"NewsWrap" for the week ending September 9, 2006 (As broadcast on "This Way Out" program #963, distributed 9-11-06) [Written by Greg Gordon, with thanks to Rex Wockner with Bill Kelley, and Graham Underhill] Reported this week by Charls Hall and Rick Watts There are new developments in stories out of both Uganda and Ghana that we've reported on in recent weeks. Human Rights Watch and the International Lesbian and Gay Association have joined local activists in Uganda to condemn a tabloid newspaper's publication of the names of several men whom the paper said are gay. The banner-headlined story has queer advocates fearing a government crackdown in the country, where sodomy is punishable by life in prison. Human Rights Watch researcher Jessica Stern said in a statement this week that "President Yoweri Museveni's government routinely threatens and vilifies lesbians and gays and subjects sexual rights activists to harassment." "At a moment when sensational publicity has spread fear among a whole community," she continued, "the authorities must exercise their responsibility to protect, not persecute." The list was published last month in the tabloid newspaper "Red Pepper," which claimed it needed to expose how "the terrible vice known as sodomy is eating up our society." It also published details of venues popular with gays and lesbians, and has said it might publish a list of suspected lesbians. The 45 men listed by the newspaper last month included army officers, priests, university lecturers, entertainers, bankers, students and lawyers. At least five of them were arrested after publication of the list, and more have reportedly gone into hiding. A regional newspaper this week published the name and photo of one man it said the police are hunting in what it called a "crackdown on gays who are reportedly on the verge of overthrowing the straight sex generation." It also urged public cooperation "to nab him before he pollutes the population." The paper said the man's lover had already been arrested. Sexual Minorities Uganda has defiantly circulated a letter of protest to the country's media, saying it was "making a loud call to everyone who believes in the rights of human beings to stand up and protest along with us to put an end to such injustices against LGBTI and other marginalized people in Uganda." Attacks on political freedoms in the country, which is rife with economic problems and internal conflicts, have included the arrest and beating of opposition Members of Parliament. The President of the Gay and Lesbian Association of Ghana said this week that the media made up stories of an international LGBT conference that was supposedly to be held this month in Accra. Patrick McDonalds told "The Crusading Guide" newspaper that his members were unaware of any such conference, and that the media had fueled public hatred toward lesbians and gays by fabricating the story. The speculation began last week when the Interior Minister announced that the government was going to ban the conference. His remarks were welcomed by many leading Christian and Muslim clergy in Ghana, some of whom had apparently contacted government officials to complain about the conference. Lawmakers in Latvia this week rejected a bill that sought to ban "homosexual propaganda" in the mass media. The populist Latvia First Party had prepared draft amendments to laws that govern the nation's media. The measures would have made it illegal to publish supportive articles about gays and lesbians, or interviews with them in which they talk about their lives or civil rights. The changes were necessary, the party said in a statement, to "ensure that the mass media do not weaken the role of the family institution, do not split society, and do not create a misconception about a group of individuals claiming special treatment due to their beliefs." Many pundits said the proposed amendments contravened Latvian and international law, and speculated that Latvia First was trying to tap into homophobia in the Baltic state ahead of next month's general election. Latvia First currently has 13 seats in the 100-member parliament, and a party member is the coalition government's Interior Minister. In July he persuaded the Riga city council to ban what would have been the country's second Pride parade, citing alleged threats to security. Latvian gay men, lesbians, and their supporters, along with activists from Europe and North America, staged alternative Pride events, including an LGBT religious service and meetings at a hotel. People coming and going from the events, including clergy who conducted the religious service, were confronted by Christian fundamentalists, ultra-nationalists and neo-Nazis, some of whom threw eggs, rotten food and human feces at them. Seven of the attackers have thus far been fined the equivalent of about 65 