match 17,2000'
i'll j ;u iinews
INDIA
ay men and lesbians are coming out of the
shadows in India, the Kyodo News Service
reported Feb. 5.
Authorities are registering one new gay
activist group about every six months, and the
8-year-old New Delhi gay film festival was
opened to the public for the first time this year.
“An increasing number of middle-class Indi
an gays are ‘coming out of the closet,’ much to
the disapproval and consternation of their fam
ilies,” according to Kyodo’s report.
The agency credited the growth of gay life, in
part, to satellite television and the Internet.
“T he country recognizes the status of com
mon-law spouse, even of the same sex, and thus
there’s no reason not to demand, in the name of
this status, citizenship as well. I think that an
important step for human rights has been
taken,” he said.
G
INTERNATIONAL
he world’s first transsexual member of par
liament refused to sign a consent form to
allow the U.S. talk show Roseanne to air a seg
ment taped Jan. 29.
New Zealand’s Georgina Beyer said host
Roseanne departed from scripted questions and
“belittled” her with “tacky” inquiries.
Producers agreed to ax the segment. The
remainder of the episode has not yet aired.
MALAYSIA
n his newspaper column published in Tokyo’s
Mainichi Daily News, Malaysian Prime Minis
ter Mahathir Mohamad said he tolerates foreign
cultures up to a point— but not if they accept
homosexuality.
I
Excellent service comSlned with genuine joy for your event is
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T
ISRAEL
ast month the country granted permanent
residency to the foreign partners of two gay
citizens.
“We agreed to their requests and they will
now he considered as permanent residents,” said
Interior Ministry spokeswoman Tova Ellinson.
L
HOMOSEXUAUn
In the Feb. 15 edition of “Dr. Mahathir’s
World Analysis,” the premier wrote: “I had
lunch with {French President Jacques Chirac]
for about two hours. For Malaysians, we respect
French culture and have no objection to them
drinking wine or liquor during meals with us....
They respect us by not serving pork, but we
respect that in their culture they have wine with
their meals. We don’t go around saying, ‘Your
way is wrong. Our way is right!’
“But there is a limit,” Mahathir continued.
“For example, in Western culture they accept
homosexuality, including promoting homosexu
al practices among school children. We cannot
accept this. We admit that some people are bom
with their sexuality mixed up. That is not their
fault. But to promote homosexual practices
actively, as is being done in some European
countries, is to purposely promote abnormali-
*
The foreign partners will have all privileges
of Israeli citizenship, except the right to vote
and to have an Israeli passport. T he process of
obtaining full citizenship for a foreign spouse
takes about five years.
The cases were championed by Member of
the Knesset Yossi Paritzky, who told the local
H a’aretz newspaper: “I advised the first couple
who turned to me to get married, because mar
riage is status. If the marriage was recognized in
one country, another country cannot refuse to
recognize it, and the Ministry of the Interior is
then obligated to register their marriage."
He then suggested the other couple go a step
beyond.
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UNITED KINGDOM
ritain’s Football Association and
the gay lobbying group Stonewall
are working together to reduce homophobia in
the sport, the London Times reported Feh. 14.
Among the first steps will he placing anti
homophobia ads in game-day programs and
putting questions about homosexuality in the
association’s annual survey of supporters.
“The issue of homophobia is not being prop
erly addressed,” said Fcxttball Association Exec
utive Director David Davies.
B
■
■ Com piled by R ex WOCKNER, who has reported
for the gay press since 1985. He has a bachelor’s
degree in journalism from Drake University and
started his career as a radio reporter.
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