Isn't it finally a high time already to forget about Russia and its law via which Russian Parliament have restricted nothing to gay people but gay propaganda among kids?? Almost a year has already past, enough of that senseless noise!! Watch Gambia! Yeah give yourself a minute and see what did the Gambia's president said recently about gay people:
thepoint. gm/africa/gambia/article/jammeh-vows-to-fight-homosexuals-the-same-way-as-mosquitoes
"L.G.B.T. can only stand for Leprosy, Gonorrhoea, Bacteria and Tuberculosis. Fight them the same way we are fighting malaria-causing mosquitoes"...
Like it? Damned African cannibal! If we really want to stand for our rights entirely and do it seriously then such countries as Gambia should be under a pressure first of all.
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Well, Russia's propaganda law is giving a green light on some serious gay-bashing, kidnapping and abusing of gay folks. Specially teen boys falling on web scams
So it's a bit more serious than that.
Also, Russia is the second most powerful country in the world, you should expect anything Russia does to be on everyone's mouths.
Other than that, granted, perhaps more of those images of gay folks executed in Iran should be displayed to make people umconfortable enough to care.
And then we can look at these....I could not even called them countries..in Africa.
Muslim North Africa or Subsaharian Africa are quite the places for LBGT legalized hatred.
Funny thing is, most of Africa was colonized by the UK and France (the most territory), then, Germany, Portugal, Italy, Belgium.
Other than muslim countries, we can expect the source of these legislations to date back to colonial powers. That was the case in India where they flashed out an old Victorian Law to ban again LGBT rights.
Now, these colonial powers have long abandoned these legislations, and became instead the front line for LGBT rights.
The imprint they left, however, has not been surpassed.
And the situation in these countries does not make it any more easy.
The governments are all too happy to keep these legislations to keep control. Nothing rallies up people more than hatred towards a common enemy. It helps stabilize the situation and keep these people in power.
Poverty, poor education, poor health situation will add to that.
Time for the UN to sit down and discuss this. Iran is a UN founding member. How is it then that it is allowed to violate human rights?
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There is so much homosexual behavior (not Gay) in Afghanistan that it is the cultural norm but they do not call it what is is, ISAF forces and contractors have received written orders NOT to discuss it because it would insult Islam. Criminal behavior at that (by that I mean minors), all over the damn country. Now turn that behavior into an "out couple" walking down the streets of Kabul and they would be killed on the spot in most cases. Strangest damn thing I ever saw.
I agree with the poster above, Russia has far more influence in the world than Uganda, Nigeria and many of the African nations spewing this nonsense (both Christian and Muslim). While they all should be held to account, Russian has allot to answer to IMO if they want to be taken seriously as a first world country.
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Churches certainly have a lot to answer for in the continuing victimisation of minorities (particularly sexual minorities), but they are not the whole story. This past few months I have been actively involved with human rights / gay rights / equal rights campaigns concerning Russia, Uganda, India and Nigeria and of course the same sex marriage campaigning in the UK. The situations in Gambia and Cameroon are also very troubling and it looks like Kenya is also going to join the list. I was with several people from sub-Saharan Africa outside Nigeria House in London yesterday in a very noisy demonstration against the laws recently imposed there. Among some very articulate speakers were some sincere believers who expressed horror and shame at the cowardice and bullying of the Catholic and the Anglican churches in the face of great hardships being suffered by lgbt Nigerians. Of course the Orthodox Church is behind a lot of the action in Russia. Ukraine is looking at introducing similar laws, but it looks like it is too late for the country to blame their ills on lgbtqi people. Most of the embassies where I have attended demonstrations shut up shop, but interestingly Nigeria was still open for business and several people came outside to witness the demo or watched from upstairs windows.
The Russian situation is bad, but much more complicated than I at first believed. Sochi has provided a focus, but the pressure must be kept up. However, I don't believe we as campaigners have been told the whole story. Yes there are vigilante groups, such as Occupy Paedophilia, that actively hunt, entrap and torture gay men. However, many Russians seem not to be too concerned with knowing the difference between homosexuality and paedophilia and it is not in the government's interest to put them right. Human rights abuses go far beyond the victimisation of sexual minorities in Russia. I can understand the confusion and frustration of people who lived through the chaos of Yeltsin's presidency and saw the breakdown of communism lead to an experience of capitalism where state assets were stolen by the most powerful criminals. Working people once in secure employment have been left with very uncertain futures. The authorities have restricted the movements of people who live in "sensitive" areas (such as near Sochi, which is itself close to a war zone) where those people who have lost their homes to make way for the Olympic infrastructure are arrested and beaten by the police if they question or complain. I can see why they might not be feeling too kindly towards the West's intervention. Putin was initially seen as a man to restore order, but he has let his people down very badly. The most expensive games in history has seen billions siphoned away from funds allocated to Olympic development and into the hands of Putin's pals. He has introduced punitive laws effectively making it illegal to criticise government. Pussy Riot is just one example of which we have all heard. What the vast majority of people in Russia appear to see is that The West doesn't care about them. It only cares about securing rights for paedophiles. However misguided and misinformed this is it suits the government and it certainly suits the Orthodox priests who fuel the hatred of lgbt people with a diet of lies and accusations. Pass the blame and scream loudly and long enough and you will divert attention away from where terrible things are happening.
So, Melly, yes I agree that the world should pay attention to what is happening around the world. There are about eighty countries where being gay is illegal. In many of those places life imprisonment or a death sentence can be imposed. I would love to see more activists join the same small group of people I see cropping up at many actions in London. There must be other actions happening near you too. I assume the rest of you have signed yesterday's message trying to prevent President Museveni finally signing the anti gay law into being today in Uganda? He did what he said he would and held off signing the law into place while he set up a scientific committee to confirm whether homosexuality had "natural" causes. The committee reported last week and made a number of mostly unremarkable observations, which were twisted and spun by the government's chief "scientific adviser" to report what the ill-informed populace wanted to hear. The situation across Africa has been inflamed over many years by homophobic religious fundamentalist fanatics from the USA and, I assume, other places dripping poison and lies about us. Those fanatics remain free to spread their hate in our countries. I would like to think that people like Scott Lively should have to face legal repercussions for their interference in the affairs of other countries. The USA still has eight (I believe) states where homosexual acts are illegal. Why aren't we fighting against those injustices? Those are battles we can win.
The Vatican has infiltrated and voted against every advancement in human rights discussed at the UN, under the spurious pretext of its statehood. Islamic states are active in holding up advancement in equality for women and rights for sexual minorities. There is so much work to do. I don't believe it is right to forget Russia. We do need to listen more to local activists though and not simply be swept along with the crowd.
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Leprosy, Gonorrhoea, Bacteria and Tuberculosis.
