Just out., May 18, 2001, Page 25, Image 25

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PTTïïïïFlnews
TO W A R D G L O B A L W)E L L N E S S...
Two politicians marched: Socialist Member of
Parliament Piotr Ikonowicz and Robert Biedron, a
leader in the Left Democratic Union Party. Ikon­
owicz, a candidate for president last year, promised
to support all efforts to legalize gay marriage.
A t a post-parade rally, lead organizer Szymon
N iem iec called on Parliament to form a com ­
mission charged with bringing Polish law into
line with European U nion directives on gay
equality. He also urged gay and lesbian citizens
to bombard politicians with questions between
now and the next election Sept. 23.
T he parade was organized by the Polish
branch o f the International Lesbian and G ay
Cultural Network, the magazines Nowy Men
and Outsider, the A ID S organization T A D A
and the Internet site Gay.pl.
G U A TEM A LA
he International G ay and Lesbian Human
Rights Commission accused the N ational
Civilian Police o f aggressive and systematic abuse
o f gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans people May 3.
“In the last year, authorities in Guatemala have
turned their appointed task to protect the people
into a campaign of social cleansing which takes
sexual diversity as its preferred target,” the group
said. “Incidents of harassment by police officers
include: arbitrary arrests; unnecessary use o f force;
verbal, physical and sexual abuse; and intimidato­
ry behavior and retaliatory threats against activists
and victims who have denounced the abuses.”
T
A U S TR A L IA
L
egislation giving
gay couples spousal
rights in the areas o f
property, pensions and
m edical care passed the
lower house o f Parliament
in Victoria on May 1.
M elbourne is the states
largest city. The Statute Law
Am endm ent (Relationships) Bill
now moves to the upper house.
BR AZIL
A
H
undreds of people staged a protest march
April 28 in Windhoek to denounce Presi­
dent Sam Nujom a’s virulent attacks on sexual
minorities. According to wire service reports, 20
organizations joined the demonstration, which
was spearheaded by the Southern African Human
Rights Nongovernment Organization Network.
In recent outbursts, N ujom a has said: “In
N am ibia we don’t allow lesbianism or homosex­
uality.... We will combat this with vigor— we
will make sure that Nam ibia will get rid of les­
bianism and homosexuality.”
CA N AD A
L
esbian author Jane Rule, who wrote the
book that was made into the classic film
Desert Hearts, has denounced the drive to legal­
ize gay marriage, Vancouver’s Xtra! West report­
ed. “ I’ve worked long and hard in the gay move­
ment, and I don’t like the energy that’s being
spent on this,” she said.
In Canada, where Rule lives, gay and lesbian
couples who live together more than a year now
must declare, themselves before the government as
common-law spouses, whether or not they want to,
and take on a number of legal marital obligations.
“Over the years when we have been left to live
lawless, a great many of us have learned to take
responsibility for ourselves and each other, for rich­
er or poorer, in sickness and health, not bound by
the marriage service or model but singu­
larities and groupings of our own inven­
tion,” Rule said. ‘T o be forced back
into the heterosexual cage of couple-
dom is not a step forward but a step
back into state-imposed definitions
of relationship. With all that we
have learned, we should be help­
ing our heterosexual brothers
and sisters out of their state-
defined prisons, not volun­
teering to join them there.”
ccording to a survey by
the province of O n­
tario, 60 percent of sexual
minority residents of the
nation’s capital feel safe and
accepted, the Ottawa Sun
reported April 24. The poll
questioned 825 people.
WH
L i
/
]r l /
T
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A
total of 130 gay, lesbian and
people were murdered in Brazil last
year because of their sexuality, according
to a new report from Grupo Gay da
Bahia.
A ccording to C ause o f Death:
Homophobia, 1,960 anti-gay murders
BELARUS
have occurred during the past 20 years.
he State Publishing
Luiz Mott (above);
S ao Paulo (28 murders last year) and Per­
C om m ittee o f Be­
Marcelo Cerqueira
nambuco (18 murders) are the most dan­
larus has unbanned Forum
Lambda Review. Tire panel revoked the monthly
gerous states for sexual minorities.
gay magazine’s registration March 3, claiming it
“ During Carnival everyone applauds gay per­
"was registered as an educational and cultural
formers, but for the rest o f the year all they get is
publication but has been running erotic content
humiliation, bashings and death,” said Luiz
for more than a year now.”
M ott, co-author o f the report. "Hom osexuals are
Publisher Edward Tarletski fought back, filing
the most hated social minority in Brazil. N ot
even in Muslim or African countries, where
a complaint with the nation’s highest court. The
homosexuality is still a crime, are so many vio­
revocation was lifted just as judges began consid­
eration o f the case.
lent deaths recorded as in Brazil.”
Co-author Marcelo Cerqueira said most o f the
Meanwhile, the publication’s Web hosting
victims were hairdressers, teachers, civil servants
service, the International Research and Ex­
and trans sex workers; others included engineers,
changes Board, has given Forum Lambda Review
doctors, a Portuguese consul and a priest. “T h e
two weeks to find a new Internet provider, Tar­
profile o f the murdered gays reveals that the
letski said. The company said it no longer will
work with “public organizations.”
majority o f them were in their prime, between 18
“Unofficially, a reliable source in IREX informs
and 30 years o f age, middle and lower class.”
us that the administration made the decision
A total o f 43 percent o f the victim s were
about
rejecting Web hosting and e-mail service
shot to death, and 28 percent were stabbed.
under pressure from the Belarusian government,”
M any were tortured. A bout 80 percent o f the
Tarletski says. “The IREX administration also
trans sex workers were murdered in the street,
while 64 percent o f the gay m en were killed in
thinks that our site contains pornography.” JF1
their own homes.
H alf o f the killers were younger than 21 and
Compiled by R ex WOCKNER, who has reported
working class, manual laborers or unemployed.
for the gay press since 1985. He has a bachelor’s
Many worked as call boys. “O nly 10 percent of
degree m journalism from Drake University and
started his career as a radio reporter.
the murderers go to prison,” M ott said.
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