Protest at Zimbabwean Embassy
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AUGUST 18, 1995
CONTACT: Rick Rosendall/GLAA (202)328-6278
Ben Finzel/AI (202)462-2010
AIUSA/GLAA HOST ZIMBABWE EMBASSY PROTEST
Mugabe's Homophobic Remarks Have Sparked Outrage
The Zimbabwe Embassy is located at 1608 New Hampshire Avenue, NW, near Dupont Circle. Approximately thirty local activists from Amnesty International, GLAA, and other organizations participated. Demonstrators read a statement from Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ), and sang the South African freedom song, "We Shall Not Give Up the Fight." The protesters also read a letter sent to Mugabe on August 3 by Rep. Barney Frank, Rep. Maxine Waters and 70 other bipartisan members of the U.S. House of Representatives 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."
In a speech opening the Zimbabwe International Book Fair in early August, Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe publicly attacked gays and lesbians as "sexual perverts" who do not deserve to freely exercise their right to free speech. More recently, Mugabe has renewed his anti-gay attacks 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, citing the provision in their own nation's constitution which explicitly forbids discrimination based on sexual orientation. Nobel laureates Wole Soyinka of Nigeria and Nadine Gordimer of South Africa also withdrew in protest from the book fair, whose theme this year was human rights. Amnesty International and other global human rights organizations have condemned the Zimbabwe government's actions.
In the statement that was read at the August 17 embassy protest, Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe said, "The attempt to deprive GALZ of the same rights as any other group of people in Zimbabwe is an assault on the rights of all individuals of Zimbabwe." GALZ thanked its international supporters for their efforts and expressions of solidarity.
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.