Tony Kushner's Op-Ed piece in today's Washington Post was interesting reading on human rights abuses against an openly gay journalist in Uzbekistan, a country due to receive $50 million more in military aid from the US later this month.

Excellent news, although he wanted to stay in Uzbekistan and continue to expose "the total control that corrupt officials exercise over the media and the violations of basic human rights and freedoms."



[ October 28, 2004, 07:32 PM: Message edited by: redsoxbreath ]

Two related items I saw recently on homophobia elsewhere.
A federal judge ruled against asylum for a Mexican-born gay man. The man fled Mexico to the US after he and his cousin were arrested, beaten and robbed by cops who threatened to kill them because they are gay. He returned home for his mother's funeral, then came back to the US, settled in New York and applied for asylum based in fear of persecution because he is gay. The judge ruled that he can avoid persecution by staying in the closet, pointing out that nothing in his appearancem, dress or mannerisms would indicate he's gay (reminds me of the straight-acting thread recently here). His attorney is appealing and compares it to saying a European Jew could escape Nazi persecution by pretending she's a Christian (which in fact some did).
Also, an meeting of African humanists was held recently. I've just had a brain fart and can't for the life of me remember the country; Uganda? I'll look it up. Anyway, the country's laws not only require life imprisonment for gay sex, they also severely punish anyone who knows about gay sex and does not report it. The conference took a position in favor of gay political rights and a few out gay men attended. As a result, all the media locally referred to it as a "homo conference" complete with despicable cartoons, attendees were harassed by police at their hotel, etc.