PO Box 1675
Preston South Vic 3072
Australia
e-mail: josken_at_zipworld_com_au
1) WORLD AIDS DAY 1999:
Every year, on World AIDS Day, 1 December, The World AIDS Day Awards Steering
Committee seeks nominations in various categories for these awards. We are
enclosing with this newsletter nomination forms and the closing date for
submissions is Friday 22 October 1999. We realise that by the time you receive
the newsletter there will not be much time to get your nominations in, but
we hope you will submit them as soon as possible. (This, of course, will
only apply to our readers in Australia, because our overseas readers will
receive the newsletter too late to make nominations. However, if you DO
receive this in time, please send nominations to
Awards Steering Committee, c/o NSW World AIDS Day Project, Locked
Bag 3, Beaconsfield NSW 2014 Australia) Categories are: Partnership Awards,
Length of Service, Outstanding Contribution Awards, Posthumous Roll of Honour. (Nomination forms only included for NSW recipients of this
newsletter.)
2) ALGA HISTORY CONFERENCE MELBOURNE
19-20 NOVEMBER 1999:
The second Australian Lesbian and Gay Archives History Conference
will be held at Melbourne University on 19 and 20 November, and this will
be followed by a gay and lesbian history walk through Melbourne, which,
judging by similar events which have taken place in Sydney as part of the
Mardi Gras Festival in February
each year, will be extremely popular. To register, contact ALGA at PO Box
124 Parkville Vic 3052, or email Dr Graham Willett at gwillett@unimelb.edu.au
3) SPAIDS:
The 17th Sydney Park AIDS Memorial Groves Tree Planting Project
took place on Sunday 5 September 1999. The weather was not very promising
in the morning, and we had the competition of Fathers" Day, so the
morning turnout was not very large. During the afternoon the sun came out
and the day warmed considerably, and people came to plant trees.
We hope to resume plantings again in 2000
when South Sydney Council advises dates for the community events. In addition,
we are negotiating with Council for a permanent memorial to be erected in
the AIDS Groves, which will provide a focal area in the ever-enlarging groves.
In response to a question asked in the September 1999 issue
of Talkabout, the journal of People Living with HIV/AIDS, "Will this
year"s candlelight memorial be the last? Would it be better to have
a permanent memorial to all those who have died of AIDS?" a reader
responded in the October 1999 issue as follows: "I haven"t been
to the vigil in a few years; instead I attend the AIDS memorial grove in
Sydney Park to plant trees. This is organised by Mannie Sax (sic) and is
a great spot."
4) CHRISTIANS AND CURING HOMOSEXUALITY!!!!!!:
The following report has been provided by LGS member Peter Collard:
HOMOSEXUAL CURE FOILED
In September (1999), students at Sydney University were alarmed by
posters advertising a "Coming Out of Homosexuality" conference,
to be held at the Moore Theological College (Anglican) attached to the University.
This day-long conference was arranged for 25 September by Liberty Christian Ministries, a Sydney affiliate of Exodus - the group that operates in the USA and parts of Australia to "cure" homosexuals. The Queer
Action Committee (QAC) and Student Representative Council (SRC) sexuality officers networked with their counterparts at other Universities and at the National Union of Students
to gather background information and called a public meeting to plan a response.
The meeting, on 18 September at the Pride Centre was well attended by QAC members, representatives from the Metropolitan Community Church (MCC), Order of Perpetual Indulgence and others. A large community peaceful protest and information fair was arranged. Community groups would present alternatives to a "cure" such as support from the Gay and Lesbian Counselling Service, Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), gay religious groups, etc. The rally would also protest at the hatred and violence inspired by the intolerance of the conference organizers, which was seen as the main reason why young gay men and lesbians were being driven to consider undertaking such "cures".
Although the conference participation was structured to inhibit dissent - participants had to agree to refrain from dissent and to not use the conference for making sexual contacts - some MCC members applied to attend. The rest of us were to make it as unpleasant as possible (within the law) for the participants, and to disseminate our information to anyone attending or looking on. Our aims were to get the conference stopped and prevent any such further conference.
The police were contacted with the intention of closing the access road to the conference for a gay and lesbian fair day, and were quite co-operative. Discussions between the conference organizers, police and protest organizers were held two days before the conference. The conference organizers cancelled the conference (they said they feared for damage to the Theological College property). The police comment was that they must have been stupid to think they could get away with such a conference so close to Newtown - Sydney's second largest gay and lesbian zone.
The protest was hastily converted to a victory brunch celebration
at Sydney University. The students now plan to ask Sydney University and
Moore College to apologize for the affront they caused. However, maybe as
a sign of defiance, an Anglican clergyman who wrote to the Sydney Star Observer
in opposition to the conference and in support of the gay and lesbian community,
was sacked after his letter was published.
For further information on the subject of psychology, homosexuality
and cures see "http://psychology.ucdavis.edu/rainbow/html/facts.html"
which has a link to the Ex-Ex-Gay group in the USA.We suspect that the next
conference will be somewhere like Ryde (in fundy-land)
in an attempt to discourage any protest. We also await the formation
of an Ex-Ex-Ex-Gay movement.
