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Gays attacked at Palestine rights protest

OutRage! News Service | 16.05.2004 14:05 | Gender | Repression | Social Struggles | London

Lesbians and gay men from OutRage! and the Queer Youth Alliance joined
today’s demonstration in London to support the human rights of the
people of Palestine. But they also urged the Palestinian Authority to
halt the arrest, torture and murder of homosexuals.

OutRage! joins the National Day of Action for Palestine
OutRage! joins the National Day of Action for Palestine


Gays attacked at Palestine rights protest

Attempt to silence debate on murder of gays

London – UK – 15 May 2004

Lesbians and gay men from OutRage! and the Queer Youth Alliance joined
today’s demonstration in London to support the human rights of the
people of Palestine. But they also urged the Palestinian Authority to
halt the arrest, torture and murder of homosexuals.

They marched with placards reading: "Israel: stop persecuting
Palestine! Palestine: stop persecuting queers!"

As soon as they arrived in Trafalgar Square to join the demonstration,
the gay protesters were surrounded by an angry, screaming mob of
Islamic fundamentalists, Anglican clergymen, members of the Socialist
Workers Party, the Stop the War Coalition, and officials from the
protest organisers, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC). They
variously attacked the gay activists as “racists”, “Zionists”, “CIA
and MI5 agents”, “supporters of the Sharon government” and “dividing
the Free Palestine movement”.

PSC organisers asked the gay activists to “stand at the back of the
demonstration”, and when they refused blocked their placards with
their own banners and shouted down the gay campaigners as they tried
to speak to journalists and other protesters.

Most people at the Palestine protest expressed no hostility towards
OutRage! and the Queer Youth Alliance. Some expressed positive
support.

”We call on the PLO and Palestinian Authority to condemn homophobia,
uphold queer human rights, and to order an immediate end to the abuse
of lesbian and gay Palestinians", said OutRage! protester, Brett
Lock.

"Having experienced the pain of homophobia, we deplore the suffering
inflicted on Palestinians by the Israeli government”.

"Both Islamophobia and homophobia are intolerable. Upholding the
principle of universal human rights, we support the human rights of
the people of Palestine. We call on the Palestinians to recognise the
human rights of gay Palestinians".

Another protester, Peter Tatchell, said:
"Gay Palestinians live in fear of arrest, detention without trial,
torture and execution at the hands of Palestinian police and security
services. They also risk abduction and so-called honour killing by
vengeful family members and vigilante mobs, as well as punishment
beatings and murder by Palestinian political groups such as Hamas and
Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement".

"These revelations come from the independent human rights watchdog,
B’Tselem, and from the Israeli gay rights groups Aguda and Open House,
which help gay Palestinian refugees".

The abuse of Palestinian gays has been confirmed by two senior
Palestine Liberation Organisation officials in conversations with
queer rights activist, Peter Tatchell.

"Both officials expressed personal regret concerning these abuses but
said their liberal views were not shared by the majority of PLO
officials and supporters", said Mr Tatchell.

"For over 30 years I have supported the Palestinian struggle for
national liberation, but it would be wrong to remain silent while the
PLO, Hamas and the Palestinian Authority are abducting, brutalising
and murdering lesbian and gay Palestinians. Freedom for Palestine must
be freedom for all Palestinians - straight and gay.

“Unless we challenge the abuse of queer human rights now, this violent
homophobia will become entrenched in a new Palestinian state and
Palestinian leaders will be emboldened to abuse the rights of other
Palestinian citizens", said Tatchell.

OutRage! News Service
- e-mail: media@outrage.org.uk
- Homepage: http://www.outrage.org.uk

Comments

Display the following 68 comments

  1. Wrong demo — tolerant straight person
  2. And another thing... — t.s.p.
  3. did it happen Who dunnit ? — interested
  4. balance — sceptic
  5. Being 'specific' — Brett Lock
  6. Good for outrage — nationalism sucks
  7. Bandits Bandwagoning Protest For Their Own Ends... — He who has an irrational 'fear' of homos' (apparently)
  8. Nice One — Dissenter
  9. Reply from a "bandit" and a "homo" — Brett Lock
  10. Hey Bret — Homophobe
  11. Yeah how dare you gay rights activists go on about gay rights! — Paul
  12. Timing — Brett Lock
  13. Fair play — Chekov
  14. Yea Yea... — Homeophobe
  15. Homophobes will be homophobes — Brett Lock
  16. did this really happen? — .
  17. Its just very odd timing — Hermes
  18. Bad Timing? — Brett Lock
  19. Mass destruction in Gaza — .
  20. Dillemma — jackslucid
  21. Thanks Jack — Hermes
  22. An issue of timing, and other concerns — Brett Lock
  23. Bad timing, and other issues — Brett Lock
  24. reasonable people wanted — the voice of common sense
  25. reply — f
  26. Melanie Phillips joins Indymedia — Mark
  27. Captured on film — Brett Lock
  28. Hardly the best timing really was it. — IMF
  29. I don't recognise myself in the so-called "mob"...... — Vanessa
  30. On a cloudy day... — Brett Lock
  31. Let us reveiw ... — jackslucid
  32. Let us review.. indeed. — Brett Lock
  33. The left betrayed gay rights to Islam — leo
  34. There you go ... — jackslucid
  35. should read .. — jackslucid
  36. Pix of protest uploaded — Bolshie Photos
  37. ... — Hermes
  38. Usual "diversion from the class struggle" — Bolshie Photos
  39. No, maybe you should read! — Brett Lock
  40. Bolshie Photos — IMC reader
  41. And some (not so light) reading... — Brett Lock
  42. Ta for the links — jackslucid
  43. Re: Incest/homosexuality and social morality — Homophobe
  44. well ... — jackslucid
  45. Incest — Brett Lock
  46. PA and torture, murder and dententions — Brett Lock
  47. PA fake secularism — leo
  48. countering the "incest argument" — leo
  49. OK — jackslucid
  50. Not just Palestine — Pirate
  51. surely some mistake — sceptic
  52. yes but ... — jackslucid
  53. Irrelevant ? — Arm Lock
  54. Re: Incest — H
  55. Nitpicking?! — queer jew
  56. Reply to Jackslucid - evidence — Brett Lock
  57. Nitpicking — Brett Lock
  58. More nitpicking — queer jew
  59. And even more Nitpicking — Brett Lock
  60. Sorry Brett but .. — jackslucid
  61. Getting there... — Brett Lock
  62. Yes — jackslucid
  63. Arabs and Sex — H
  64. Reply to Brett on Incest/homosexuality thread — Homophobe.
  65. And still more nitpicking — queer jew
  66. Enequivocal Statement — Brett Lock
  67. is gay solidarity tainted or something? — kellan farshea
  68. As usual the words gay and incest are mentioned in the same breath — Al
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