From queerplanet-owner Tue Aug 15 19:41:42 1995 Received: (from root@localhost) by abacus.oxy.edu (8.6.10/8.6.11) id TAA12565 for queerplanet-outgoing; Tue, 15 Aug 1995 19:41:04 -0700 Received: from relay3.UU.NET (relay3.UU.NET [192.48.96.8]) by abacus.oxy.edu (8.6.10/8.6.11) with ESMTP id TAA12542 for ; Tue, 15 Aug 1995 19:40:31 -0700 From: rick.rosendall@glib.org Received: from uucp3.UU.NET by relay3.UU.NET with SMTP id QQzcza00993; Tue, 15 Aug 1995 22:40:25 -0400 Received: from glib.UUCP by uucp3.UU.NET with UUCP/RMAIL ; Tue, 15 Aug 1995 22:40:16 -0400 Received: by glib.org id 0VCH201W Tue, 15 Aug 95 22:18:48 -0400 Eastern Message-ID: <9508152218.0VCH201@glib.org> Organization: GLIB - Community Educational Services Foundation X-Mailer: TBBS/TIGER v1.0 Date: Tue, 15 Aug 95 22:18:48 -0400 Eastern Subject: Demo at Zimb. Emb To: queerplanet@abacus.oxy.edu Sender: queerplanet-owner@abacus.oxy.edu Precedence: bulk Status: RO Content-Length: 4292 X-Lines: 99 Greetings, fellow freedom fighters! I have attached a press release for your information. -------------------------------------- NEWS ADVISORY Gay & Lesbian Activists Alliance of Washington Box 75265 2 Massachusetts Avenue, NE Washington, DC 20013 202/667-5139 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 15, 1995 CONTACT: Rick Rosendall (202) 328-6278 AIUSA/GLAA TO HOST ZIMBABWE EMBASSY PROTEST Mugabe's Homophobic Remarks Have Sparked Outrage Washington, DC -- The Dupont Circle Chapter of Amnesty International USA and the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance of Washington (GLAA) will host a protest in front of the Embassy of Zimbabwe on Thursday, August 17, 1995 at 6:00 PM. Recent statements by Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe which have urged the arrest and detention of gays and lesbians and labeled homosexuals as "worse than dogs and pigs" have sparked international outrage and the withdrawal of many South African publishers and African authors from the international book fair at which similar comments were first made. The Zimbabwe Embassy is located at 1608 New Hampshire Avenue, NW, in the Dupont Circle neighborhood. The closest cross streets are 18th and Q Streets, NW, two blocks from the Dupont Circle stop on Metro's Red Line. Local activists from Amnesty International, GLAA, and other organizations will participate. A statement from Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ) will be read during the protest. In a speech opening the Zimbabwe International Book Fair in early August, Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe publicly attacked gays and lesbians, labeling them "sodomists" and "sexual perverts" who do not deserve to freely exercise their right to free speech. More recently, President Mugabe has renewed his attacks on gays and lesbians by saying that homosexuality "degrades human dignity" and "it's unnatural and there is no question of ever allowing these people to behave worse than dogs and pigs." After Mugabe's government intimidated the book fair's organizers into barring GALZ from participating, many South African publishers withdrew from the book fair in protest, citing the provision in their own nation's 1993 constitution which explicitly forbids discrimination based on sexual orientation. Nobel laureates Wole Soyinka of Nigeria and Nadine Gordimer of South Africa condemned the Zimbabwe government's actions and also withdrew from participation in the fair, whose theme this year was human rights. Amnesty International and other leading global human rights organizations have issued statements condemning the Zimbabwe government's actions. On August 3, 1995, Rep. Barney Frank, Rep. Maxine Waters and 70 other bipartisan Members of the U.S. House of Representatives sent a letter to President Mugabe urging him "to re-examine this issue and to follow the example of the new government of South Africa in respecting the human rights of all people." The Dupont Circle Chapter of Amnesty International USA was formed in the early 1980s. Since that time, it has hosted monthly meetings in Dupont Circle and sponsored many local fundraisers and public events to raise awareness of human rights violations both at home and abroad. Founded in 1961, Amnesty International (AI) is the largest human rights organization in the world. AI was the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1977. The Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance of Washington, founded in Washington, DC in 1971, is the oldest gay and lesbian activist organization in the United States. It meets twice monthly in the Dupont Circle area and has hosted countless vigils, protests, and local actions, as well as rating District candidates on gay-related issues and defending the equal rights of gay men and lesbians by monitoring the legislative process and the delivery of city services. GLAA played a key role in overturning the District of Columbia's sodomy law in 1993. # # # ****************************************************************************** To send a message to the entire list "queerplanet", email queerplanet@abacus.oxy.edu This list is run by the program MAJORDOMO@abacus.oxy.edu. *******************************************************************************