United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan last week made an unprecedented appearance at a U.N. symposium on gay rights. (Photo by David Karp/AP)
Activists find inspiration, new enemies from the West
Homophobia a major obstacle to prevention efforts
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Friday, August 15, 2003
NEW YORK (AP) — Secretary-General Kofi Annan followed up his appearance
at a panel on protecting the rights of lesbians and gay men with a statement
last week declaring that the United Nations cannot condone discrimination or
persecution on any grounds. Annan made a brief appearance Aug. 4 at the symposium,
which organizers said was unprecedented at the United Nations. “He believes
that the United Nations cannot condone any persecution of, or discrimination
against, people on any grounds,” said the next day’s statement, issued
by his spokesperson. Gay activist speakers, including U.S. Rep. Barney Frank,
a Democrat, demanded that gay rights be included in international human rights
treaties and asked the United Nations to provide equal benefits to same-sex couples.
U.N. spokesperson Fred Eckhard said Annan was carefully considering how to move
forward on the issue because “member states themselves have divergent and
strongly held views on this subject.”
ZAGREB, Croatia — New legislation from Croatia will give gay partners
the same legal rights as their unmarried straight counterparts, a move that
has been hailed as the first step toward full recognition in the country, Gay.com
U.K. reported last week. The legislation will give same sex partners of at
least three years the same rights as unmarried cohabiting opposite-sex partners,
including the right to legal regulation of property and mutual responsibility
for financial support. The move reflects a general liberal attitude in Eastern
Europe’s former communist block. In 1996, the Hungarian Constitutional
Court made a similar move, extending the rights of unmarried cohabiting opposite-sex
partners to same-sex partners.
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan (AP) — An Uzbek journalist charged with sodomy has
pleaded guilty at his closed trial and dismissed his lawyers, according to
rights activists who alleged Monday that his actions were the result of pressure
from the authorities. Ruslan Sharipov said at a hearing Aug. 8 he was ready
to admit his guilt on all charges and apologize to President Islam Karimov
and other officials for criticizing them in his articles, according to Surat
Ikramov, a rights activist who has been helping defend Sharipov in court. Sharipov
earlier maintained his innocence and said the case against him was fabricated.
Sharipov, 25, a journalist who leads an independent civil rights group that
focuses on protecting media freedom, was arrested May 26 and accused of having
gay sex, having sex with minors and running a brothel. Sharipov, who is open
about his homosexual orientation, faces up to three years in prison if convicted
under a Soviet-era law banning sodomy. If found guilty on the other charges,
Sharipov could face another five years in prison.
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Government censors banned an episode of
a popular Malaysian TV show for allegedly encouraging the acceptance of homosexuality,
officials said last week. The show’s producers — who include the
daughter of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad — accused the censors of
being out of touch with real-life issues faced by young people in this predominantly
Muslim country. “We’re not trying to condone homosexuality,” said
Lina Tan, executive producer of “3R,” a weekly current affairs
series for young women. “But we want to promote better understanding
of this issue.” Tan, who directed the banned episode, titled “Identity
Behind The Mirror,” said it contained interviews with two middle-aged
lesbians, as well as a skit about discrimination against gay men and lesbians.
Same-sex acts in Malaysia are punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a
flogging. However, the laws are only enforced occasionally. Mahathir, who has
led Malaysia for 22 years, has denounced homosexuality.
OTTAWA — Some Liberal backbenchers want to force Prime Minister Jean
Chrétien and his cabinet to back down on same-sex marriage at what is
expected to be a heated national caucus meeting next week, the Toronto Globe & Mail
reported. “This [same-sex marriage issue] is going to possess the caucus,” Sarnia
Liberal MP Roger Gallaway told the Globe & Mail. The caucus meets Aug.
19-21 in North Bay. Gallaway said he wants to force the prime minister and
the cabinet to reverse their position on gay marriage by either staying the
Ontario court decision or withdrawing and restructuring the reference made
to the Supreme Court of Canada. Chretien, a reluctant champion of same-sex
marriage, will urge Liberal MPs at the caucus meeting to follow his lead in
accepting that gay and lesbian marriage is here to stay, the Associated Press
reported.
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