/* Written 8:21 pm Jun 11, 1992 by jbinder in cdp:queerplanet */ /* ---------- "IGLHRC Emergency Response Network" ---------- */ IGLHRC Action Alert EMERGENCY RESPONSE NETWORK of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission June 1992 In this issue: Renewed Call to Action: Romania Cyprus Resists Sodomy Law Repeal Prisoners Appeal For Help: Russia, Lithuania, Belorussia, Ukraine Amnesty International Stalls on Gay/Lesbian Guidelines U.S. Immigration Restricts People with HIV/AIDS Updates on: Bahamas, Burma, North Carolina Sodomy law, Chile RENEWED CALL TO ACTION: ROMANIA The April 1992 Action Alert called for protest letters urging the repeal of Article 200 of the Romanian Penal Code, which criminalizes consensual same-sex relations for both men and women. On May 15, 1992, Russ Gage of IGLHRC, John Clark of ILGA, and Kurt Krickler of EuroCASO met with the members of the Romanian Ministry of Justice in charge of criminal law reform. All the meeting participants came to agreement that Art. 200 should be abolished. However, with new elections to be held in late-July this year, no official was willing to risk his or her political career in defending the rights of homosexuals. All agreed that the impulse for law reform would have to come from sustained international pressure. A renewed letter writing campaign should be addressed directly to the Ministry of Justice to speed the reform process along. Please send respectful letters urging the repeal of Article 200 of the Romanian Penal Code to Mr. Stingu, pointing out that delay on this issue will only bring greater international attention to Romania's violation of international human rights standards. Add that the existence of Art. 200 in the Penal Code is not only a blatant human rights violation in regards to international standards, but even breaches one of the basic principles of the recently adopted Romanian Constitution in which Article 16 declares that every Romanian citizen is Requal before the law...without discrimination.S WRITE TO: Mr. Lucian Stingu Ministry of Justice Bd. M. Kogalniceanu 33 Bucharest, Romania CYPRUS RESISTS SODOMY LAW REPEAL The Republic of Cyprus is the only member of the European Community that still has a law on the books criminalizing sexual acts between consenting adults. The Cypriot Criminal Code Cap. 154, Sections 171 and 173 prohibits a Rmale personS from having Rcarnal knowledgeS with another man, or any two persons having Rcarnal knowledge against the order of nature.S Punishment is up to 3 years. The Cyprus Ministry of Justice states that the law has not been enforced since 1980, and that it is Rrendered inoperativeS by the EC Convention on Human Rights and by the right to privacy guaranteed in the Cyprus constitution. However, as long as the law remains on the books, it is only RinoperativeS by informal agreement, not by law. If they are really serious about Rrendering it inoperative,S it should be repealed. Please write, requesting repeal, to the three officials below. Postage to Cyprus is $.50 per half-ounce. WRITE TO: Mr. Nicos Papaioannou Minister of Justice Department of Justice 1 Diogenes St. Engomi, Nicosia CYPRUS fax: 011 357 246 1427 and Mr. Michalakis Triantafyllidis Attorney General at the same address above Mr. Michael E. Sherifis Embassy of Cyprus 2211 R St. N.W. Washington, DC 20008 fax: (202) 483-6710 PRISONERS APPEAL FOR HELP: RUSSIA, LITHUANIA, BELORUSSIA, UKRAINE The Urals Gay and Lesbian Support Group has documented fourteen gay prisoners currently incarcerated in prisons throughout the former Soviet Union. The support group says the situation is out of control, with many of these men being threatened, beaten, and raped because they are either known or considered to be gay. Six of the men were convicted of Article 121 of the Russian Penal Code which criminalizes male homosexual relations and the other eight for unknown charges. Please write to the Russian Minister of Justice and the Russian Procurator General calling for investigation into the appalling conditions and for those arrested under Art. 121 to be released (mention that the draft of the new Russian Penal Code, when approved, will abolish Art. 121). A list of the names and addresses of the six Russians incarcerated for Art. 121 follows: TRUSOV EDUARD (Yaroslav Region, 156620, Uglitch, UN 83/3), ZUEV NIKOLAI VIATCHESLAVOVITCH (Tula-8, 300008, PO Box UIA 400/2-L), KIRST ANDREI BORISOVITCH (Valai, Tcherdin, Perm Region, 618635), MALINTIN VLADIMIR (Severo-Onezsk, Bolshaia Porsta, Plisetski Region, Archangelsk, 164268), IGOR VICTORVICH ANDREEV (156620 Yaroslav Region, Uglitch, UN 83/3 PKT), RUMYANTSEV NICOLAE (Perm Oblast, Cherdynski Raion, Nyrab, SH-320/20) WRITE TO: Mr. Nikolai V. Fedorov Minister of Justice Yermolova 10A