Date: Sun, 25 Jul 1999 23:04:10 -0700 (PDT) From: Rex Wockner Subject: WOCKNER/INT'L NEWS #271 ============================================= = INTERNATIONAL NEWS #271 - Jul 05, 1999 = = (c) Rex Wockner = ============================================= --> NAMIBIAN COURT GRANTS PARTNER RIGHTS Namibia's high court ruled June 25 that gay couples have the same rights as heterosexual couples. Judge Harold Levy's decision came in the case of German lesbian Liz Frank who was fighting to stay in Namibia with her Namibian lover, Elizabeth Khaxas. "Not only is this relationship recognized, but the [government] should have taken it into account," Levy ruled. "I have no hesitation in saying that the long-term relationship between the applicants in so far as it is a universal partnership, is recognized by law." The ruling is seen as a major victory for the nation's nascent gay-rights movement, which has been aggressively denounced by government officials and President Sam Nujoma. In May, Deputy Home Affairs Minister Jeremiah Nambinga said: "Homosexuality is evil, homosexuality is anti-social and should not only be condemned but should also be legislated against. Homosexuals are patients of psychological and biological deviations." Last November, Home Affairs Minister Jerry Ekandjo told parliament: "Gay rights can never qualify as human rights. ... They should be classified as human wrongs which must rank as sin against society and God. I earnestly call upon homosexuals in Namibia to repent their wrongs." Namibian President Sam Nujoma has said: "Homosexuals must be condemned and rejected in our society. All necessary steps must be taken to combat all influences that are influencing us and our children in a negative way." --> POLICE RAID DUTCH DISCO Amsterdam's biggest gay disco, iT, was raided and closed down by police June 26. Wearing paramilitary-style uniforms, carrying truncheons and accompanied by dogs, officers searched each of the 400 patrons for drugs, and arrested twelve. Three people remain in custody charged with possession of large amounts of ecstasy and cocaine. "It was too much to be for their own consumption alone," said police spokesman Klaas Wilting. Dutch police commonly overlook possession of drugs in amounts considered enough for personal use only. The raid was the culmination of a weeks-long undercover operation, Wilting said. --> MARRIAGE PLANS MOVE FORWARD IN THE NETHERLANDS The Netherlands' Cabinet June 25 OK'd the introduction into Parliament of bills that will open marriage and adoption to same- sex couples. The measures are expected to take effect in 2001. The nation already has a gay partnership law that grants all the rights of matrimony but the new law will permit marriage itself. Registered partners will be able to convert their union into full marriage. There will be two differences between gay and straight marriage: The female spouse of a woman who gives birth will not be listed on the birth certificate as the "father" (but will be permitted to become the child's parent via adoption), and gay couples will not be allowed to adopt babies from foreign nations, many of which oppose adoption by homosexuals. Although several countries have gay registered-partnership laws that grant nearly every right of marriage, The Netherlands would be the first to let gay people simply get married. --> 60 ATTEND SRI LANKAN CONFAB Sixty gay men attended Sri Lanka's second National Gay Conference in late June. "It is remarkable that 60 gay men came out in the open and were willing to discuss openly their problems, fears and concerns," said Sherman De Rose of the organizing group, Companions on a Journey. "The consensus was that as an organization we should be more formalized." The group's members have made contact with more than 900 fellow homosexuals by cruising malls and beaches. With funding from a Dutch foundation, they distribute rubbers and safe-sex information and offer counselling and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases. Gay-male sex is banned in Sri Lanka under threat of 12 years in prison. Lesbian sex is not illegal. --> PRIDE CELEBRATED IN LISBON, MEXICO CITY AND TEL AVIV Lisbon, Portugal's third gay-pride festival attracted more than 10,000 people to City Hall Square June 26, organizers said. Mayor J. Soares sent a message congratulating gay and lesbian organizations for their courage and assuring the community the city will always be on their side. The festival ran through the night until 7 a.m. In Mexico City June 26, 10,000 people marched. For the first time, the parade ended at the Zocalo, Mexico's central square and political heart. "To take the Zocalo was a longtime desire made reality," said one of the organizing groups. "It was a political act ... that established historical proof that lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgendered people are a sector of society that demands changes. We made ourselves heard." Subcomandante Marcos of Chiapas' Zapatista National Liberation Army sent a message which read, in part: "For a very long time, homosexuals, lesbians, transsexuals and bisexuals have had to live and to die concealing their difference, suffering persecution, contempt, humiliation, extortion, blackmail, insults, violence and assassinations in silence. ... For those who are present at this mobilization, you have our admiration for your courage and audacity to make yourselves seen and heard, for your proud, dignified and legitimate 'Enough Already!'" In Tel Aviv, Israel, 10,000 people turned out for a parade, party and concert June 25. The Jerusalem Post noted, "There seemed to be as many young heterosexual couples with children as homosexual couples." Deputy Tel Aviv Mayor Michael Ro-eh told the newspaper: "I'm here to show my support. I don't think anyone should interfere with someone's decision to be a homosexual." Mayor Ron Huldai was out of town. --> GAY RUGBY TEAM JOINS PRO LEAGUE The London gay rugby team Kings Cross Steelers was granted full membership by the English Rugby Football Union last week, a worldwide first according to British newspapers. Half of the team's members formerly played for straight clubs, said Steelers spokesman Alex Standish. The club is online at http://www.kwtelecom.com/kxsrfc. --> FRENCH PARTNERSHIPS DELAYED A vote in France's National Assembly on the controversial bill to give registered gay/lesbian couples many of the rights of matrimony was postponed till October on June 30. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Daniel Vaillant blamed the delay on Senate right-wingers who "worked hard all last night to slow down work in order to delay the final vote on the text." Socialist lawmaker Jean-Pierre Michel, who wrote the bill, denounced the stalling tactics as "the expression of collective homophobia." The legislation grants gay couples marriage rights in areas such as inheritance, housing, taxation and social welfare. Conservatives and the Catholic Church have denounced the measure as an attack on the holiness of matrimony. --> ANGLICAN HEAD CONSIDERS GAY ORDINATION The head of the Anglican Church (known as the Episcopal Church in the U.S.) held a meeting June 30 with supporters and opponents of the ordination of non-celibate gay priests. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. George Carey, gathered with some 30 bishops, clergy and laity at Lambeth Palace to discuss the matter. Details were not made available to the press but Carey's office called the talks "useful and constructive." -end- Rex Wockner's weekly "International News" is archived at http://www.qrd.org/qrd/www/world/wockner.html, which also archives Wockner's "Quote Unquote" column and some of his longer gay-press articles. To do a KEYWORD SEARCH of Wockner's archives, go to www.dejanews.com, scroll to the bottom of the screen and click on 'power search,' enter keywords in the search window (for example: Wockner gay marriage Sweden), scroll down and set the dates to search from May 1 1995 to today, then click 'find.' Archives of Microsoft Sidewalk's "The Wockner List" are at http://sandiego.sidewalk.com/wockner A profile of Wockner is at http://www.wired.com/news/news/culture/story/14229.html Please note: * World Wide Web and e-mail addresses never end with dots. 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