5) COUNTRIES TO BOYCOTT - GOODS
AND TRAVEL - (A) INDONESIA:
Due to the tragic unfolding of events in East Timor and the involvement
of the Indonesian Army and Police in the training of the militia operating
in East Timor to kill, maim and destroy the lives of those who voted for
independence from Indonesia after 24 years of brutal military occupation
- aided and abetted by every Australian government since the occupation
by Indonesia in 1975 - don't go on holiday to Bali and don't buy Indonesian
goods.
Indonesian goods are to be found on your supermarket shelves, so look before you buy - for instance, No Frills cocoa comes from Indonesia. Boycotts are hurtful, and hurt the people of any country being boycotted, but as in the case of South Africa when the apartheid regime was running the country, the people affected by the boycott asked the outside world to continue their efforts in order to financially damage the regime's economy. The population at large is suffering hardship and poverty anyhow, so to a large extent it will not suffer further. The oppressive regime will, however, be affected by the lack of capital inflow and this
will make it harder to continue with its
purchase of military equipment to control the people. Sadly, we can"t
expect this Australian government to go along with a boycott. Tim Fischer
wanted to nominate Soeharto "Man of the Century" and ex-ALP
PM Keating saw the man as "the greatest".
(B) AFRICAN COUNTRIES WHOSE HOMOPHOBIA IS GETTING OUT OF CONTROL:
The latest disgusting homophobic utterances have come from the presidents
of Kenya and Uganda, both trying to outdo the rhetoric and hate expressed
by Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and Namibian President Samuel Nujoma.
In an ever-growing list of countries in Africa where gay and lesbian travellers
need to be careful and possibly seriously consider avoiding altogether -
even on safaris which travel through those countries - the provocative statements
by the presidents of two of East Africa"s countries which rely on
tourism for much of their incomes suggest that they need to be avoided.
From Algeria to Zimbabwe the homophobic pronouncements are growing, and letter-writing campaigns to the presidents - in many cases dictators - of these countries from gays and lesbians around the world are necessary to inform them that tourism is no longer on their agendas. It is very difficult in such countries to effect change, but the South African example needs to be kept in mind, and, while all is not yet resolved legislatively in South Africa, legal challenges are being mounted against the old laws. Judgements are so far supporting the new constitution and discriminatory laws and practices are being broken down. In the latest outburst from Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni the state-owned newspaper New Vision quoted him as saying, on 21 September 1999, "I have told the CID (Criminal Investigations Department) to look for homosexuals, lock them up and charge them."
Museveni has ordered the arrest of homosexuals for carrying out "abominable acts".
However, in a 10 October website report on "the data lounge", Professor Ali Mazrui, a renowned African scholar, told an audience on 5 October, assembled for a discussion on Constitutional law that Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni was wrong to target gay and lesbian citizens for harassment and arrest. "The issues of homosexuality are self regarding acts. They may be matters for the church, but not for the head of state." He said that sexual morality was a private matter the specifics of which were best left for the Almighty to judge. (That is a matter of opinion as well - Editors" italics!)
The remarks came as something of a surprise to those in attendance. Mazrui was asked to be the key note speaker at the International Conference on Constitutionalism in Africa organized by the Faculty of Law at Makerere University.
"The governments of Yoweri Museveni of Uganda and Robert Mugabe
of Zimbabwe attacking homosexuals sound as though they are more concerned
with homosexuality than corruption. That shouldn"t be a matter for
the president to make pronouncements on ---- gays should not be used as
scapegoats."
6) NEW BOOKS:
1): REPUBLIC:
Here is a book which ought to be read before the Referendum on 6 November
1999, when Australians are expected to decide to retain Australia"s
Constitutional Monarchy status or change the constitution and become a Republic.
The only model offered for the latter is purposely flawed by the current
Liberal/National Coalition so that the Prime Minister wins decisive power
no matter whether the NO or the YES faction gets up!
The book "The
Popularly Elected President: A Demonstration Denied" explains how the many and varied world republican models work and
why. Available
from Alen's Page, PO Box 41, Eugowra, NSW 2806. $15 post free, cheque or
money order. Sorry, no credit card facility.
2): "FEAR
OR FAVOUR: SEXUAL ASSAULT OF YOUNG PRISONERS," author David Heilpern. Strong recommendation for reform by former solicitor,
now NSW magistrate Heilpern, in line with the Law Society"s Task Force
on the Human Rights of Prisoners. In most good bookshops, $29.95, published
by Southern Cross University Press.
7) LCSA CONFERENCE AND SUCCESSFUL
GAY AND LESBIAN HISTORY WALK - BY
THE OPI:
Sydney
G&L history walk online
8) CHEAPER AIDS DRUGS FOR AFRICA?
BBC TALKING POINT - HAVE YOUR SAY - VOTE TO DATE (22-09-99) 80% SAY YES, 20% SAY NO!!!
