Queer oppression 05,a retrospective!!

by Paddy Savge - consistent life ethic(inc animals) Tue Dec 06, 2005 21:36 achorusline19 at hotmail dot com

From the beginning of 2006 i will keep posts specifically aimed at gender/sexuality rights and freedoms,along with posting my own comments in relation to other news.
Love and light homo Paddy.

by R. Isible Tue Dec 06, 2005 21:56

But it would be better if you were to source the places that you got the information from. On that note:

QUOTE: execution of two young men accused of being lovers

There's been speculation that this is not the full story. The Wikinews link at the bottom leans towards Tatchell/OutRage's interpretation and seems to be mostly based on the well-informed Doug Ireland who wonders about the way the gay community in the US backed down on this. This story was also reported on indymedia.ie by Geoff Dolan and Paul McAndrew among others here. I brought up what I still think is an interesting point: that this sort of barbaric stuff goes on all the time and the US is only interested in it when it aligns with trying to get the liberals on board for another round of genocide from the air.

Anyway, I think if you can source this stuff then a regular round-up of news like this would be a useful addition to indymedia.ie

by pat c Wed Dec 07, 2005 12:50

The oppression of the LGBT Community in Poland is truly sickening. I set out below some extracts and links onattacks on the LGBT Community in particular by the Polish League of Families.

Cathy Sinnot, The Irish Independent MEP, is in the same political grouping in the EP as the League. She claims that she was unaware of the Leagues anti LGBTattacks. I find it difficult to believe that an MEP could be unaware of events which have been so widely reported.

Anyway I have sent material to Kathy Sinnott regarding these actions and I hope she will condemn them and sever her links with the League.

The full stories are at the links below.

"The League Of Polish Families (LPR), a nationalist, populist party which came second in last months European elections in Poland, has hit the headlines for itsmilitant opposition to LGBT marches in Warsaw and Kra kow. A leading party figure told the Sunday Herald that LPR would oppose all public dem onstrations of a condition which is unac ceptable from the moral point of view.

LPR, which is also vehemently opposed to abortionis being monitored by the AntiSemitism AndRacism unit of the Stephen Roth Institute at Tel Aviv University, which describes the party as the main force of the Polish extremeright."

http://www.kampania.org.pl/homofobia/angnews.php?action=fullnews&id=2


"I sign in the box that states 'Suspect.' I get out of the station. I feel horrible. I wonder what is less horrible -- to be beatenby a farright fanatic All-Polish Youth [the attack-dogmilitia of the League of Polish Families party-- D.I.] or to go through the police procedure. I think I prefer to get a beating.I get back to the Old Town. At Cafe Miesna, there's a concert going on as part of the Days of Equality. We share our stories with other demonstrators. My friends were taken to a different station. We try to calm down.

Seven brave girls my age organized this march. It wasn't a LGBT demo, and there were more girls there. But the mayor, the voivode, and bishop concluded that we pose a threat. The police treated us like they treat football/hooligans. If that's the beginning of the 'New Republic' as Law and Justice'Party politicians say, then yes, we're a big danger to it. Because we believe in democracy."

http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=91&ItemID=9163

"The failure of coalition discussions with the more moderate right of centre party, Civic Platform, mean that the new government is increasingly closely associated with more extremeparties on the right, particularly the League of Polish Families. This party has been virulent in its opposition to LGBT rights, and its youth wing, All Polish Youth, has repeatedly organisedviolent and hatefuelled counter-demonstrations against peaceful LGBT events.

Attached is a diary of events detailingattacks on the LGBT community in Poland by representatives of the Law and Justice and League of Polish Families in recent times.

These events raise serious concerns about the new Polish government’s willingness to fulfil its obligations under Article 6 EU, under the Charter of Fundamental Rights, and under UN and Council of Europe human rights conventions. "


www.ilga-europe.org/content/download/1954/
12322/file/Briefing%20and%20background%20info%20on%20Poland.doc


"We are Afraid
Witchhunt towards LGBT people in Poland grows in strength. Politicians of the League of Polish Families and Law andJustice Party, using ignorance and negative stereotypes about LGBT in Polish society, manipulate our fears in favor to spread the hatred. They postulate banning our organizations, they want to cure and isolate us. According to their demands, the society should intolerate us in a social and moral ways.