Moscow Russia Mr. V.G. Stepankov Russian Procurator General 13 Kuznetsky Moscow 103760 Russia The other eight gay prisoners are incarcerated under unknown charges. Watch for more details in future action alerts, however in the interim write letters of moral support to the following men: RUSSIA: Lebedev Victor Anatolievitch (Russia, Yaroslav Region, 152620, Uglitch, UN 83/3), Beloglazov Evgenni (Russia, Yaroslav Region, 152620, Uglitch, UN 83/3), Savotshkin Valeri Petrovitch (Russia, Tchinid-Vovck, Comi, 169350, Penitentiary Institution AN 243/7-5), Liapin Alexander Borisovitch (Russia, N. Tagil 622013, UTCH 349/13-2), Markov Evgenni (Russia, g. Vladimir, OD-1, ST-2) LITHUANIA: Schugzdinis Romas (Lithuania, Mariampole, OTCH 12/3 3- 36) BELORUSSIA: Lohanski Yuri (Belorussia, Vitebsk Region 211030, Orsha, Penitentiary Institution 15/12-9) UKRAINE: Moiseev Sergei Ivanovitch (349163 Ukraine, Lugansk Region, Perevalovsk, Tchernukhovo, UL 314/23-2) AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL STALLS ON GAY/LESBIAN GUIDELINES In September 1991, Amnesty International (AI) made a policy change to accept gay men and lesbians persecuted for their sexual orientation as prisoners of conscience. Many groups helped put pressure on AI and drew attention to the policy change, including IGLHRC, ILGA, Queer Planet, Occur, and NGLTF. Because of AIUs structure, its International Executive Committee (IEC) must draw up guidelines, to be used by all its sections, detailing what constitutes an international violation of lesbian and gay rights that mandates immediate attention. The IEC has no official deadline for issuing these guidelines. AI sources say research is continuing, and cases are being investigated and disseminated by AI's research office in London. When they are issued, the guidelines will undoubtedly increase the number of cases handled and draw attention to violations against lesbians and gays worldwide. Please write letters requesting that the IEC issue guidelines AS SOON AS POSSIBLE that are inclusive and progressive. Postage from the U.S. to the U.K. is $.50 per half ounce. Amnesty International Int'l Executive Committee 1 Easton St. London WC1X BDJ United Kingdom U.S. IMMIGRATION RESTRICTS PEOPLE WITH HIV/AIDS The VIII International AIDS Conference, scheduled for late July, was moved from Boston to Amsterdam due entirely to the U.S. government policy that bans HIV+ people from traveling or immigrating to the U.S. ACT UPUs Golden Gate/SF immigration Working Group was primarily responsible for winning agreement from the conference organizers not to hold the conference in Boston unless the US changed its policy completely. HIV+ people can obtain waivers to enter the country only if they show that they are coming here for work, family reunification, medical treatment, or conferences related to AIDS. There is no medical basis for this restriction of movement. The policy is basically discriminatory. Please write to President Bush and tell him it must be changed; if you are outside the U.S., please write or call the U.S. Embassy or consulate. President George Bush The White House Washington, DC 20500 **UPDATES*UPDATES*UPDATES*UPDATES*UPDATES*UPDATES*UPDATES** BAHAMAS DROPS SODOMY CHARGES Last month, we asked for letters protesting the Bahamian governmentUs charging two men with having sex on Nassau Beach. The two faced up to 20 years in prison under the Bahamas Sexual Offenses Act of 1991. We are happy to report that charges were dropped as a direct result of international pressure organized by IGLHRC and ILGA. But the law, which punishes only public sex by adults of the same sex, not heterosexuals, remains in force. Please write again to Prime Minister Lyndon Oscar Pindling and tell him to repeal the discriminatory law. Point out that many gay cruises and gay tourists visit the Bahamas and that loss of this tourist business could hurt, particularly in the middle of a recession. Postage to the Bahamas is $.50 per half ounce. Minister Lyndon Oscar Pindling Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism Church Hill Building P.O. Box N7147 Nassau, Bahamas PROTEST CONTINUES AGAINST MYANMAR (BURMA) At least 25 Burmese women who were HIV+ were murdered by cyanide injection by the Myanmar government in April. The women were working in Thailand as prostitutes and were deported for being HIV+. In response, Thai police claim to have halted deportation of Burmese women working there as prostitutes. The murder of the 25 women is one of many human rights violations by the ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) of Burma (Myanmar). When SLORC lost the 1990 elections, they arrested thousands of members of the opposition party, the National League for Democracy, headed by Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. Please express outrage at the murder of HIV+ prostitutes to the Burmese government. Pepsi and Amoco are the two American corporations that do the largest amount of business with the current ruling regime; tell them cooperating with the SLORC makes them accomplices to murder. Amoco has done a lot of work to promote health and combat malaria in Burma; point out that they are working with a regime that is clearly dangerous to the health of its citizens. U Thaung, Ambassador and Mr. U Ohn Gyaw, Minister of Foreign Affairs Embassy of Myanmar 2300 RSS St., N.W. Washington, DC 20008 Fax: (202) 332-9046 Kyaw Min Ambassador to the U.N. Myanmar 10 East 77th St. New York, NY 10021 David F. Work, V.P. Amoco-Myanmar Petroleum Co. P.O. Box 3092 Houston, TX 77253 B. Wayne Calloway, CEO Pepsi-Cola, Inc. Purchase, NY 10577 ACTION ON NORTH CAROLINA SODOMY LAW In April, we asked for letters protesting an outbreak of arrests in North Carolina under that stateUs sodomy law (known as the RCrimes Against Nature,S CAN Laws). The Southern Appalachia Lesbian & Gay Association reports that the letters you sent galvanized action by one of their city council members, Barbara Field. She contacted AshevilleUs representative to the state legislature, who has offered to sponsor legislation to repeal the CAN laws. North Carolina activists are strategizing about how to best take advantage of that offer, and say that it was a direct result of your pressure on AshevilleUs City Council. In the meantime, the North Carolina statewide Lesbian and Gay Rights parade is being held for the first time in Asheville (previous parades were held in Durham). Mayor Kenneth M. Michalove was asked to sign a proclamation, naming the day of the parade, June 13, Gay Rights Day, as the Durham mayor has done for the last several years. Two fundamentalist preachers organized a phone bank and bombarded the mayor with 500 phone calls protesting the proclamation; the mayor caved in and refused to sign it. The mayorUs capitulation created an atmosphere where bigots feel free to harass the gay and lesbian community; one leader received a telephone call threatening her with death if the march goes on. Please write the mayor, pointing out that his actions are aiding the bigots, and write the pastors and tell them what you think of their actions. Mayor Kenneth M. Michalove P.O. Box 7148 Asheville, NC 28802 Ralph Sexton, Jr. Pastor Trinity Baptist Church 216 Shelburne Rd. Asheville, NC 28806 Billy H. Cline, Pastor Merriman Ave. Baptist Church 283 Merriman Ave. Asheville, NC 28804 PRESSURE ON CHILE STILL NEEDED If you havenUt already written to ask Chile to repeal its sodomy law, please do so. Chile is one of only two South American nations with sodomy laws, and Chilean activists say pressure will be effective now, because Chile is trying to establish its credentials as a new democracy. The law prescribes prison terms of 3-20 years for sodomy between consenting adults, without defining RsodomyS or stating whether the law applies to both sexes or to heterosexuals. It is not frequently applied, but could be used selectively against gay and lesbian organizations now emerging in Chile. Please write polite, respectful letters urging the repeal of: The first sentence, article 365, Section 6 RDel estupo, incesto, corrupcion de menores y otros actos deshonestos,S title VII, Book 2 of ChileUs Penal Code. Postage to Chile is $.50 per half-ounce. Sr. Gabriel Valdez Subercaseaux Presidente del Senado Santo Domingo 689 Santiago, Chile Sr. Patricio Aylwin Azocar Presidente de la Republica Palacio de la Moneda Santiago, Chile WE NEED YOUR HELP Being part of IGLHRCUs Emergency Response Network is free, but if you can, please make a contribution. We are trying to build a truly international network, and that means large postage costs to mail alerts to foreign countries. Contributions of $15, $25, $50, $100Qor as much as you can sendQwill really help. And theyUre tax- deductible. Send contributions to: IGLHRC 540 Castro St. San Francisco, CA 94114 Is this is your first IGLHRC Action Alert? If so, would you like to take part in the Emergency Response Network regularly? To become part of an international campaign to make a difference in the lives of sexual minorities all over the world every month, please fill out the coupon below and return it to IGLHRC. __ Yes, Sign me up for the Emergency Response Network. Name __________________________________ Address ________________________________ City ____________ State ________ Zip ______ Participation in the Emergency Response Network is free, but contributions are greatly appreciated. Contributions are tax- deductible. [ ] Enclosed is my contribution of: [ ] $15 [ ] $25 [ ] $50 [ ] $100 [ ] $_____