LGS HOME PAGES: http://www.josken.net

ISSN 1446-4896

Over the last three or four years there hasn't been much evidence of neo-nazi and extreme right activity. But tt seems apparent that lately fascists in Australia have been raising their profile

On August 5 Black Rose Anarchist Books in Newtown was the victim ot an anonymous arson attack. On the night ot August 30 Pathfinder Books in Surry Hills was vandalised by anonymous right-wingers who spraypainted swastkas, "Beta Dead Than Red!" and "Commies Out" across the shopfront

In response, Pathfinder Books organised a speakout, with speakers including Suzanne from tho Black Rose Collective, Bob Aiken from Pathfinder Press, Joy Balazo trom tho Uniting Church and Michael Schembri from LGS.

At that speakout we were also told that on a campus in Brisbane neo-nazis had distributed stickers urging tho murder ol gays and lesbians.

Tho 10 November issue of Brother Sister, in Melboume, published the following letter sent by Action Against Fascism at La Trobe University:

"We have noticed over the preceding months that a number of articles have appeared in this paper concerning police harrassment at beats. It should be known that National Action members (skinheads), around Preston, Clifton Hill and Northcote, are planning to attack beat goers in these areas. This may sound sensationalist but we believe extreme caution should be exercised by people using beats in these suburbs.

"Skinhead activity (which equals a push for white, heterosexual, male supremacy has increased dramatically in the last three months, resulting in a number ot violent attacks on gay men and people of colour

"It appears that fascism (tho politics of hatred) is breeding well in depression-hit Victoria."

The pseudo-historian David Irving is expected to visit Australia in 1994. David Irving poses as a historian and his project is to whitewash Hitler. One of his claims is that the Holocaust which killed six million Jews did not really happen.

In reality he is not a historian. He actually is a neo-nazi organiser. If he does turn up in Australia his objective will be to help organise and strengthen the local fascists.

If he does come to Australia he can expect a broad progressive front, including socialists, feminists and lesbian and gay liberationists to give him a hot welcome. That much we can promise him.

The victory over the anti-vilificaton bill was necessary. A victory for Fred Nile and the Liberal government would have strengthened tho Right and weakened our movement.

This is not to say that the bill is just what we needed. The nature of the bill is such that it sets dangerous precedents in the area of censorship which, if the political situation gets out of control, could seriously backfire on us.

The bill was also piss weak to start off with, and therefore of dubious value to us as gay men and lesbians, and was further gutted by the Catholic-ALP collusion to exempt religious education.

In other words we were taken through a highly dangerous political adventure for a bill which at best is next to worthless. Some might say that the symbolism is important for the statement it makes. But symbolism could backfire. Our hopes, so highly raised, could be dashed when we find that not much can be done with this legislation.

Possibly the biggest gain we got from the campaign was the large number of gays and lesbians who were highly motivated, with thousands turning up to rally after rally. This has certainly given us more political strength, which now needs to be directed towards other efforts.

Lesbian and gay organisations leading the anti-vilification campaign made a deal with the trany activist organisations. It was agreed that, if the tranys agreed to put their demands on tho back burner till the legislation went through, the movement would then take up trany issues.

Well, the bill went through, and now that agreement should be honoured. Tranys demand to be included in the Anti-Discrimination Act. Such a legislative development is desperatery needed.

Bill Clinton's Democratic Party got into government partly on tho promise of removing the ban on homosexuality in the military. At the end of this drama Clinton's administration has turned full circle and lias strongly reasserted the ban.

This ultra-conservative turn of events also has an international dimension to it. ILGA (the International Lesbian and Gay Association) recently achieved Non-Government Organisation status at the UN ECOSOC. The USA decided to try and suspend ILGA's membership on the basis thai it maintains a pro-paedophilia agenda. This contention is based on the fact that a US paedophile organisation - NAMBLA - is a member of ILGA.

Tho US put pressure on Australia not to support ILGA and threatened to expose Australian organisations members of ILGA.

In Sydney there are a number of such organisations, including LGS, GLRL, the Sydney Star Observer, ACON and AFAO. Letters have been sent by some of them to Senator Gareth Evans, urging him to support ILGA. LGS, in its letter, stated that the raising of the issue of paedophilia 'is a cover for conservative opposition to the visibility of international lesbian/gay concerns in the UN arena.'

Tho drama came to an end when the US Govemmont agreed to back down. ILGA is planning to kick NAMBLA out

Australian Democrat Senator Sid Spindler, in a press release, stated that the Federal Goverment has made an in principle commitment to support Democrat amendments to the industrial relations legislation to remove some of the discrimination gay and lesbian people suffer in employment

The main elements of the Democrat proposals are:

Spindler goes on to explain that "the amendments are based on the Government's constitutional power to ban discrimination and dismissal on grounds of sexuality under International Labour Organisation Convention 111 "

This will come as good news to many of us, since the Anti-Discrimination Act Is NSW legislation and doesn't cover federal employees. It will also cover gay and lesbian workers in other states which do not have protective legislation.

We hope that efforts will be made to make sure that tranys are also covered by the legislation.

In our January 1993 newsletter we published the story about Baryulgil. The Bundjalung people of Baryulgil in northern NSW worked for decades in the asbestos mines owned by James Hardie Industries. The mines were closed in 1979. In 1993 the ex-asbestos Aboriginal miners and their families are still trying to get the area decontaminated, and they are still trying to get compensation for the asbestos-related diseases that they suffer from.

After a succssful campaign in Victoria, spoearheaded by the Freedom Socialist Party and Radical Women, Charles Moran. Bundjalung elder and chairperson of the NSW Asbestos Ex-Miners Aboriginal Corporation is working to achieve union and community support in NSW. This work is being carried out with the support of a Sydney-based Solidarity With Baryulgil Campaign.

