january 19. 2001
l'H lM Iiln e tU S
Rover Hung Over?
NEW ZEALAND
he Wellington City Council has given a
community grant of $764 to the 16th
annual Gay and Lesbian Fair, scheduled for
March 10. The event features stalls, entertain
ment and a dance.
“It’s just like any other festival taking place
in town,” grants committee chairman Rob
Goulden said. “The first thing we look for is
that it’s a meaningful event that adds to the
vitality of the community.”
T
to the National Civil Police demanding protec
tion. The commission asks that letters be sent to
Salvadoran authorities supporting the organiza
tions demand for protection. For details, con
tact iglhrc@iglhrc.org.
AUSTRALIA
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p l a n s for the 2002 Gay Games in Sydney
I have been pared down to avoid insolvency
after the New South Wales state government
refused to provide $1.2 million in funding, the
Australian reports.
Organizers hope to avoid the fate of the
1998 games in Amsterdam, which collapsed
financially the day before the opening cere
monies and had to be bailed out to the tune of
$2.1 million by the city government. Among
the cutbacks, the opening ceremony will be
scaled down and moved from Stadium Aus
tralia to a baseball park.
BRAZIL
he Niteroi City Council has joined more
than 80 other Brazilian cities and two
states in protecting gays from discrimination.
The measure, which passed Nov. 30, autho
rizes penalties for any “business, industry, entity,
association or service provider that discrimi
nates against people based on their sexual orien
tation or performs coercive or violent acts
against them.” Discriminatory acts include
“coercion; prohibiting from entering or remain
ing; differential treatment; additional charges
imposed to allow entering or remaining; and, in
the case of hotels and motels, charging more
than the usual price.”
The penalties can be a warning, exclusion
from municipal grants and credits, a fine, 30
days’ closure or permanent closure. The measure
awaits the mayor’s signature.
The International Gay & Lesbian Human
Rights Commission urges activists to write him
letters. Contact iglhrc@iglhrc.org for details.
T
EL SALVABOR
he office of the San Salvador gay group
Among Friends has been burglarized twice
during the past two months.
Electronics, cash and the membership list
were stolen, and the wires to the alarm system
were cut. The break-ins follow discovery last
year that the group’s telephones and e-mail sys
tem were tapped.
According to the International Gay & Les
bian Human Rights Commission: "Activists
suspect that the attacks were not the work of
ordinary criminals. Costly equipment that
could be easily transported was not touched by
the intruders, who focused their attention on
items of doubtful commercial but potentially
high political value, such as member lists.
Activists regard the crimes as designed to make
it more difficult for them to communicate, par
ticularly with organizations abroad— and as
designed to intimidate and infringe the confi
dentiality of the marginalized communities
whom the organization defends.”
Among Friends members are taking turns
guarding the premises at night and have written
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TU FaturadAdternatio-e to P et Foods and Sappdies
LIECHTENSTEIN
he tiny European nation of Liechten
stein repealed all anti-gay laws Dec. 13
by a vote of 25 to 23.
The statutes banned gay organizations,
male prostitution and positive information
about homosexuality and placed a higher
age of consent on male-male sex (18) than
on male-female and female-female sex (14).
“We are very pleased with the complete
repeal of all four laws, because the first gov
ernment bill presented to the [parliament] in
spring 1999 had still provided for an unequal age
of consent,” said Jackie Lewis, International
Lesbian and Gay Association European Region
co-chair.
The organization said it also is happy the
new penal code considers a same-sex partner to
be “next of kin.” Under the new code, people
older than 18 who have sex with someone who
is 14 or 15 still can be prosecuted if they take
unfair advantage of a distressful situation or pay
him or her for sex.
Make a resolution for a healthier pet
JAPAN
he Japanese Justice Ministry’s Council of
Human Rights Promotion has given gays
short shrift in proposals designed to update
the nation’s human rights protection mecha
nisms, says O C C U R , Tokyo’s Association for
the Lesbian and Gay Movement. The council
has proposed an independent National
Human Rights Commission to tackle human
rights problems and protect vulnerable groups
of people.
The proposal says the commission will take
action against human rights violations based on
race, disability, health, sex, beliefs, social status
and birth. Elsewhere in the document, the
council added that “sexual orientation, etc.” will
be investigated to determine whether it should
be included on the list.
“We appreciate the council for including
the words ‘sexual orientation, etc.’ in their
report, but we are very concerned about the
results of the council investigation,” O C C U R ’s
Masaki Inaba said. “If, after their investigation,
the council decides that positive action should
not be taken by HRC against the violation of
human rights based on ‘sexual orientation,
etc.,’ this will mean that LGBTIs will not be
able to receive any support or assistance from
the new HRC.”
O C C U R is asking activists in other
nations to urge the government to include
lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered and
intersexed people as a regular target group of
the proposed commission. Send the letter to
Staff for Public Com m ents, Council for
Human Rights Promotion, Human Rights
Division, Ministry of Justice of Japan, 1-1-1
Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda-Ku, Tokyo 100-8977,
Japan.
The fax number is 011-81-3-3592-7084- Fax
or e-mail a copy to O C C U R at OH-
81-3-3229-7880 or occur@kt.rim.or.jp. j n
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Compiled by REX WOCKNER, u V io 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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