Date: Sat, 29 Jul 1995 09:37:36 -0400 (EDT) From: David Casti Subject: ACTION ALERT: Zimbabwe Gov't Contact Info Submitted by: lambda@clark.net (Deacon Maccubbin) The organizers of Zimbabwe's International Book Fair have caved in to government pressure and agreed to bar the country's gays and lesbians from taking part. "The basic fact of the matter is that the government believes the people of Zimbabwe are not yet ready to accept homosexuality and as the book fair has its home in Zimbabwe, it is therefore compelled to respect those sentiments," they said. "It is therefore with the greatest regret that the Book Fair Trust has found itself with no option but to withdraw its acceptance of Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe's (GALZ) application to participate." Exhibitors from 120 countries were scheduled to participate in this year's book fair, but some have said they were considering boycotting the event over the anti-gay decision. Human rights groups, both local and international, accused the Zimbabwean government of violating civil rights after it demanded that Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ) be prevented from participating. Zimbabwe government Information Director Bornwell Chakaodza said Friday: "I have had lots of faxes from many countries asking us to change our minds but we are not going to." Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe is scheduled to officially open the fair Tuesday. The Book Fair statement said the organizers had asked GALZ to consider voluntary withdrawing from the fair but the lesbian and gay association "adamantly refused to consider this course of action." Comments may be addressed to: The Embassy of Zimbabwe 1608 New Hampshire Ave., NW Washington, DC 20009 Phone 202-332-7100 (voice) or 202-483-9326 (FAX) Ministry of Information Box CY1276, Causeway Harare, Zimbabwe. Trish Mbanga, Zimbabwe International Book Fair Tel: 263 4 750282 or 885107 Fax: 263 4 751 202 E-mail: ZIBF@mango.apc.org /s/ Deacon Maccubbin ======================================================== LAMBDA RISING BOOKSTORES - E-mail: lambdarising@his.com Every Gay/Lesbian Book in Print - Videos, Music, & Gifts, Too! FREE Catalog by Mail - Out-of-Print Book Search Service ========================================================