In NSW the people of Baryulgil have found strong support among lesbian and gay liberationists. LGS is a member of the Campaign. Gays and Lesbians Againsy Racism and Gaywaves have also endorsed it.

The Corporation needs political and financial support. If you can give either or both you can contact:

Charles Moran, 23 Norwood Ave. Goonolabah NSW 2480. Ph. (066) 242 174

Sydney Solidarity With Baryulgil Campaign: Ph. (02) 568 2279.

LGS: P.O.BOX 380. Broadway 2007. Ph. Michael Schembri b/h 230 7452; a/h 331 1837.

The John Pat Momorial March and Rally are held annually in Sydney to commemorate the death of John Pat while in police custody. John is one of the many Aborigines who have fallen victim to police oppression and died in custody.

This year the march and rally took place on Saturday September 25. Lesbian and gay liberationists took part and carried banners of two organisations: LGS and GLAR.

The Royal Commission Into Black Deaths In Custody cost millions of dollars. None of its recommendations have been implemented. Black deaths in custody have actually increased. The Killing Times are not over, they are not a thing of the past. It is therefore incumbent on all of us to support all actions to bring an end to the racist, genocidal basis for the occupation of this land

Preparations for 1994's Stonewall events are already under way. A skeleton, committee, which volunteered to function following the "93 Stonewall celebrations, has already developed a provisional programme.

1994's events are expected to be significant particularly since it will be the 25th anniversary of the New York Stonewall riots.

The plan so far is to have a march in the evening following '93's route to Kings Cross, at the end of which a large event will be held which will combine dance, food and cabaret

A Stonewall subcommittee - Out With Pride - is planning a photographic exhibition covering lesbian and gay activism from 1978 to the present day. A side feature ot this exhibition might be a display of memorabilia such as posters, badges and banners.

Hopefully other organisations, such as Transgender Liberation Coalition and the Australian Centre for Gay and Lesbian Research, will co-ordinate activities of their own.

Anybody interested in working on Stonewall, or who would like to contribute any ideas can contact ihe committee c/- LGS.

LGS is supporting a petition in defence of Sandy Nelson, a US based journalist working for the Morning News Tribune. more detailed information see the insert attached. If you could sign the petition, or maybe even circulate it, that would be greatly appreciated. Return all petition sheets to the Freedom Socialist Party: P O Box 266 West Brunswick. VIC 3055.

In Sydney we have all rejoiced at the news that the Losbian Space Project has raised tho $250,000 target.

News from Berlin has been received informing us that the joint effort of lesbians and gays in Germany and over 400 letters of support worldwide, have saved the city's Gay and Lesbian Counselling Service

It was no surprise that Pope John Paul II reiterated the Catholic Church's hatred of all things progressive particularly in the area of sex and sexuality. The Encyclical Veritatis Splendor has been a huge blow in the face to decent Catholics who have been trying to work out a humane understanding of their religious beliefs. Over the last couple of decades they have managed to do so by finding cracks and ambiguities which followed from the softening of the Church teachings after Vatican Council II (not that Pope Paul VI's encyclical on contraception was much help )

This Pope's hardline position in reality is simply a reassertion of what after all has always been the Church's position. All he has done is to reassort Church discipline. Not that it will do the Institution of the Church much good. For many intelligent and self-respecting Catholics this will be the last straw - they will leave the Church, which will ultimately be the loser.

Still,. its loss is our gain. A weakened Church is ono less strong enemy against lesbian and gay liberation A Church which has been consistently a leading instigator of heterosexist hatred, which has also turned its back on the poor in favour of the rich, and which has denounced Liberation Theology, needs to be fought tooth and nail.

Tho Church's hypocritical claim is thai it hates the sin but loves the sinner. We could say the same thing: we love many Catholics but, boy, do wo hate the Church!

SCHWULEN
BERATUNG
2 2159000
LESBEN BERATUNG
2 2152000
GRUPPEN, THERAPIE. BERATUNG, WORKSHOPS, FORTBILDUNG, INfORMATION AIDS-BERATUNG
IM KOMMUNIKATIONS- UND BERATUNGSZENTRUM HOMOSEXUELLER FRAUEN UND MANNER e.V. KULMER STRASSE 20A 1000 BERLIN 30
Berlin, December 20th, 93

Dear friends of the Gay and Lesbian Counselling Centre Berlin!

Thanks to your marvellous solidarity we were able to prevent the closing of the centre.

Far more than 400 individual letters from all over the world have shown the politicians in charge what the imminent closing would have meant and which disastrous social effects it would have caused.

Well attended events like the protest concert or the panel discussion made both public and politicians recognize that there is a great and creative potential of resistance within the lesbian and gay community. Apparently we are able to use this potential with all necessary power and will continue to do so in future times!

Thanks to our joint efforts the Senate of Berlin decided on November 5th to give full financial support to the centre in 1994.

This makes us hope that a powerful political gay and lesbian movement will keep growing. Many thanks to all of you!

CURRENT NEWSLETTER AND ARCHIVE OF PREVIOUS NEWSLETTERS

Mannie has a personal web site: RED JOS: HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISM

Mannie's blogs may be accessed by clicking on to the following links:

MannieBlog (from 1 August 2003 to 31 December 2005)

Activist Kicks Backs - Blognow archive re-housed - 2005-2009

RED JOS BLOGSPOT (from January 2009 onwards)

This page updated 18 SEPTEMBER 2014 and again on 26 APRIL 2017

Page 25