U.S. dollars for petty hooliganism. Linda Freimane, a spokesperson for the Pride-organizing group Mozaika, called the punishments inadequate, saying the assaults were "an incitement to hatred" and that the attackers should have been charged with criminal hooliganism. Latvia's general prosecutor agrees, and is attempting to have the decisions annulled and the attackers retried under criminal statutes. But the LGBT rainbow flag will be proudly flying over Taipei city hall on September 17th in what officials call a first for any Asian city, according to a report this week in the "Taipei Times." The landmark event will be part of an annual festival called "LGBT Civil Rights Movement—Queer-friendlyy Taipei," which has been hosted since 2000 by the city's Department of Civil Affairs, with an annual budget of about 30,000 dollars. Wang Ping of Taiwan's Gender/Sexuality Rights Association, which is helping to organize the festival, told the "Times" that the flag-raising will be followed by lesbigay rights forums that afternoon in the City Council chamber, and an art exhibition later in the month. A Pride parade is planned for September 30th, along with a mass same-gender wedding ceremony to push for legal marriage equality. Canada's Bloc QuĂ©bĂ©cois has vowed to stand united against Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper's plan for parliamentary review of the 2005 vote that legalized same-gender marriage in the country. All of the party's 51 members in the 308-member House of Commons will be expected to vote in favor of marriage equality in any reconsideration of the matter. The 29 members of the New Democratic Party are planning to do the same. The Defend Marriage coalition, an alliance of 13 so-called traditional marriage, family and religious groups, announced this week that they'll be investing "tens of thousands of dollars" for public campaigning, and to lobby MPs to support reconsideration of the issue. Harper promised during his successful campaign earlier this year that if the House adopts a resolution to reopen the debate, "the government will introduce legislation to restore the traditional definition of marriage while respecting existing same-sex marriages." Recent polling has found that 62 percent of Canadians oppose any attempt to take away gay and lesbian couples' access to marriage. Meanwhile, a pernicious Conservative Party MP's private member's bill in what may be Canada's most conservative province, Alberta, has been rejected. The measure, which would have forbidden anyone from being prosecuted for speaking out on or acting on their beliefs against marriage equality, died for a second time last week in the provincial parliament. Bill 208 would also have put limits on discussion of the subject in schools. Opponents said the bill attempted to enshrine in law the dehumanization of gays and lesbians. They said it would have given employers carte blanche to fire gay or lesbian employees, and landlords to evict lesbian and gay tenants, simply because of their sexual orientation. Both the province's Liberals and New Democrats condemned the bill as an affront to the rights and dignity of lesbigay Albertans. But in what's being called an unprecedented move, top-level British professional soccer team Manchester City Football Club has paid "four figures" to join the Diversity Champions program of the leading national queer advocacy group Stonewall, according to a report in "The Observer" newspaper. The action commits the team to recruit gays and lesbians to work at the stadium, reach out to lesbigay fans, and to ban homophobic language. A statement issued by Alistair Mackintosh, the club's chief executive, said, "We want to send a welcoming message to gay, lesbian and bisexual supporters, be inclusive, and be a progressive employer." According to "The Observer," which said Mackintosh's sister is an open lesbian, "The move could lead to a dramatic change of attitude in the macho world of football, which is regarded as one of the last bastions of homophobia." And finally, speaking of open lesbians, Ellen DeGeneres will be hosting the 79th Annual Academy Awards telecast on February 25th, producer Laura Ziskin told reporters this week. "There is no more challenging hosting job in show business. It requires someone who can keep the show alive and fresh and moving, as well as someone who is a flat-out great entertainer." DeGeneres has twice hosted the Primetime Emmy Awards telecast, co-hosted it in 1994, and has won a slew of those trophies for her popular weekday TV talk show. It will be her first time as host of the Oscars telecast. "When Laura Ziskin called, I was thrilled," DeGeneres said. "There's two things I've always wanted to do in my life. One is to host the Oscars. The second is to get a call from Laura Ziskin. You can imagine that day's diary entry."