Putin down gays : Rally over anti-gay torture in Russia

BY SERKAN OZTURK

Chechnya may be more than half-way across the world but more than 150 members of Sydney’s LGBTIQ community came out in a blaze of colour, noise and rainbow chalk to voice out their outrage of gay and bisexual men being tortured in the troubled region of southern Russia.

Over a hundred people gathered on the usually quiet and leafy streets of Woollahra to voice out their outrage outside the Russian Embassy following credible reports from activist groups and media about serious human rights abuses occurring in Chechnya.

The snap action was organised by the some of the original demonstrators who were involved in what would later be known as Sydney’s first ever gay and lesbian Mardi Gras in 1978.

Known as the ‘78ers’, the group coalesced a number of local LGBTIQ community and activist organisations to send a message to Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and his government that anti-gay bigotry had no place in a modern world.

“The persecution of LGBTI people in many parts of the world is acute and worsening, despite huge strides elsewhere,” the 78ers said in a joint statement

“For those of us who struggled to emerge from our own past homophobic conditions characterizing our lives in Australia in the 1960s and 1970s we express solidarity with our Chechen brothers and sisters.

“We assert the right for sexual minorities in all parts of the world to live without fear and to be free from persecution, intimidation, entrapment, arbitrary arrest, and violence.”

The 78ers also backed a call by the UN Human Rights commissioner for the Russian government allow for an independent investigation into the reports of torture camps and other human rights abuses towards men perceived to be gay or bisexual.

Following the protest, ACON president, Justin Koonin thanked the 78ers for “keeping the fire burning” on behalf of the global queer community.

“Thank you for recognising that the liberation for which we have all fought for so long was not just for us alone,” he said.

“Thank you for recognising our duty to stand alongside all those who face discrimination across the globe, wherever and whenever we find them.

“Tonight we stand alongside our brothers and sisters and cousins in Chechnya, who are facing unimaginable difficulty at the moment.”

Community Action Against Homophobia co-convener, Cat Rose, said it was imperative to “stop gay torture.

“We will never be silent. Thank you to the organisers for making this happen”.
The crew from DIY Rainbow was also present at the rally, with dozens joining in to chalk rainbows on the pavement directly outside the Russian Embassy.
Over the past few weeks, reports have emanated from the predominantly Muslim region that local authorities have rounded up about 100 men who are said to be gay before torturing them in concentration camps. Three of the men are believed to have died.

It is believed the men are in a detention centre near Argun – 20 kilometres from the city of Grozny. Activists such as Natalia Poplevskaya of the Russian LGBT Network have told international media outlets the crackdown has been tremendously violent and brutal.

“Torture is going on with electric shocks, beatings with cables,” Ms Poplevskaya told the BBC.
“All the people arrested are homosexual men or perceived as being gay.”

Germany’s leader, Chancellor Angela Merkel, has publicly raised the issue during a joint interview with president Putin this week in the Russian city of Sochi.

I have, in my talks with the Russian president, indicated how important is the right to demonstrate in a civil society and how important the role of NGOs is,” Ms Merkel said at a news conference.

“I also spoke about the very negative report about what is happening to homosexuals in Chechnya and asked Mr. President to exert his influence to ensure that minorities’ rights are protected.”

Australia’s Foreign Minister, Julie Bishop, previously raised the issue with Russia’s government in mid-April.

Chechnya’s government however continues to deny that any persecution has taken place.

“You can’t detain and repress people who simply don’t exist in the republic,” government spokesman, Alvi Karimov, told the BBC.