South Africa took a stand on the drugs issue against the United States and the drug manufacturers in order to allow generic drugs to be available for people in South Africa who have HIV/AIDS. This means- in theory, at any rate - that drugs which are used in combination with other drugs to keep AIDS in control will be available to many more people than otherwise, because they will not cost as much as drugs from the main pharmaceutical companies, which control their supplies throughout the world.
The BBC ONLINE News Network has a Talking Point site in which readers are invited to give their opinions on various news issues of the day.
The recent discussion on AIDS drugs was because of the win by South
Africa on the AIDS drugs issue, so the BBC asked the question: "Should
drug companies be forced to offer cheaper drugs to treat Aids (sic) patients
in the poorest areas of the world? Are US drugs companies cheating Africa?"
Responses were very varied in the views expressed by readers of the site, and the initial poll response, as shown in the above headline was a very positive YES. Two days later, by 24 September, polling was 53% for YES, 47% for NO! which showed a dramatic turnaround in opinion over that very short period.
Nevertheless, the main outcome of the case between South Africa and
the USA was that South Africa succeeded against all the forces brought to
bear against them in the person of the US vice-President Al Gore, and the
USA was forced to back-pedal. This means that other countries in Africa,
ravaged by HIV/AIDS - and there are very many of them - will now have the
opportunity of suing the drug companies and demanding cheaper or generic
drugs be made available on the continent with the worst HIV/AIDS rates of
infection in the world.
9) GAY HATE WEB SITES -
http://home.earthlink.net/~lively/pinkswastika/book.html
http://www.godhatesfags.com
10) MORDECHAI VANUNU - WRITE TO
ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO PROTEST HIS GOVERNMENT'S INHUMANE TREATMENT OF VANUNU:
The address of the Israeli Ambassador is EMBASSY OF ISRAEL,
6 TURRANA STREET, YARRALUMLA, ACT 2600.
Vanunu, the Israeli whistleblower who spilled Israel"s nuclear
weapons secrets to the world as an act of conscience in 1986, is still incarcerated
13 years after he was abducted in Rome by the feared Israeli spy organisation,
Mossad. 11 1/2 years of those 13 years he has spent in solitary confinement.
Successive Israeli governments have refused to forgive or release him even
though he has harmed no one by his actions. Vengeance is a frightful master!
11) AUSTRIA AND AGE OF CONSENT:
In its issue of 24 September 1999, Capital Q reported about Austria that
35 men were prosecuted in 1998 under an Austrian law that bans consensual
gay sex with males aged 14 to 17. Heterosexual sex is legal at 14. Between
1991 and 1996 there were only 14 to 20 such prosecutions per year. Then
the number jumped to 27 in 1997 and 35 in 1998. A 1996 attempt to equalise
the age-of-consent ended with a tie vote in parliament, leaving the discriminatory
law on the books.
Since the above report, Austrian elections have produced the shock result that the ultra-right party has recorded its highest ever vote at 27% of the electorate. This bodes ill for any immediate hope of change unless gay and lesbian activists in the European Union challenge this issue in the European Parliament and Courts, as Austria is a member of the EU.
This is yet another country with age of consent discrimination, an issue yet to be settled in most states of Australia. The pressure must be maintained nationally and internationally until there is equal age of consent everywhere.
In NSW, there appears to be a move in parliament to raise the hetero
age of consent to 17 (Capital Q, 364, 15 October 1999). Some see that as
easier for gay sex to be equally acceptable. Surely such retrograde legislation
would be insulting to Australian youth, and would create a backlash from
all educational institutions and youth organisations.
12) PINK SEPTEMBER IN SOUTH AFRICA:
South Africa has become the shining beacon on the African continent whose
heads of states and/or governments - many of them dictatorships of the worst
kind - have lately been expressing the most outrageous homophobic comments
about gays and lesbians and Black Africa - in effect "There is no homosexuality
amongst black people - it doesn't exist in our communities!".
Three articles in the 17-23 September 1999 issue of the Mail and Guardian offer colourful pictures of the 10th Gay and Lesbian Pride Parade which were to take place in Johannesburg on 25 September 1999. The articles were about the Parade, the Manager of the National Coalition for Gay and Lesbian Equality (NCGLE) and a tour of gay and lesbian Johannesburg for the Conference delegates and hosted by the Gay and Lesbian Archives (GALA)
The International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA) was holding its conference in Africa for the first time - in Johannesburg - and the Parade was taking place at the end of the conference.
The NCGLE were hosting
the ILGA Conference, and it would be able to demonstrate to all African
countries that black gays and lesbians not only existed, but were actively
involved in working for recognition by the heterosexual communities in which
we all operate.
The insurance policy is
crap because drugs and tests after rape do not protect against HIV. Comments
welcome.
14) BOOKS & T-SHIRTS: Graham Carbery"s excellent "A History of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras," $10; Also t-shirts with the slogan "Stonewall was a riot ......now we need a revolution," $15 available from us at LGS (see masthead for addresses).
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 last updated 10 FEBRUARY 2016
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