The rhetoric of Mayor of Warsaw Lech Kaczyñski, Chairman of the League of
Polish Families Roman Giertych, and Member of the European Parliament
Wojciech Wierzejski remind us the rhetoric we all know from the total itarian
régimes.

We are named publicly as pervertsand faggs.
Politicians, including leaders of political parties and members of the Polish and the European Parliament, are doing this with a pride. System of Justice doesn’t react when they call for discrimination against LGBTs,
consenting for the following crimeswe are victims of.


Campaign Against HomophobiaWarsaw, Cracow, Silesia, Wroclaw, Lodz, Gdansk
Lambda Warsaw, Cracow, Szczecin, Poznan
ILGCN Poland
LesbiansAgreement


Translated by: Mike Urbaniak [Campaign AgainstHomophobia – Cracow]
2005-06-21 15:21:49


Source: NEWW Polska
URL:http://www.neww.org.pl/en.php/news/news/1.html?&nw=1266&re=1

by Miriam Cotton Wed Dec 07, 2005 13:39

Pat C is sceptical that Sinnott was aware of all this and, I believe, wants to think that she supports it. She does not. Here is the text of a message that she sent yesterday, and which Pat had seen before he submitted the post above:

"I would never support violence by the league of Polish Families or anyone
else. I don't know of any incident of violence by them. I would be very
glad to get reliable factual information because anything like this
would break the group's agreed platform and preclude them from membership.
If such has taken place, I am happy to confront them however I have to
be able to substantiate my case. I am leaving for Cork tomorrow and
China Thursday. To deal with this right now, I need the information
asap.

Please ask whoever feels this way about me to get in touch with me
directly so that we can sort out this obvious misunderstanding.
Thanks
Kathy"

In correspondence on the editorial list, Pat C has also accused Sinnott of being a supporter of right wing fanatics because of her pro life stance. I am sure Paddy, at least, would take excpetion to that.

Kathy is not involved in internal Polish politics. As pointed out elsewhere, she sits on 4 committees as an MEP - vast majority of MEPs sit on 2. She has 9 children, one severely disabled and spends her weekends taking calls from people coping with disability related problems. She has given personal support to hundreds of people and her fundamental regard for all human life means it is impossible that she would ever condone the violent activities described above. Your quarrel is with the PLF, Pat, not Kathy Sinnott.

by Paddy Savage - consistent life ethic(inc animals) Wed Dec 07, 2005 16:03 achorusline19 at hotmail dot com

Yeah i should put all the sources,and i will in future,but id like anybody with news relating to LGBTQ oppression or even revolution to write them as stories on this post,so it becomes a collective,as regards to Ms.Sinnott being reffered to as a "fanatic" because she is anti abortion is bigotry,please remember although i believe all forms of killing or bigotry,racism and homophobia is all linked,this post is specifically about LGBTQ news,so please feel free to contribute whenever.If anyone has any queries about delving deeper in to the consistent life ethic please email me.Love and light, Homo Paddy.

by Paddy Savage - consistent life ethic(inc animals) Wed Dec 07, 2005 18:21 achorusline19 at hotmail dot com

Exodus international is an inter-denominational "Christian" organization helping people overcome the "disease" of homosexuality,and offers a 3 week rehab for homosexuals(including homosexual drug addiction,homosexual prostitution and alcoholism) all done by the transformative power of Jesus!!! I have been transformed from the power of Jesus,Our Lady,Ganesha and other divine deities,of my chronic severe depression and panic attacks of 4 years!!God knowing me as he lives in all of us can transform us,but i think s/hes pretty happy with diversities of all kind,or else S/he would let me know!!!lol. Checkout the link to see what these "christians" think and believe,its hilarious,youd think theyd fight poverty and their corrupt Gocernment and oppose the death penalty if they truly claim to be disciples of christ!! Love and light, Homo Paddy.

by pat c Wed Dec 07, 2005 19:48

Kathy Sinnott is in the same European Parliament Group as the Polish League of Families. It is relevant that an Irish MEP chooses to align herself with such a group.

I find it difficult to understand how Ms Sinnott was unaware of the Leagues attacks on Gay Rights Demos. These attacks have been widely reported in the media.

Personally I am opposed to her beliefs on Abortion, Contraception and Divorce. I dont want this to turn into a debate about Abortion, its not the topic of this discussion.

But I think that anyone who is opposed to contraception in this day and age can accurately be described as being on the Far Right.

