From: [email-masked] (Bjoern Skolander)

The Economist
3 August 1996

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DANCING WITH BOOKS

Harare: "A joyful celebration of books" is how the
organizers of Zimbabwe's book fair describe their poster
design... They happily reproduced it on T-shirts and
stationery. Pornography, thundered Zimbabwe's
state-controlled press. It depicts "naked gays and lesbians
dancing together with books," it was said on state
television.

The uneven battle between Robert Mugabe's government and a
tiny band of 100 homosexual Zimbabweans, both black and
white, seems to have become an annual event, fought at the
time of the book fair. The fair, which brings international
and local publishers together in a...open-air setting,
attracts a variety of Zimbabwean groups - ecological,
religious and artistic. The Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe
(GALZ) want to join the fun.

Last year, when the fair's theme was human rights and
freedom of expression, GALZ tried but failed to have its own
stand. In a series of vituperative speeches, Mr. Mugabe
proclaimed gays to be "wores than beasts", with no
rights...in Zimbabwe. This year, international donors
twisted the arm of the book-fair trustees. The gay-rights
group was given a stand and planned to display pamphlets
about its counselling services, homosexuality and Zimbabwean
law, a statement from the Roman Catholic church and an
anthology by gays on being accepted by Zimbabwean society.

The government stepped in again, issuing a blanket ban on
GALZ's participation. Human-rights lawyers argued...the
official ban had no basis in Zimbabwean law. ...GALZ took
the case to court and won. On July 31st a High Court Judge
overturned the ban. But the government showed no sign of
giving up.

The controversy, ...opening the way to gay-bashing, has
usefully provoked a discussion. For instance, Zimbabweans
have learnt, to the surprise of many, ....homosexuality
existed even before the colonialists arrived.

[This article has been excerpted.]