Canadian government criticizes Iran on gay rights
In a swipe at Iran, Canada’s Justice Minister Jason Kenney says the country is determined to promote gay rights on the international stage.
In a speech Sept. 14 before the Montreal Council on Foreign Relations, Kenney mentioned efforts taken by the Canadian government to provide a safe haven for gay Iranians who are at risk of homophobic persecution in their own country.
Kenney said Canada had welcomed more than 100 gay asylum seekers from Iran since 2009.
Homosexuality is punishable by death in Iran, and many LGBT citizens have fled to neighboring Turkey. There they can file a claim with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, which then works with countries like Canada on resettlement.
Earlier this month, the Canadian government suspended diplomatic relations with Iran after formally listing the country as a state sponsor of terrorism under the Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act.
Meanwhile, a state-sponsored newspaper in Iran recently published claims that Jewish people in the West were trying to spread homosexuality around the world.
Iranian authorities announced in June that they had shut down a prominent publishing house in Tehran because of its “promotion of homosexuality, incest and sexual relations between men and women outside marriage.”
Jamaica: Education officials ban ‘homosexual’ textbook
The Jamaican Ministry of Education has recalled part of its high-school curriculum after a TV news report showed parents and teachers had complained about its content on same-sex relationships and gay sexual health.
Questions designed to get a better understanding of the sexual preferences of students ages 10-13 included, “Have you ever had anal sex? Have you ever used a condom [for] anal sex? How many sexual partners have you had? Do you know your HIV status? Do you know the HIV status of your partners?” and “If you have never slept with a member of your own sex, is it possible that you might be gay if you tried it?”
Most of the parents interviewed for the TV report thought the questions were inappropriate for children, but at least two said they did not have a problem with them.
It is claimed the report also revealed that teachers should ask children which body part gave them the most pleasure and to sing a song about it.
Education Minister Ronald Thwaites has ordered that the textbook be withdrawn from Jamaica’s school system and revised.
“I consider sections of the material inappropriate for any age and certainly for the grade seven and eight students for which it is designed,” Thwaites said in a statement on Sept. 14.
Malaysian gov’t targeted for ‘gay children’ seminars
The Malaysian government has been criticized by Amnesty International for hosting a series of seminars for parents and teachers on how to identify if a child is gay.
A total of 1,500 people have attended 10 seminars organized by the Teachers Foundation of Malaysia.
The foundation claims gay children can be spotted because of their preferences for tight, light clothes and large handbags.
Gay women were deemed less obvious to spot — they were described as having “no affection for men” and would like to “hang out and sleep in the company of women.”
In a posting on its staff blog site, Amnesty said: “It might sound like something from Victorian England, but this is modern day Malaysia,” adding, “It reflects a worrying trend towards increased homophobia in the country.”
Sodomy is illegal in Malaysia and the country sparked global outrage after it sent “effeminate” boys to a “gay cure” camp in early 2011.
Iraqi police behind antigay killings, says documentary
A BBC World Service program has revealed that law-enforcement agencies in Iraq are involved in the sustained systematic persecution of the country’s LGBT community.
Campaigners say hundreds of gay men, and some women, have died in targeted killings in Iraq in recent years — with an upsurge in homophobic violence since the 2003 removal of Saddam Hussein from power.
These numbers are difficult to verify, but the United Nations confirmed it was extremely concerned about what it called a deadly antigay campaign.
The UN office in Baghdad also told the BBC that Iraq’s government is in violation of international law, and that failure to react to these killings have made the state a perpetrator in the crime.
Ali Hilli, the founder of Iraqi LGBT, said, “Instead of protecting sexual minorities, the Iraqi government facilitates their murder by arresting the victims and handing them over to militias who kill them. Iraqi LGBT sources working inside Iraq have found the militias are also getting intelligence about the identities of sexual minorities from the Ministry of the Interior.”
In February, young LGBT Iraqis, who were seen to be part of the “emo” punk-rock movement, were also being targeted by militias in a large wave of killings.
Amnesty International issued a response, saying: “The government of Iraq should immediately investigate and bring to justice those responsible for a targeted campaign of intimidation and violence against Iraqi youth seen as belonging to the non-conformist ‘emo’ subculture.”
Uganda: British producer of gay play bailed from jail
British theater producer David Cecil has been released on bail in Uganda, where he was charged over a play featuring a gay storyline.
The play — the main character of which is a gay businessman killed by his own employees — was performed at two theaters in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, in August.
Cecil was freed on bail of 500,000 shillings (approximately $200).
He appeared in court Sept. 13 charged with “disobeying lawful orders” of the Uganda Media Council.
The Media Council had warned the play’s backers not to perform it until it had been approved.
Ibin Ssenkumbi, a spokesman for the Kampala police, said, “There are two charges proferred against him, one of disobeying lawful orders contrary to the penal code and another of staging the play which was still under review.”
Cecil faces two years in jail if convicted.
The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office said they are providing consular assistance to Cecil. His passport has been confiscated.
In August, the online protest group Anonymous hacked into two of the Ugandan government’s websites in protest of the country’s draconian homophobic laws.
Poland: ‘Risky’ sex upping HIV rates in gay men
A study in Poland shows there were 992 new HIV infections reported in the country last year, and that two-thirds of those who tested positive for the virus were in the gay community.
Poland’s National AIDS Centre said that some of the rise was curtailed to improve HIV testing.
However, the report also said that attitudes towards the virus among Polish gay men were worrying, and researchers pointed to the issue of those using drugs during sexual activity.
“In this population, we observe various disturbing phenomena that point to the underestimation of the risk of HIV infection, as well as the recognition that HIV/AIDS is a chronic disease that does not significantly alter the lifestyle.”
The report added: “In this group especially, a lot of people are indulging in very risky sexual behavior, often under the influence of psychoactive substances.”
The National AIDS Centre’s Anna Marzec-Bogusławska said: “There are some people who are unaware that they are living with the disease, of course. It is estimated that 35,000 people are carrying the virus. On average, three people a day test HIV-positive in Poland.”
In 2007, 807 new infections were reported in Poland, while in 2009 that number rose to 957.
Scottish athlete to stand trial over antigay threats
A former Hibernian soccer player will stand trial for charges that he made homophobic threats to staff at a nightclub in Edinburgh.
Derek Riordan appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court Sept. 14 on breach of the peace and assault charges.
Prosecutors allege the 29-year-old became involved in a confrontation at the Picture House on Lothian Road on May 7.
The charges state Riordan also made “homophobic comments, which included comments of a sexually explicit nature” during the incident.
The second charge states on the same date Riordan also allegedly seized employee Michael Moore by the throat.
Earlier this year, Riordan pleaded not guilty to the two charges and Sheriff Elizabeth Jarvie QC granted him bail on the condition he did not enter Edinburgh city center between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m.
On Sept. 14, defense solicitor Kathleen More told the court Riordan was maintaining his not-guilty pleas.
Sheriff Fiona Reith QC granted Riordan bail and adjourned the case until Oct. 9, when the trial is expected to begin.