But this story is about LGBT and it should not be derailed by side issues.

Miriam, discussion on the Editorial List is supposed to remain there.

by pat c Wed Dec 07, 2005 20:05

"(New York, December 1, 2005) — Human Rights Watch mourns the death of Steve Harvey, a leading Jamaican HIV/AIDS activist who worked tirelessly to defend the health and human rights of people living with and at high-risk of HIV/AIDS.

Harvey, 30, was found dead early in the morning of November 30. According to Jamaican police, at least four assailants forced their way into Harvey’s home when he returned from work around 1 a.m. They tied up Harvey and two people staying with him, stole a number of their possessions, and abducted Harvey in the company car. Harvey was found with gunshot wounds in his back and head in a rural area miles from his home.

For more than a decade, Harvey was a leader in the struggle to defend the health and human rights of people living with and at high risk of HIV/AIDS. He worked with Jamaica AIDS Support since 1997, and represented the interests of marginalized people and people living with HIV/AIDS in Jamaica and throughout the region. "

Full story at link.

by Miiram Cotton Wed Dec 07, 2005 20:38

My earlier post was in direct response to your own references to Kathy Sinnott on this thread. You introduced the subject yourself, Pat, so it is peculiar you should accuse me of relocating editorial discussions to the thread. My post was a necessary correction to the incomplete information you gave and a legitimate reply to what you said. You draw your own inferences from the clear statement that Sinnott has given and effectively question her honesty. By saying that on this thread you leave people who know otherwise no choice but to challenge that assertion here.

Discrimination and violence towards homosexual people is a terrible evil and those responsible should be brought to account - be they the PLF or anyone else.

by Patrick Thu Dec 08, 2005 03:25

May he rest in peace.

Thank you for sharing that sad story. What a shame alll the people he could have helped.

by pat c Thu Dec 08, 2005 18:52

there were some very ill tempered exchanges on the editorial list, i got a lot of abuse from you. i never said that anyone was a fanatic just because they were opposed to abortion. to do that would indeed be bigoted.

mary mcalees, gay mitchell, roisin shortall are all opposed to abortion; i dont consider them to be fanatics.

but when someone is opposed to abortion, divorce and contraception, well, in a heated debate i might refer to them as a fanatic. but maybe not in the cool light of day.

i still have queries about Kathys lack of knowledge about the Leagues activities. But I am sure she will respond in time.

I welcome your comments about opposing oppression.

by Miriam Cotton Thu Dec 08, 2005 20:57

In response to information about attacks on homosexuals in Poland, Kathy Sinnott has forwarded this response to Pat C. :

"Dear Pat,

Thank you for this information of which I was not aware, it is not easy
to know what goes on in other countries when there are substantial
language barriers between us.
My political group subscribes to the ideals that "peoples and nations
have the right to define and protect their own traditional, ethical and
cultural values. The Ind/Dem Group rejects xenophobia, antisemitism and
any other form of discrimination."
Consequenly I and the members of my political group would reject any
form of violent discirmination carried out against any group. I would
even more feel horrifed that it were being carried out by anyone
associated with my group.
At this moment, because I am leaving for Hong Kong as part of the WTO
delegation and will not be back until mid December, I am giving your
briefing to the secretariat of my Group to ask for their input and I
will stress to them how serious a matter this is for me.
I hope to have a clear picture from them with corroboration by the time
I get back. Then if warranted, I will demand that the delegations in my
group live up to the ideals they have signed up to and break any
associations which clash with our programme.
I am grateful for feedback from my constituents as it helps me to
represent them better.

Kind regards

Kathy Sinnott"

by pat c Fri Dec 09, 2005 18:00

i was g;lad to get this response from Kathy Sinnott. i hope that when she returns from china she will issue a condemnation of the PLFs activities. these attacks took place and are well documented in the english language press as well as in polish.

by pat Sun Dec 11, 2005 13:31

Gay row 'difficult' for Alliance

The Alliance Party's deputy leader is to step down and will not stand in the next Assembly election. Eileen Bell denied that a recent split within the party over gay civil partnerships was one of the main reasons for her decision.

The North Down MLA said it was mostly for personal reasons but she admitted that the row had been difficult.

"It has stressed me very much, because to me, Alliance is the party of equality and human rights," she said.

Last month, party chairman Trevor Lunn resigned, claiming he was the victim of a campaign by Alliance colleagues over his opposition to gay unions.


The Lisburn councillor opposed the use of the council's wedding room for civil partnerships. Alliance backs civil partnerships, but its three Lisburn councillors disagree.

Alliance assembly member Seamus Close proposed a motion preventing the council's wedding room being used for same-sex unions.


Full story at:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/4517018.stm

by Miriam Cotton Sun Dec 11, 2005 14:45

Pat,

You continue to imply dishonesty on Sinnott's part. I had never read of these atrocities until you drew them to my attention and Im sure there are many other people like me. It has not been an issue with which Sinnott has been directly involved previously and there are many events in this world which it is possible for an MEP to know nothing about - particularly someone like Sinnott who barely has time to be briefed adequately on the issues that she is responsible for at the EP, let alone to read newspapers from cover to cover. As I have said before, Kathy Sinnott is a good person and does not deserve to be tarnished with any culpability for ignoring or condoning these events. They had nothing to do with her. Your continued reluctance to admit this truth is a discredit to you, particularly in view of the unreserved, public undertakings that Sinnott has given you. For shame.

by pat c Sun Dec 11, 2005 22:54

I have no desire to continue a ping pong with you on this. Perhaps if we look at things in a different way: in this debate there are facts, statements and opinions.

The facts are that the League is Anti Gay, is proposing antigay legilation and has launched physical attacks on gay events. This is well documented in the media.

The statements are those by Kathy Sinnott in which she says that she was unaware of the Leagues anti gay actions and that she will raise these matters with the League when she returns from China.

The opinions:

Opinion 1 is yours you believe that Kathy Sinnott knew nothing of the Leagues activity. This is based on your experience of working with Kathy.

Opinion 2 is mine, I am somewhat skeptical of Kathys ignorance of the Leagues activities this is based on the fact that these actions were widely covered by the English language media. It is only an opinion and I realise I could be wrong. My opinion is just that, an opinion, not proven fact.

by Kasper - Europæisk Ungdom Tue Dec 20, 2005 10:28 vancouverkasper at hotmail dot com

Dear all,

It's great that you are putting pressure on Kathy Sinnott to do something about her extreme rightwing allies in the European Parliament. In Denmark we are trying to do the same to our eurosceptic (Bonde) who is the co-president of the ID group. Here is a bit more information on the other parties in the group. They are a seriously deranged lot.

You already know about the Poles in LPR, but this Orwellian explanation of their position on gay rights demonstrations might me enlightening (from their official website).: http://www.sakowicz.lpr.pl/english/apel_wiec_homo.html

Wojciech Wierzejski was btw a member of the EP until the recent Polish elections where he was elected to the Sejm.

LAOS: A greek orthodox party classified as antisemitic by the US state department, the Simon Wiesenthal Center and the Greek Helsinki Group. The party's magazine Alpha Ena wrote in june 2004 that "It has been proven beyond any doubt that the attack on the twin towers of New York was due to the actions of the American Jews".

See also this letter from the Greek Helsinki group: http://www.greekhelsinki.gr/bhr/english/organizations/ghm/ghm_14_06_04.doc

Lega Nord: The Northern Italian separatist party is suspected of having links with extreme right groups. Earlier this month the Swedish party in ID 'Junilistan' decided to leave the group since they according to the Swedish press couldn't get the ID-group to publicly comdemn parties (Lega Nord) having links to nazi parties.

The other parties (except the single Danish MEP who is a former communist) have strong national-conservative opinions, but are not blatantly anti-human rights.

The development in Poland (and other countries) is scary for all who subscribe to fundamental human rights for all including minorities. It is a disgrace that 'our' eurosceptics' opposition to the EU leads them to legitimize rightwing extremism, and it is a disgrace that the mainstream media lets them get away with it.

Best regards

Kasper

by pat c Wed Dec 21, 2005 19:27

i got this email from kathy sinnott. i'll pass on the other information in your post.

*********************
Dear Pat,

I am back from China now. We took the information that you sent and gave
it to the group for investigation. It seems to have set a real ball
rolling. Three Polish members including the leader who are associated
with the Polish youth movement have left (asked to leave) the group and
are now non-aligned. The rest of the Poles seem to have split
internally. This is a work in progress...

Thank you for sending the information.

Happy Christmas

Kathy