged
22, Given 100 Lashes. The bruised and bloodied body of a 22
year old gay Iranian, Amir, bears further witness to the brutality of the
Ayatollah’s regime. Yet many gay and human rights groups in
“the West” are sweeping the matter under the carpet,
Outrage! suggests.
USA:
New York’s Famous Gay
Pair Call It a Day. Commentary. We all know that these days love
often fades and couples, whether gay or straight, split up. News came today
via many British newspapers that Roy and Silo, arguably New York City’s most
famous gay “item”, have decided to call it a day.
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