"NewsWrap"
for the week ending August 11, 2007
(As broadcast on "This Way Out" program #1,011, distributed 8-13-07)
[Written by Greg Gordon, with thanks to Graham Underhill, and Rex Wockner
with Bill Kelley]
Reported this week by Christopher Gaal and Don Lupo
A crowd of up to 500,000 people greeted a rainbow flotilla as it sailed
through Amsterdam's historic canals on August 4th in the Dutch city’s annual LGBT
Pride festival.
Throngs lined the canals to watch boats packed with well-muscled men in leathe
r thongs, cowboy hats, and disco glitter; dancing lesbians wearing bikinis
and fairy wings; and lesbian Elvis impersonators with pink hair alll competing
for the "most outrageous" prize. For the first time, a designated
"hetero-boat" was among the more than 70 official parade entries, with hundreds of other
smaller vessels cruising along.
A rash of gay-bashing assaults in Amsterdam this year cast a shadow over the
proceedings, however, in a city known for its tolerance. Police spokesman
Gerard Vrooland told the "Associated Press" that there had been 16 gay-bashing
attacks in Amsterdam so far this year, compared with 10 all of last year. He
said the jump in numbers might be a result of police efforts to encourage
victims to come forward. But Tijn Elferink, a spokesman for the country's national
queer organization COC, noted that "Social acceptance of homosexuality is not
complete. Gay people still can be beaten up, just like that, for holding
hands or being in the wrong place at the wrong time."
According to initial reports, the fourth annual Pride march in Estonia's
capital of Tallinn was peaceful on August 11th despite a counter-march by
opponents. Participant Sophie in't Veld, a member of the European Parliament, told
"Deutsche Presse-Agentur" that "The parade is a litmus test on how serious we
are about human rights in a united Europe."
About 300 people gathered under sunny skies in the streets of the Eastern
European city, clapping and cheering as they made their way along the planned
route, protected by private security and extra police officers. Thousands of
locals and tourists watched.
Halfway down the route, an alternative procession formed with a dozen mostly
Russian-speaking men, women and children chanting "No Pride" as they followed
the parade, separated by just one security officer. Several skinheads later
joined them, but there were no reports of violence. About two dozen skinheads
assaulted several marchers at last year's Pride parade, leaving at least one
man with head wounds.
Rainbow flags and water balloons mixed with banners demanding global
equality on August 5th at the 29th annual Vancouver Pride Parade. An estimated
385,000 people watched the spectacle along the Canadian city's densely populated
West End -- standing 15 to 25 deep in some places, according to organizers.
Crowd favorites included Dykes on Bikes, with women in leather, tutus and
bikini tops gunning their engines, Vancouver's Lesbian and Gay Square Dance club
performing to a countrified version of Gloria Gaynor's club anthem "I Will
Survive," and a choreographed dance routine by the Vancouver Men's Chorus.
The march took on an international flavor with Grand Marshal Tomasz
Baczkowski, one of the organizers of Warsaw Pride. They’d taken the Polish government
to the European Court of Human Rights to win the right to hold their first
Pride march on May 19th this year.
But the crackdown on LGBT Pride in Singapore continued this week with the
government refusing to allow a picnic in a park. Police revoked a permit to
hold the gathering and 5K fun run in the Botanic Gardens in central Singapore
because, they said, political activity was not permitted in green spaces.
Alex Au, of the organizing group People Like Us told the "Associated Press"
that "It was never meant to be political, and this testifies to the paranoia of
the government... They automatically assume that anything gay is a political
challenge to them. It speaks volumes about the political climate in
Singapore."
The picnic ban is the latest event cancelled by the government during a week
of Pride events planned by People Like Us. Censors refused to allow an LGBT
book reading and a forum on human rights in Asia featuring a distinguished
Canadian law professor. A photo exhibit of fully clothed gay and lesbian couples
kissing was also closed by police hours before its official opening.
Under Singapore law "gross indecency" between two men can lead to two years
in jail. There have been growing calls in the tightly controlled nation for
modernization of its sex laws. Singapore’s government announced plans late last
year to decriminalize oral and anal sex between adult heterosexuals, but
homosexual sex would remain outlawed.
There was more bad news for gays and lesbians in other parts of the world
this week.
