From: James Binder <jbinder@igc.apc.org>
Newsgroups: soc.motss
Date: 10 Sep 92 21:53 PDT
Subject: IGLHRC:URGENT ACTION ALERT
Nf-ID: #N:cdp:1475900061:000:13195
Nf-From: cdp.UUCP!jbinder    Sep 10 21:53:00 1992


From: James Binder <jbinder>
Subject: IGLHRC:URGENT ACTION ALERT

/* Escrito  9:51 pm  Sep 10, 1992 por jbinder en cdp:queerplanet */
/* ---------- "IGLHRC:URGENT ACTION ALERT" ---------- */
URGENT ACTION ALERT
from the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission
IGLHRC
540 Castro Street, San Francisco, CA 94114
phone: (415) 255 86 80
fax: (415) 255 86 62
email:jbinder@igc.org

Emergency Response Network (ERN)
IGLHRC has compiled human rights
abuses against gays and lesbians throughout the world and is
asking your help in addressing these urgent issues.  Please write
to the person listed at the end of each summary.  Please send a
copy of your response to us.

1200 Gays Murdered in Brazil Over Past Decade

Every five days, a gay man or lesbian is murdered in Brazil.  Luis
Mott, founder and president of Grupo Gay de Bahia, the most active
gay organization in Brazil, has documented approximately 1200
murders in the past decade.  Only about 10% of the killers are
ever brought to justice.  Murders are most often committed by
hustlers who rob their victims, kill them, and then escape
prosecution.  In the few cases where charges are filed, the
murderers go free or receive light sentences, based on a court
defense that they were forced to defend their honor against sexual
advances by their victims.  In a recent case, a 26-year-old Sao
Paolo man was imprisoned only after brutally murdering a dozen
wealthy gay men he picked up in a public park.  The judiciary is
also rife with homophobia; one judge told Mott, "To kill a gay is
like killing a dog." Organized hate crimes are also common in
Brazil.  Mott has documented twelve paramilitary organizations
throughout the country that have dedicated themselves to
exterminating homosexuals and transvestites.  These groups
specialize in gruesome murders.  One such organization, Comando de
Ca a aos Gays, has claimed responsiblity for assassinations and
mutilations of several Rio de Janiero transvestites.  Please write
to the Brazilian secretary of human rights.  Tell the Secretary
that Brazil has a duty to protect all its citizens, regardless of
their sexual orientation.  Demand that Brazil begin to apprehend,
prosecute, and punish the murderers of gay people, that the
country eliminate the prejudice against homosexuals in the courts,
that the judicial process be reformed to eliminate defense of
honor as grounds for murdering gay people, and that the government
cease tolerating the existence of paramilitary organizations
dedicated to killing homosexuals and transvestites.  Postage to
Brazil is $.50 per half-ounce.

Write to:
Secretario de Direitos Humanos
Ministerio de Justisa
Brasilia, BRASIL

Wave of Violence Continues in Mexico

On August 10, a 22-year-old gay activist became the latest victim
in a wave of anti-gay violence in the state of Chiapas in southern
Mexico.  Martin Balesca Domnguez, a member of the AIDS
organization Piscis de Arriaga,  was severely beaten and stabbed
many times by unidentifed attackers who left him for dead near the
town of Arriaga.  A dozen other gay men and nine prostitutes have
been murdered in Chiapas in the past year, most of them shot with
high-caliber weapons in or near the capital city of Tuxtla
Gutirrez.  None of the cases have been solved by the local police,
who consider these murders to be crimes of passion or vengeance
within the gay community, despite clear signs of professional
marksmanship and striking similarity among the cases.  Local gay
leaders are being harassed by police as a result of the publicity
surrounding the violence.  Leaders of Crculo Cultural Gay, a
Mexico City gay organization, recently demanded that Mexico's
National Commission on Human Rights investigate the violence and
murders, which have been rampant in other parts of Mexico as well.
 Since June, a transvestite has been beaten to death in Oaxaca,
three gay men were murdered in Mexico City, and two gay men were
found bound and shot to death in Guadalajara.  Mexican activists
say international pressure will help now and they ask that you
write and demand that the Mexican government act to stop the
homophobic violence throughout the country.  Postage to Mexico is
$.40 per ounce.

Write to:
Lic. Ignacio Morales Lechuga
Procuraduria General De La Republica
Paseo de la Reforma y Violeta
Mexico, D. F., 
C.P. 06300

Finland Denies Gay Russian Refugee Status:  Case Appealed

FinlandUs Ministry of Internal Affairs denied an application for
refugee status to Konstantin Gontcharov, who based his application
on persecution due to sexual orientation.  The Ministry ruled that
Article 121 (the male sodomy law) of the Russian penal code has
not been applied since 1989 and Gontcharov has no reason why he
couldnUt return to his home country.  Gontcharov, from Moscow,
arrived in Helsinki at the end of January, 1992 fleeing continuous
pressure from Russian officials because of his activities in a
human rights organization for homosexuals.  He was refused
military service because of his "sexual disease", which is marked
in his military passport, and consequently will be unable to find
a workplace or receive an education should he be returned.
Gontcharov has filed again, and hopes to reverse this decision.

Please write the Minister of Internal Affairs and the President of
Finland to request a positive decision in Gontcharov's case.  Tell
them that it is well known throughout the world that Article 121
of the Russian Penal Code is still in force, and that it is
estimated that thousands of gay men are currently incarcerated
under this law.  Inform them that in this year alone, four gay men
from Russia have received asylum in Canada based on persecution
due to sexual orientation, and there are four more gay Russians
with cases pending in the U.S. court system.   Gontcharov second
application was filed in early July, so the decision could come at
any time.  Please write immediately to the following addresses
(postage to Finland is $.50 per half-ounce):

Mr. Mauri Tekkarimen
Minister of Internal Affairs
Ministry of Internal Affairs
00171  Helsinki
Finland
Tele:  (358-0) 160-2800
Fax:   (358-0) 160-2927

President Mauno Koivisto
The Presidents Castle
00100  Helsinki
Finland


HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES CONTINUE
FOR BURMESE WOMEN WITH HIV/AIDS

The exiled civilian government of Burma, the National Coalition
Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB) is seeking access to
Burmese women "rescued" from brothels in Thailand and currently
held as "illegal immigrants" in Thai detention centers. The NCGUB,
which has been prohibited by the Burmese military junta from
taking power since winning an overwhelming majority of popular
votes in national elections held in Burma in 1990, is concerned
for the future welfare of the Burmese women, who now find
themselves in a very precarious situation.  On June 9th, 1992,
approximately 45 Burmese women were seized from brothels in Ranong
province in Thailand and transferred to the various detention
centers in Bangkok where their fate was then negotiated between
Thai authorities and embassy staff of the internationally despised
Burmese military regime, the State Law and Order Restoration
Council (SLORC).   Some of the women, including three who were
between the ages of 14 and 21, were found to be HIV+.  Interviews
with the young women conducted by reliable sources within Thailand
revealed that the girls had been lured from their border villages
by Thai nationals and were then forced to live and work as
prostitutes in practically prison-like conditions within Thailand.
Severe human rights violations were reported including rapes,
torture, beatings, food deprivation, and even murder of HIV+ women
by brothel owners. An unknown number of women have already been
repatriated to Burma.

Some of the women interviewed indicated that they wished to return
to their villages and to be re-united with their families but they
fear for their lives at the hand of the Burmese military regime.
In April, it was reported that several HIV+ women repatriated from
Thailand were injected with cyanide by members of the SLORC.  A
variety of sources from within Thailand and Burma have suggested
that this type of atrocity is in no way an isolated incident.  An
August 10, 1992 statement released to Asia Watch, an international
human rights organization in New York further attests to the
precarious situation of Burmese women in the brothels of Ranong.
The statement revealed that some Burmese women "who were assumed
to have AIDS" were removed from the area and have since
"disappeared".  It also quoted a Thai government research report
from December 1991 which found that nearly 50% of 200 women from
Ranong brothels tested positive for HIV.  Almost 75% of these
women were Burmese nationals.  Finally, the statement noted that
as the civil war in Burma continues, increasing numbers of Burmese
women and children are finding themselves in this dire situation
and impending dilemma regarding their future.

Public attention to the plight of the Burmese women in Thailand
led Thai authorities to declare that they would not repatriate any
more HIV+ Burmese citizens.  However, the Bangkok Post reported on
July 31, 1992 that the Burmese Ambassador to Thailand met with
Thailand's Prime Minister's Office officials to discuss the return
home of the Burmese women.  According to the article, Minister
Saisuree Chutikul told press that the Burmese women will be sent
home to Burma and that the Burmese government (SLORC) will look
after their safety.  But murder, torture, detention without trial,
forced starvation, and numerous other well-documented human rights
abuses against Burmese citizens from various walks of life at the
hands of the SLORC,  and the SLORC's repeated denial of these
abuses, lead us to believe that  the returning women's "safety" is
anything but assured.  Furthermore, given that HIV tests are being
performed on the Burmese women in Thailand, most of whom are
involuntary participants in the illegal sex-trade within that
country,  a request that officials of the government of Thailand
make public to international human rights organizations their
policy on mandatory testing of foreign nationals appears
reasonable.  And in particular, a public explanation of their
future plans to ensure that Burmese nationals found to be HIV+
within Thailand are not repatriated to their home country without
reasonable and responsible assurances that both their lives and
the status of their health will be monitored by international
observers is absolutely essential.  The military government of
Burma (SLORC) has no credibility among the international human
rights community.  Please demand that the NCGUB be recognized as
the legitimate, responsible, and democratically-elected
representative of Burma's citizens, and that Thai authorities
allow NCGUB members access to Burmese women currently being held
as "illegal immigrants" in Thai detention centers.  Demand also
that the SLORC immediately allow for the long-term presence of
international monitoring agencies and non-governmental
organizations to ensure the safety and well-being of all refugees,
and all HIV+ Burmese citizens, whether they are currently within
Burma, or in Thailand awaiting a highly uncertain future. In order
to ensure the safety and well-being of these women, the
International Lesbian & Gay Human Rights Commission is calling for
urgent international protest directed at the following officials:
(write or FAX)

Dr. Saisuree Chutikul				
Minister for the Prime Minister's Office		
Government House				
Nakhon Pathom Road			
Bangkok 10300
Thailand	
					
Ministry of Foreign Affairs			
Pong Thon Adireksan				
Saranromya Palace		
Bangkok 10200 THAILAND				
FAX 662-224-7095			
Telex 84791-IMFODET-TH
	
U Thaung, Ambassador and		
Mr. U Ohn Gyaw, Minister of Foreign Affairs			
Embassy of Myanmar		
2300 RSS Street N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20008
FAX (202) 332-9046

Kyaw Min, Ambassador to the U.N., Myanmar
10 East 77th Street 
New York, NY 10021
FAX (212) 737-2421
UPDATE

Nicaragua Sodomy Law Signed-- Struggle Moves to Supreme Court

Nicaraguan president Violeta Chamorro has signed into law a new
penal code that punishes sodomy with up to four years in prison
and could even be interpreted to forbid gay and lesbian rights
advocacy.  Under Nicaraguan law, the new code cannot be enforced
until it has been published, an event that has not yet occurred.
Following publication, opponents of the law have 60 days to
challenge its constitutionality before the Supreme Court.  Gay and
lesbian activists plan to flood the Nicaraguan courts with
challenges to the new law.  They believe that the Nicaraguan
Supreme Court may vote to overturn the new law, especially if
international pressure is brought to bear upon them.  Please write
to the Supreme Court and ask them to overturn the law (Article
205), pointing out that it is a gross violation of human rights
and that the trend in most nations of the world is repeal of
outdated laws criminalizing consensual sex between adults, not the
enacting of new ones.  Postage to Nicaragua is $.50 per
half-ounce.

Write to:

Corte Suprema de Justicia
Plaza Espaa
Managua
Nicaragua