NewsWrap for the week ending April 17th, 1999 (As broadcast on This Way Out program #577, distributed 4-19-99) [Compiled & written by Cindy Friedman, with thanks to Graham Underhill, Brian Nunes, Jason Lin, Martin Rice, Rex Wockner, Chris Ambidge, Greg Gordon & Lucia Chappelle] Anchored by Leo Garcia and Cindy Friedman The longest trial in Malaysia's history ended this week, as former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim was found guilty of four charges of corruption, for abusing his power to cover up alleged sexual misconduct with both men and women. He was sentenced to six years imprisonment for each charge, to be served concurrently. This will also bar him from elective office for another five years after his release. A charge of sodomy was dropped in the course of the trial, but only after prosecutors had gone so far as to bring into the courtroom the mattress they said he'd had sex on -- and before Anwar's own attorneys had an opportunity to refute them. Anwar and his attorneys have maintained throughout that the entire affair reflects a high-level political conspiracy against him, but the judge barred most evidence to that effect. Anwar is appealing the verdict. A United Nations observer, among others, expressed deep concerns about both the process of the trial and its verdict, and Amnesty International has adopted Anwar as a "prisoner of conscience." Of particular concern was the serious beating Anwar received shortly after he was arrested in September under a national security law. Malaysia's recently retired top police officer has confessed to that beating, and a royal commission appointed to investigate it this week called for criminal charges against him. The verdict sparked more of the large street demonstrations which followed Anwar's September firing from the cabinet, as protestors called for government reform and the resignation of Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohamad. The demonstrations, which without police permission are illegal in Malaysia, were broken up by riot police with batons and water cannon. Anwar's wife Dr. Azizah Ismail has taken over his role as a leader in a coalition of opposition political parties. Another four charges of sodomy and one of corruption are still pending against Anwar, for a trial which had been planned to begin in June. A leftist political party in South Africa scrambled to do damage control this week, after media reported its leader had called for repeal of gay and lesbian civil rights. The Pan African Congress quickly separated itself from the statements attributed to its president Stanley Mogoba, saying that the party includes gay and lesbian members, and supports the protections from sexual orientation discrimination in the national constitution. Although Mogoba was quoted as saying that "every normal person in this country" feels that equal treatment of gays and lesbians is "absolutely horrifying," he says that was a distortion. Instead, he was trying to explain that the ruling African National Congress may have been moving too far, too fast in its liberal positions, for a population which needed to be educated to accept them. In his defense, Mogoba cited his tenure as a Methodist bishop, when he was supportive of gay clergy in his diocese. Several other parties, including the ANC, took the occasion to reaffirm their own positions in support of equality for gays and lesbians. Although the Pan African Congress once vied with the ANC, it now holds only five seats in the parliament, while the ANC could well have a majority of more than two-thirds following the June elections. Although Britain's House of Commons had heartily endorsed a government bill to equalize the age of consent for sex between men with that for heterosexual acts, this week a vote in the House of Lords effectively killed it. The same thing happened last year, although the margin of defeat in the Lords was smaller this time. Once again Baroness Janet Young argued that the bill would "send the wrong message" and contradict the wishes of many British parents. Although opponents claim the age of consent law protects young men from sexual predators, the current law actually makes teenaged gays into criminals, although that's not the case in heterosexual age of consent violations. Speaking to the question for the first time was the only openly gay peer, TV mogul Lord Alli, who movingly described his own experiences as a gay teen. He noted that some of the abusive language that had been used against him then was also used by some of the Lords who opposed the bill. While the Lords debated for some eight hours, about 200 demonstrators in support of equalization braved hail, sleet and biting wind to hold a candlelight vigil outside. The Blair government, under pressure from a decision by the European Court of Human Rights, announced its intention to use the Parliament Act to override the Lords to enact equalization. That will take anywhere from a year to a year and a half. Also in Britain, Home Secretary Jack Straw announced to the Parliament this week the creation of a Working Group on Transsexuals. Straw said representatives from a dozen government departments will consider "appropriate legal measures" to address "the problems experienced by transsexuals." It will examine other countries' approaches and review problems faced under existing British law, which denies new birth certificates and legal marriage to transsexuals. The Working Group will deliver a formal report in a year. Pleased at the government's attention to the issue, but disappointed that transsexuals themselves were not consulted in setting up the Working Group, the national transsexual rights group Press for Change gave a "cautious welcome" to Straw's announcement. Far from welcomed was the announcement this week by New Zealand Immigration Minister Tuariki Delamere, that he's preparing a plan to deny immigration to people infected with HIV, and possibly to deny entry to HIV-positive tourists as well. He'll be presenting his proposal to the cabinet in May. He's received a hailstorm of criticism from groups including the AIDS Foundation and the Refugee Council, as well as the opposition Labour Party, among others. Delamere admits his plan is discriminatory, but says he wants to keep the virus out of New Zealand. AIDS experts counter that HIV is already in the country, and that public education is the more effective way to prevent its transmission. Labour Party immigration spokesperson Lianne Dalziel also denounced Delamere's plan, saying, "The Minister's latest comments are extremely unhelpful and appear to be based on ignorance." In the U.S. this week, several state legislatures disappointed gay and lesbian activists and their allies. The Republican-dominated New York state Senate refused to move out of committe a hate crimes bill which had already been approved by the state House. The state's first openly gay Senator, Tom Duane, still believes that the votes for passage are there, and says he will keep trying. In Colorado, both a hate crimes bill and a measure to protect the civil rights of gays and lesbians had their first-ever floor debates this week, but both were defeated by the state House. Both had also been the target of intense campaigns of opposition by religious right groups. This was only the third go-around for the hate crimes bill, but it died on a tie vote, just one vote short of passage. Various versions of the civil rights bill had been proposed for 20 years without previously making it to the floor. In Maryland, a full-force lobbying campaign by Democratic Governor Parris Glendening won passage in the state House for a bill to prohibit sexual orientation discrimination, but couldn't get it out of the state Senate's most conservative committee. In what was effectively a filibuster, conservatives on the Senate Judiciary Committee proposed an endless series of crippling amendments to run out the clock as the legislative session ended this week. But in California, though, two key measures were passed out of their first House committees. One would upgrade the state's current protections from sexual orientation discrimination in employment and housing to the same level enjoyed by other protected categories. The other would require health insurers to offer domestic partners coverage to those employers who want to extend that benefit to their workers. And finally, of the fourteen Pulitzer Prizes awarded this week, four went to three openly gay men and an open lesbian. Believed to be the first open gay to win in the fiction category is Michael Cunningham, whose novel "The Hours" includes lesbian and gay characters. Kindergarten teacher Margaret Edson's drama prize, for her first and only play "Wit," marked the first time that prize had been won by women in consecutive years -- and last year's winner was also an open lesbian, Paula Vogel. Scott Berg won the biography prize for his comprehensive book "Lindbergh," which he dedicated to his partner. Jonathan Capehart is one of the seven members of the editorial board of the "New York Daily News," and he played a key role in its award-winning series "Showdown at the Apollo," which helped to preserve the landmark theater in Harlem when mismanagement threatened its survival. Of course, all four were delighted. As Capehart said, "There are only three prizes in the world that everyone knows about instantly: the Oscar, the Nobel ... and the Pulitzer. ... I do not intend to go for either of the others."