Eighteen men in Nigeria face execution after being found guilty of sodomy by
a Sharia judge in the Islamic northern part of the country. Under Sharia, or
Islamic law, they could be sentenced to death by stoning, which requires final
approval by the state governor.
The official government news agency "Nan" reported that the men were at a
hotel dressed in women's clothing and celebrating a gay wedding. But that’s the
way the government has described similar arrests. More than a dozen men have
been sentenced to death for homosexual activity in recent years in the African
nation, according to some reports. But no executions have actually taken
place because the sentences were reversed on appeal, or commuted to prison terms
as a result of pressure from human rights groups.
The southern half of Nigeria, where convictions for homosexuality carry
sentences of up to 14 years behind bars, is predominantly Anglican. Nigerian
Archbishop Peter Akinola has led vocal opposition in the global Communion, a loose
affiliation of congregations that originally grew from the Church of England,
to the ordination of queer clergy and the blessing of same-gender couples in
North America. Conservatives in the U.S. Episcopal wing have aligned
themselves with Akinola, further fueling a growing schism within the global Anglican
Communion.
Meanwhile, a newly elected legislature in Nigeria is reportedly moving
ahead with a measure that would virtually deny any civil rights to gays and
lesbians, and imprison even those who support them. The bill, which started out as
a ban on same-gender marriage during the last legislative session, was greatly
expanded to make it a crime for more than two gay or lesbian people to even
be in the same place at the same time. It prohibits LGBT social or civil
rights groups from forming, and it would be illegal to sell or rent property to a
same-gender couple. Watching a queer-themed film or video, visiting an LGBT
Web site, or expressing love in a letter to a person of the same gender would
also be outlawed. It would also make it a criminal offense to provide
information about HIV/AIDS to gay men. Convictions under the sweeping legislation
could bring five years in prison at hard labor.
A Nicaraguan national who fears persecution in his homeland because of his
sexual orientation was ordered deported this week by Canada's Immigration and
Refugee Board - a decision his lawyer said came as a "huge surprise."
21-year-old Alvaro Orozco says he was just 12 years old when he fled
Nicaragua - a country where homosexuality is a crime punishable by up to four years in
prison - because his father beat him for being gay. He hitchhiked his way to
the U.S. and, after five years living as an illegal immigrant, eventually
crossed into Canada in January 2005.
The Immigration Board rejected his original asylum application earlier this
year because they didn’t believe he is gay. Appeals to the Board asked to
reopen Orozco's case, for a pre-removal risk assessment to evaluate the dangers he
faces if he’s sent back to Nicaragua, and that Orozco be allowed to stay in
Canada on humanitarian and compassionate grounds.
The pre-removal risk assessment documented Orozco's involvement and activism
in Toronto's queer community, and the fact that he is now even more likely to
face persecution because of the international media attention his case has
received. The Board rejected that bid this week, and Orozco could have already
been deported by the time you hear this report. No reasons for the rejection
were given.
Orozco’s lawyer, El-Farouk Khaki, told a news conference that this week’s
decision placed Orozco's safety at risk. ``There were tangible and very real
risks before the Nicaraguan press picked up his story," he said. "Those risks
were exacerbated because his name and his orientation were broadcast
nationally.''
Of the Board hearing, Khaki said that ``It seemed to me that they had already
made a decision that no matter what we did, they were going to remove him. I
think the writing on the wall should make us all feel a little insecure about
our rights and our dignity as Canadian citizens, as queer people, and as
human rights advocates.''
Khaki said he would continue to do everything in his power to gain asylum for
Orozco, but he wasn’t optimistic.
But finally, by winning a seat on the Nashville City Council this week,
accountant Keith Durbin became the U.S. state of Tennessee's first openly queer
elected official.
Durbin ran unopposed for the District 18 seat to replace his termed-out
predecessor, but was out stumping at his local precinct with his mother on Election
Day.
He said he’d use his Council seat to be "a strong voice for neighborhood
interests, to emphasize top-quality education for our children, encourage
continued economic vitality of our... business districts, and to work closely with
Vanderbilt University and Belmont University as good neighbors."
Durbin lives with his partner, human-resources executive Gary Bynum -- a fact
he mentioned on his Web site. He’d told the "Tennessean" newspaper that "I'm
running for office to represent people, and I want them to know who I am."
**************************************
Get a sneak peek of the
all-new AOL at http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour